{"id":2705,"date":"2021-03-28T23:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T23:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/?p=2705"},"modified":"2021-03-28T23:00:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T23:00:43","slug":"save-the-children-and-facebook-launch-the-first-ever-online-safety-campaign-in-fiji-papua-new-guinea-samoa-and-tonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/save-the-children-and-facebook-launch-the-first-ever-online-safety-campaign-in-fiji-papua-new-guinea-samoa-and-tonga\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the Children and Facebook launch the first ever Online Safety Campaign in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Monday 1st<\/sup> February 2021<\/strong> Save the Children is partnering\nwith Facebook to deliver a campaign in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga\ntitled, \u2018I Am Digital\u2019, specifically directed at issues that concern children\nand young people from local communities and where they are seeking reliable\nsupport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018I Am Digital\u2019 social media online\nsafety campaign will run for five weeks from 1st<\/sup> February, in Fiji,\nPapua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga, and feature educational materials in\nEnglish, Fijian iTaukei, Fiji Hindi, Samoan, Tok Pisin and Tongan. Music\nproducer Jawsh 685, singer Mia Kami, children\u2019s TV show\npresenter Lei,\ncomic artist and pro-wrestler Michel Mulipola, and artist and magazine founder\nAysha Nanai-Leifi are amongst the well-known names backing the campaign to\neducate and empower Pacific Island teenagers and young people to have safer and\nmore positive online experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shairana Ali, Chief Executive\nOfficer of Save the Children Fiji, said that \u201c<\/strong>We are delighted that Facebook partnered with Save the Children\nFiji for this important campaign. Such campaigns are very impactful as the key\nmessages shared will educate children and young people in Fiji and the Pacific\nregion to be more aware of their rights and responsibilities when using social\nmedia. \n<\/strong>In the Pacific region, children with access to the internet and\nsocial media are often left unsupervised. There is an urgent need to educate\nand empower our children on digital safety. They also need role models who can\ninspire and influence them to use such platforms for their advantage and\ndevelopment. The \u2018I Am Digital\u2019 campaign has been designed in consultation with\nchildren and young people particularly children from Save the Children Fiji\u2019s\nKids Link platform. The campaign therefore, is child friendly and is a timely\nintervention that will inform and educate children and young people on online\nsafety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children and young people from Fiji, Papua New\nGuinea, Samoa and Tonga expressed that such campaigns are needed to protect\nthem from online bullying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

” The I Am\nDigital campaign will be of great help to young people in terms of educating\nand guiding us on interacting and connecting with others positively. It was\nexciting and a great learning experience helping to shape this campaign by\nbeing part of the focus group discussions and raising our voices as young\npeople on issues affecting us when it comes to the online world.”  Said Freda Fasavalu, a Kidslink member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cBeing online\nis good fun but we also need to learn how to stay safe. Young people are being\nbullied and harassed on social media, particularly for girls, you can be\ntargeted. All women and girls must be respected online\u201d said Damarish, a member\nof the PNG youth group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne Dunn, Fiji\u2019s Online Safety\nCommissioner, said: \u201cWe receive troubling reports nearly every day from Fijians\nwho feel they have suffered harm online, and the existing tools at our disposal\nmake it difficult to ensure that social media users from different backgrounds\nand who use different languages are protected. We look forward to working more\nclosely with these platforms, including Facebook, to create a safer online\nenvironment for Fijians of all ages, but particularly young people. We know\nthat at earlier stages of development, cyber bullying and online abuse have\ndire consequences in the real world. We need a culture shift towards a safer,\nmore inclusive, and more empowering online environment, and this partnership\nwith Save the Children is an important step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cChildren and young people in Pacific Island\ncountries are rapidly increasing their online presence and activity,\npredominantly through social media. The \u2019I Am Digital\u2019 campaign recognises the\nimportance of empowering them to do so in a way that is enjoyable as well as\ninformative, safe and secure,\u201d said Mia Garlick, Director of Policy, Facebook,\nAustralia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDigital\nconnectivity is transformative. It provides children and young people with opportunities\nto grow, learn, and connect. But it can also expose them to new threats. The ‘I Am Digital’ campaign empowers and supports children and\nyoung people to be safe online\u201d, said Gerry Dyer, Regional Director, Pacific\nfor Save the Children Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report on Online Safety in\nthe Pacific stated that \u2018with cable internet systems rolling out across the\nPacific, access to affordable and fast digital connectivity in the region is\nset to rapidly expand, opening up unprecedented opportunities for children but\nalso potentially exposing them to new risks of harm.  Child online safety in the Pacific region\nthus stands at a critical juncture\u2019. \nThis report found that \u2018children\u2019s key online safety concerns relate to\ninappropriate content\u2019 and that \u2018children [ ] consider social media platforms\u2026a\nconduit through which perpetrators of online violence and cyberbullying may\nreach them.  They (children) describe\nreceiving unsolicited images, being hacked and having [their] private images\nexploited\u2019 (Third, A et al. (2020). Online Safety in the Pacific: A report on a\nLiving Lab in Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.  Sydney: ChildFund Australia, Plan\nInternational Australia and Western Sydney University).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A range of digital content is now\navailable on the respective \u2018I Am Digital\u2019 Facebook page for each country. This\ncontent is designed to build awareness and spark conversations to promote\npositive and respectful online experiences and encourage appropriate behaviour.\nIt also helps young people to better learn how to identify, avoid and address\nharmful content and activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2020, Facebook in\npartnership with Save the Children Fiji established a Pacific Advisory Group to\nhelp shape the campaign. The group is comprised of Government and youth representatives\nfrom the four countries along with non-profit representatives and academics\nwith expertise in online safety and digital technology trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign resources can be found\non dedicated \u2018I Am Digital\u2019 Facebook pages for each country:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iamdigitalpac<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iamdigital.fiji<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IAmDigital.PapuaNewGuinea<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iamdigital.samoa<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IAmDigital.Tonga<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiji\/Samoa\/Tonga: Sofaia.Koroitanoa@savethechildren.org<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papua New Guinea: askim@savethechildren.org.au<\/a>  or catherine.bedford@savethechildren.org.au<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-ENDS-<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday 1st February 2021 Save the Children is partnering with Facebook to deliver a campaign in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga titled, \u2018I Am Digital\u2019, specifically directed at issues that concern children and young people from local communities and where they are seeking reliable support. The \u2018I Am Digital\u2019 social media online safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2707,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705\/revisions\/2707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}