Malawi joined the rest of the world in commemorating Safer Internet Day 2024 under the theme “Inspiring Change? Making a difference, navigating influence and navigating change online”.
Speaking at the commemoration event which took place in Lilongwe, #MACRA Director General Daud Elvin Suleman, who was the guest of honor, emphasized the importance of ensuring that all children in the country have access to digital services.
“The future is digital, one of our key priority areas is to ensure inclusion to digital services for all, including children and young adults. It is in this light that we have partnered with the Ministry of Education and we are currently in the process of reviewing the primary school curriculum to incorporate digital literacy and cyber hygiene. We are also facilitating the adoption of computer programming in the secondary schools curriculum,” Suleman said.
Each year, the Safer Internet Day commemoration aims to raise awareness of emerging cyber safety issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns from cyberbullying, social networking, cyber hygiene, misinformation, digital identity, cyber flashing and tips meant to keep all of us safe online.
As part of our commitment to ensuring Child Online Safety in Malawi, #MACRA, with technical assistance from the International Telecommunication Union (a United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs), developed a National Child Online Protection Strategy 2023 to 2028.
The planned activities to commemorate the day include a panel discussion, TV and radio programes, and school outreach programs across the country.
These activities will also involve our partners such as Article III, YONECO and various organizations dealing with child online safety issues.
