Who Takes Responsibility For Digitized Reputation ?
Child Online Africa wishes to appeal to the general public as well as the responsible sector ministries that it is imperative that somebody owns up to do the proper thing to help address the issue of young people being caught in mistakes which are not easy to erase for sharing their lives online. Social media tools are used by adults as well as young people and most often than not a lot of people use them to document their lives. Despite the good sides of the social media tools, there are potential dangers of maintaining a positive reputation to protecting …
You Need Your Child’s Say-So to Post Their Picture Online – Advocate
The Executive Director of Child Online Africa, Awo Aidam Amenyah has called on parents and guardians to seek the consent of their children first before posting their images on social media. At a day’s training for selected journalists on online safety for children organised by Child Online Africa and AF Academy held in Accra on Wednesday, 21 August 2019, Amenyah said it was wrong for parents to post their children’s pictures on social media arbitrarily. Child Online Africa is an organisation working to ensure that young people in Ghana are able to use technology and the internet safely and responsibly. …
Child Online Africa Partners AF Academy to Train Journalists
CHILD ONLINE AFRICA and AF ACADEMY have announced a collaborative effort to train Ghanaian journalists about online safety for vulnerable groups. The training for some selected journalists from media houses in Ghana is expected to take place this year. The objectives of the training are: To enlighten journalists on the rights of the child online. To equip journalists with latest advocacy skills for vulnerable people online. To highlight the need for child protection online. According to the two organizations, protection online for vulnerable groups like children is critical in an era where digitalization has become a powerful aspect of human …
Ghana: Child Online Africa Launches Digital Literacy Week
Accra, Ghana, July 10, 2019//- Digital literacy is the set of competencies required for all persons regardless of age and social status to be able to participate in the 21st Century knowledge society. It also includes attitudes and ethics regarding the use of digital devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs to interact with the larger society. 7 in 10 children use smartphone to access the Internet in Ghana and 42.7% of youth access news online but most of them are functional digital illiterate, according to UNICEF & DW-AKADEMIE. Because of this, if care is not taken, it will …
Safeguard The Rights of Children Now!
It is not easy to define “violence” or ‘abuse’ against children because children’s rights is violated in so many different ways depending on the context and culture. Children may suffer physical, emotional or sexual abuse and their rights may be violated through social media/Internet, in a family, an institution, a school, community or faith setting. The perpetrators of abuse vary from an individual adult, adults working together, another child, to a group of children. UNCRC 30TH ANNIVERSARY It is important to recognize that children are not one homogenous group but have varying levels of maturity and understanding. Article 3 of …
“Trusted Smart Products” – Children Are Consumers #WCRD2019
Today is World Consumer Rights Day and at Child Online Africa; we are focusing on the five keys to building trust with children and young people in their choice and use of connected devices. Like we all know; smart products are connected to the internet and they receive, collect and send data. According to Consumers International, there are currently 23.1 billion smart products in the world, outnumbering people; three to one. If World Consumer Rights Day is the opportunity to deliver real impact for consumers and remind the world about the importance of observing and enforcing consumer rights, then children …
Slash off 20% Tax on Sanitary Pads to Ensure Balance-for-Better.
The award winning writer Vera Narzarian once said; “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less’’. The existence of male supremacy and female inferiority however is the sad reality in most societies today, especially in Africa. In many sectors including education, statistics show that more males enrol and participate than females. Girls who get to attend school tend to face a number of disruptions due to various factors including the natural phenomenon of menstruation. Menstruation has been proven to be a strong barrier …
How To React To Harmful Online Content
It is worrying to note that most people especially parents have been alarmed at the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Two weeks ago we published an article about the importance of the 21st Century Digital Literacy skills which includes News Literacy: ability to determine between fact and fiction and not to take news on face value (also known as fake news phenomenon). The fundamental truth about media literacy is that one can determine how to direct traffic to a particular website for effect which was the case in the so-called Momo challenge where one social media post sparked the discussion about …
Reading For Progress: Text vrs Digital?
One of the five pillars of the Year of Reading concept being promoted by the Ghana Library Authority is LITERACY. The Oxford dictionary defines literacy as the ability to read and write. The key to literacy is reading development, a progression of skills which begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and which culminates in the deep understanding of text. It is necessary we take into consideration how today’s changing technological landscape offers both promise and challenges to literacy instruction. But it is critical to fit technology into education and discuss how literacy education can meet society’s increasing …