Saturday August 22, we held the inaugural Teens online safety workshop which was attended by teens and parents. The workshop was structured in two separate sessions, one for parents and the other for the teenagers aged 13-19.
The trainers and panelists at the workshop were:
Njeri Wangari who is our Director of Training and outreach. She runs a mummy blog at www.afromum.com. She was handling the Parents session.
Magunga Williams blogs at magunga.com. He handled the session with the teens session. Because he appeals to a youthful audience, he was able to connect with the teens.
James Wamathai co-facilitated the teens session with Magunga. Wamathai is a lifestyle blogger at hapakenya.com.
Philip Ogola, the Digital Humanitarian, he is a Digital Media consultant for the UNHCR and the African Digital Footprint ambassador. He had a session with the teens and was part of the panel during the joint session that was held in the afternoon. He offers talks to students in high schools and colleges responsible internet use.
Victor Kiyapi, is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya practicing in the Kenyan Bar. He has over five years’ experience in legal practice and has a keen interest in the interface between development, governance, human rights and technology. He was part of the joint panel discussion.
The workshop which was interactive generated lots of conversations on teens online safety. The discussions were under the hashtag, #TeensOnline. Here are samples of the tweets.
Dear Kenyan teens, do not upload inappropriate pictures that will define your digital footprint and end up messing you up #TeensOnline
— SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) August 22, 2015
Parents are the best resource for keeping their kids safe and their first step should be to educate themselves on social media. #TeensOnline — Henry M. (@hmaranga) August 22, 2015
I am loving the #TeensOnline conversation. I fear for my 18yo bro in this online village we live in.
— Nyokafi (@NyokabiWainaina) August 22, 2015
The first documented KE case that we have seen was the recent one involving police sharing nude photos of a high school student #TeensOnline
— AfroMum (@Afro_Mum) August 21, 2015
What was your reaction to the naked girl on social media? Some laughed, others shared. What happens to the girl? #TeensOnline — BAKE (@BAKE_ke) August 22, 2015
@BAKE_ke Personally I was reporting and blocking anyone who was sharing those photos, it was NOT fair to the lil girl at all #TeensOnline
— TMwangemi (@TeeMwangemi) August 22, 2015
How many teens do we have online in Kenya? I believe #TeensOnline training is for them. Perfect mentorship program.
— SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) August 21, 2015
95% of teens have witnessed cyber-bullying while using their social media sites study by @pewresearch join me tomorrow on #TeensOnline
— Digital Humanitarian (@PhilipOgola) August 21, 2015
October 2012 Amanda Todd hanged herself because of cyber bullying. #TeensOnline
— BAKE (@BAKE_ke) August 22, 2015
Among the participants at the workshop was Fred Kiiru, Authour of What Kills Students and motivational Speaker to high school students. “I have gained a wealth of knowledge to add to my talks to students, thanks to the teens Online workshop”, he said.
This was an eye opener to both the teens and their parents as they were informed on internet apps, cyber bullying, digital footprints and responsible internet use. There were also lots of educative videos on the themes covered that the participants watched.
The #TeensOnline conversations continued on to Monday as Citizen TV’s Monday Special discussion topic was Children and Technology.
Online safety cannot be over emphasized, especially when it comes to teenagers who are oblivious of the dangers they expose themselves to. This is why we look forward to the December holidays to organize a similar camp. Until then, make sure you are safe online.