By Joshua Olomu
Women Community in Africa (WCA) , a coalition of women groups that addresses social issues and vices in local communities, has commenced advocacy for the safety and well-being of children on the internet.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Dr Adetoun Dally , Global President of WCA stated this during a news conference to unveil the group’s programme for the 2024 edition of its annual summit on Friday in Abuja.
She said as Nigeria navigates the vast expanse of cyberspace in the digital age, safety and well-being of Nigerian children should be given utmost priority by parents, policy makers and other stakeholders.
According to her, the summit is a trademarked programme under the Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiative ( BMCCI), a gender-focused NGO devoted to social, economic and educational development and mentoring in communities.
Dally said the summit scheduled to hold on Oct. 10 in the FCT, with the theme, “Cyber Safety: Empowering Families in the Digital Age”, will bring together, teachers, parents, community leaders and other stakeholders.
“Different organisations have come together under Women’s Community in Africa to amplify our voices, knowing that if we all sit in different corners, our voices will not go far enough
“We have come together to ensure that our voices, which are focused on contributing to achieving sustainable development goals, and ensuring that we have better societies.
“The virtual world is our present reality and of course, all of us know that in years to come, it is the reality that we are going to face.
“However, for every kingdom there is a culture, and if you do not understand the culture of the kingdom that you are in, you are going to run into problems.
“Our children do not understand the culture of the virtual world and cyberspace, and they are getting into problems, and we have seen a lot of it in recent times.
“That is why we want to speak out because it is a concern,” she said.
Dr Maimoona Salim, chairperson of the summit organising committee, said the internet with is tremendous usefulness, has attendant risks, particularly for the vulnerable minds, and has vices such as cyberbullying and even exploitation.
According to her, the summit is an opportunity to rally all Nigerians of goodwill towards ensuring that children are shielded from cyber harms.
“It is impacting on our children, our families and communities, and our children are not equipped enough to handle the dark web.
“We are not enlightened enough to help our children understand the dark web, so we want to bridge that gap and hopefully, we will be able to fulfill that by having this summit.
“It will not just be about the summit, it is about the continuation of this work and every organisation under WCA will now take this campaign to the next level.
“We will take messages from the summit and have a programme that will enlighten children in schools and in communities,” she said.
Earlier, Mr Ademola Kasumu, Chairman Board of Trustee of BMCCI, said the summit was an effort to urge stakeholders to wake up to the negative realities confronting children in the cyberspace.
“The internet, once hailed as a revolutionary tool to streamline human endeavours, drive sufficiency , and foster growth, has also unleashed a myriad of challenges and perils.
“Its dark underbelly has ravaged countless lives, leaving scars that may never fully heal.
“Together, we can create a sanctuary of safety, where our children can thrive, learn and grow without fear of destruction.
“The future of our society depends on engaging in discussions that can build sustainable processes that will become our legacy of solutions, ”he said.
The group said that a lot of Nigerians do not know that the Cyber Crimes Act exists, and therefore pledge to simplify the law in pamplets for distribution to participants at the summit.(NAN)