Upon the request of the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society (MFWS), and within the framework of the “P.O.P-up: Promote Online Protection" project established by MFWS, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will assist in the delivery of a set of Training of Trainers (ToT) modules for educators. This training will be provided in coordination with the Maltese Ministry for Education and the directors of Maria Regina College and St. Benedict College. The first training will take place on 7 December 2022 in Malta. It will target social workers, counsellors, and psychotherapists of the two targeted colleges. It will result in the creation of a foundation of knowledge about the safety of children online and the development of important training skills.
Main Initiative
In response to the increasing concern of children being at risk of bullying, violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect online, ITU has been actively working to protect and empower children using the internet. In 2020, upon the request of the Member States, ITU launched the updated version of the Child Online Protection (COP) guidelines targeting parents and educators, children, the private sector, and government stakeholders.
As part of this effort broader effort, the ITU recently launched a series of online self-paced COP trainings on the ITU Academy Portal. The purpose of the two pieces of training targeting academic staff and social workers (introductory and intermediate) is to raise awareness and improve participants' understanding of the risks associated with Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) and how educational environments can be used to protect children from OCSEA-related harm.
In addition, ITU developed a Training of Trainer (ToT) module which builds on the knowledge acquired during the online self-paced training. The module translates such knowledge into activities supporting the development of the teaching skills necessary to provide effective training. The objectives of the ToT are to provide academic staff and social workers with a robust knowledge base that will assist them in confronting relevant challenges; developing their knowledge of the child online protection content and demonstrating how they can strategically use the guideline to address these challenges.
The steps of the assistance are thus as follow:
- Online self-paced training (November 2022): Participants in the training to complete the ITU COP online self-paced training in order to gain the knowledge basis necessary to take part in the ToT. This also ensures for all participants to gain a common understanding of the topic and start at the same level;
- Training of Trainer (December 2022): An ITU expert delivers an onsite one-day ToT;
- Assessment (December 2022): Two surveys are issued to participants after the ToT to assess the impact of the activities that were conducted and improve the quality of the ToT;
- Certificate (January 2022): Following the completion of the ToT as well as an additional take-home exercise to put the knowledge acquired into practice, the participants will receive an ITU certificate.
