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Tag: Women Community in Africa

  • WCA calls for more online protection of children

    WCA calls for more online protection of children

    As part of ongoing efforts to ensure  children across Nigeria are protected from internet vices, Women Community in Africa (WCA), a coalition of  civil society groups  that addresses  social issues, especially those that affects women and children in  communities, have held a summit  on cyber safety in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The group focused the summit with the theme,” Cyber Safety: Empowering Families in the Digital Age”, on seeking a collaborative approach between educators, parents and leaders to ensure that Nigerian children are well protected from  internet violence and other vices.

    The WCA annual summit focuses on any social issue affecting the Nigerian child, women and families and then assemble stakeholders to seek a common front  towards addressing it, and the 2024 edition held on Thursday at the NAF Conference Centre ,was focused on safe internet for children.

    Chairperson  of the summit organising committee, Dr Maimoona  Salim, said the  summit was  an opportunity to rally all Nigerians of goodwill  towards ensuring that  children are shielded from  cyber harms.

    “The objective of this summit is to make sure that you, the children, are safe wherever you are, especially in the virtual space and we are also looking at how it impacts you, your community, and your parents.

    “ Among other things, this an opportunity   to  draw the attention of  the international community to  the dangers of what lurk s in  the devices with our children, pervading the internet ,our children and  their mental health, and the  issue  of equity as it relates to the cyberspace,” she said.

    Global President of WCA,  Dr Adetoun Dally , said the summit was part of the group’s  campaign against abuses and violence against children on the internet and to  sensitise stakeholders on their roles.

    According to her, the WCA is focused on addressing social issues and vices in local communities, has commenced advocacy for  the safety and well-being of children on the internet.

    She said WCA is an advocacy arm of Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiative (BMCCI), a gender-focused NGO devoted to social, economic and educational development and mentoring in communities.

    Dally said,“today we have all kinds of platforms and we want to emphasize the need that the whole family must know how to stay safe in this digital age.Digital age is our reality and we cannot shy away from it, we are all engrossed, we are all involved.

    “There is nobody on the fence because once you have your handsets, once you connect on social media to pass a message or get entertained, you are part of this digital world.

    “It is unarguable that the family is a very important part of the society, is the nucleus of the society, and that is what has called for this family meeting,” she said.

    The Chairman Board of Trustee of BMCCI,  Mr Ademola Kasumu said  the summit was an effort to  urge stakeholders to wake up to the negative realities confronting children in the cyberspace.

    “As we gather here today, I want to emphasize that cyber safety is not just a technical issue, but a human rights issue. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that our families, especially our children, are protected from risks and harms associated with digital world.  

    “The theme of this summit “Cyber Safety: Empowering Families in the Digital Age” is a call to action for all of us.

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    “We must recognize that the digital world is a double-edged sword that offers  immense opportunities  for education, connection and growth, but also poses significant risks to our privacy, security and well-being.

    “As leaders, policymakers, parents and caregivers, we have a moral obligation to empower our families with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly.

    “This summit is projected to explore the world of cyber safety and its inherent dangers to the young ones, and it promises to expand your mental horizon,” he said.

    The summit had in attendance heads of organisations from both the public and private sectors, Civil Society Groups, members of the diplomatic community parents and students from different schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), among other stakeholders.

  • Women community holds summit on safe internet for children

    Women community holds summit on safe internet for children

    Women Community in Africa (WCA), a coalition of  civil society groups  that addresses  social issues, especially those that affects women in  communities, has called for a collaborative approach between educators, parents and leaders  to ensure that Nigerian children are protected in the cyberspace  as it sets to hold  Cyber Safety Summit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The group  made the call  on Friday in Abuja  during a news conference to unveil  its  programme for the 2024 edition of  its  annual summit with the theme, “Cyber Safety: Empowering Families in the Digital Age.”

    The  WCA summit is a trademarked programme under the Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiative ( BMCCI),  a gender-focused NGO  in Nigeria, devoted to the  social, economic and educational development, counseling  and mentoring of especially young  persons  in rural  and urban  communities.

     Mr Ademola Kasumu, Chairman Board of Trustee of BMCCI, said  as part of its avowed commitment to sustain the call for safe internet for children the group was  set to hold the WCA  summit  on October . 10 in the FCT will bring together,students, teachers, parents,  community leader, policy makers and  other stakeholders.

     According to him, 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.

    “It   has dark underbelly has ravaged countless lives, leaving scars that may never fully heal.This summit is an effort to  tighten our  belts or wrappers as the case maybe  as African mothers/parents  to save our world from  the threatening  consequences of the cyberspace .

    “We must unite and join forces to protect our children from the clutches of cyber threats, ensuring they don’t become  collateral damages in this digital age.

    He  added: “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.”

    Also,  the Global President of WCA, Dr  Adetoun Dally,  said as Nigeria navigate 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.

    “So 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 and that  is why we want to speak out because it is a   concern,” she said.

    Dr Maimoona  Salim, chairperson  of the WCA 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.

    She pledged that “We will take messages from the summit and   have a program that will enlighten children in schools and in communities.”

    In her remarks, the chairperson, WCA Legal Committee, Barr Jade  Olise, lamented thata lot of Nigerians  do not know that  the Cyber Crimes Act exists.

    She said the   law would be simplified in pamplets for distribution to students, parents and other   participants at the summit.

    “We have also put in how to report a cybercrime and so all of that is what will culminates into the simplified version of the Cyber Crimes Act that we have worked on and will be launched at the summit.

    “These are some of the ways to take the advocacy back to the schools so that our children can be well guided,” she said.