In line with its mission to create a culture that addresses cyber bullying and safe internet usage, after an initial first successful session, du held its second educational session on cyber safety awareness to 120 students at AMLED School in Al Quoz. The du Technology, Risk and Security Management Team (TSRM) spoke to primary school students in grades four and five, showed videos and conducted engaging activities, with the aim to build children’s critical-thinking skills related to internet usage, and help them identify dangers online.
“At du, as a telecom operator, we believe that education on cyber-safety is of great importance in the UAE. The internet can be immensely entertaining and educational but it can also pose many hazards. Therefore, children need to be more aware of how to stay safe online, which we highlighted last year in our #PostWisely campaign. At du, we believe children should also know that parents, teachers, and government authorities can all play a big role to ensure cyber safety,” said Walid Kamal, Senior Vice President – Technology Security & Risk Management, du.
He added, “As a provider of internet services we are constantly working on improving cyber safety and security. This also includes educating our customers, students, and all of UAE’s residents on this important issue. The du Cyber Security Conference and Hackathon are some of our key initiatives in this area where we educate and discuss the threats posed by cybersecurity, and the opportunities it provides for technological development.”
During the cyber safety awareness sessions du’s Technology, Risk and Security Management Team discussed important topics to students aged eight to twelve years old; these included internet safety, cyberbullying, social media, the importance of reporting bad behaviour, and self-image and identity. du aims to conduct further cyber safety awareness sessions at other schools across the UAE.
In line with du’s mission to create a culture of responsibility, the telecom successfully launched its #PostWisely campaign in November 2016. The campaign showed real-life examples and creative story-telling to shock the audience about the perils of oversharing on the internet, and how individuals can be more responsible about the information they post. The campaign videos have been viewed close to 5 million times on the du YouTube channel alone, and received numerous mentions in the media and from the general public.
Source: https://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/du-educates-students-importance-cyber-safety-uae-1047720