Stakeholders enhance knowledge on digital citizenship education |10 September 2019

Dr Milovidov imparting her knowledge with Seychellois parents and other stakeholders during yesterday’s session

In the wake of globalisation, the issue of children using emerging technologies, their privacy and security implications, have become a top priority for families.

While being exposed to good influences for their future development, children are also being exposed to many negative aspects that come with modern technologies and parents are being encouraged to be more vigilant and to properly guide their children when they are using digital technologies.

From the start it is important that while they trace their future through creating, communicating and learning, children know how to be responsible digital citizens while remaining safe in the online space.

Dr Elizabeth Milovidov from the United States of America (USA) highlighted these facts to a group of concerned stakeholders while conducting an education and awareness session entitled ‘Defining and creating digital citizenship education frameworks and policy guidelines’ which was held at the National Council for Children (NCC), Bel Eau yesterday morning.

Different stakeholders involved in policy-making from ministries and private sector organisations took part in the session hosted by the US Embassy in Mauritius and held in collaboration with the department of information communication and technology (DICT).

The aim was for Dr Milovidov to impart her knowledge and expertise on digital citizenship education. She is a lawyer from California, a law professor in Paris, France and an eSafety consultant in Europe.

Dr Milovidov is also an independent expert on digital parenting and children’s rights and internet for the Council of Europe (CoE), as well as a member of the CoE expert working group on digital citizenship education. Her core work involves researching solutions for parents as they embark on the ‘internet, technology and social media journey’ with their children.

She is the founder of DigitalParentingCoach.com, a website with resources and tools for parents, and she also moderates ‘The Digital Parenting Community’ Facebook group, providing online support and best practices to parents.

Digital citizenship education is the empowerment of children through education or the acquisition of competences for learning and for safe active participation in digital society. Apart from the learning, socialising and entertainment aspects, the internet carries many negative aspects exposed to children such cyber bulling, danger in encounters with strangers, pedophiles, sex, pornography, grooming ... all are elements and aspects that children do not need to see and be involved in at their age.

“I would like to advise all children and young people in Seychelles to use their critical thinking skills to think about what they are doing online and who they are talking to online because sometimes things are not always what they seem and it is really important that they remember to talk to their parents or another trusted adult because sometimes they might hear or see things that they may not quite know what to do or how to react and with a parent or trusted adult by their side, it is much easier to survive the digital adventure,” Dr Milovidov stressed .

She further said that parents should not be afraid to get involved and accompany their children in what they are doing over the net even if they are not well-versed in certain apps or features the children are using.

“They don’t need to know. Parents have the experience and the background and the maturity to still guide their children even if they don’t understand what Tick-Tock is or snap chat or Instagram or what a streak is, they don’t necessary need to know all those details. They just need to be present,” Dr Milovidov added.

Julian Chetty, who took part in the session said that in view of the dangers that children face on the internet it is the responsibility of the parents to educate them on how to use the internet responsibly. He noted that education is the best way to get people to understand the positive way to use the internet.

Apart from the digital citizenship education workshop yesterday, Dr Milovidov also conducted a workshop on ‘internet safety and child protection: challenges, trends and best practices’ last Saturday at the same venue for parents, counselors and social workers.

The director for communication and events at NCC, Sharon Meriton-Jean said that NCC is actually delivering education programmes for children in schools through its Safetech initiative through which they have learned about the many dangers that children are facing overseas through certain apps which have not reached our children here yet and also technical settings which could be used to prevent other people access to one’s phone or other internet appliances.

The workshop continued yesterday afternoon with a round table discussion on cyber security.