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ITU, Facebook and ACOPEA launch project in Ethiopia to
protect children online
Smart, safe, responsible use of digital technology is advocated
Geneva, 29 August 2013 – Under the Child Online Protection
(COP) Initiative, ITU has established an international collaborative network for
action to promote the online protection of children worldwide by providing
guidance on safe online behaviour in conjunction with other UN organizations and
partners.
As part of this endeavour, ITU is partnering with the African Child Online
Protection Education and Awareness Centre (ACOPEA) to run a pilot exercise in
training community activists and others in key safety messages and tools. The
ACOPEA programmes and educational resources, in line with the scope and
objective of the COP Initiative, will promote smart, safe and responsible use of
digital technologies.
In particular, one of the expected outcomes of the project is to conduct
awareness and training sessions in 25 schools in partnership with
educators/teachers.
Facebook is supporting this pilot initiative financially, in partnership with
ITU and ACOPEA. All three parties have a strong interest in digital
empowerment and in ensuring a safe and secure online experience for children and
young people in Africa.
The pilot will principally focus on Ethiopia, although the parties have
ambitions for it to lead to the development of Africa-wide education and
awareness activities on the importance of child online safety.
The project aims to enable ITU and its international partners to reach out to
all stakeholders, to better understand the issues and mobilize support for
sustainable pan-African Child Online Protection.
For more information, please contact:
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Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Daniel Asfaw
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