Google, yesterday, announced the launch of a $1million pan-African Google.org fund to support innovative ideas around privacy, trust and the safety of families online across sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria positioned to tap hugely from the fund to develop its tech and innovation industry.
\nThe Policy and Government Relations Manager, Google Nigeria, Seember Nyager, said at the 16th annual Safer Internet Day (SID) \u201cthat Google was committed to a safe internet for children, as well as the empowerment of organisations who shared the commitment.
\n\u201cThe fund will be administered by a third-party partner on behalf of Google.org, and we will be sharing details on application criteria and deadlines soon.
\n\u201cGoogle would look to support initiatives across Africa and be administered by a trusted partner.
\n\u201cDetails of how to apply, deadlines and criteria will be made available in due course.\u201d
\nAccording to her, beyond our own products, we also want to help kids learn how to be safer, more confident explorers of the online world.
\n\u201cToday, we join the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to hold SID events in 36 states towards empowering teachers, parents and younger children to better understand and navigate the Web with confidence.
\n\u201cGoogle also announced \u2018Be Internet Awesome\u2019, in Nigeria, Abuja, Netherlands, South Africa today, and earlier in Kenya, which is a landmark child online safety programme,\u2019\u2019 she said.
\nThe Head of Brand and Reputation, Africa at Google, Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, said that Internet Awesome seeks to help minors explore the internet safely and confidently.
\nShe said that Google was excited to strengthen the work being done with parents and children in the field of online safety in Nigeria.
\nShe said in addition to Family Link, which allowed parents to help their families develop healthy digital habits; Google also launched Password Checkup exactly one year ago to empower users to check and strengthen online security settings for their Google Accounts.
\n\u201cBe Internet Awesome teaches kids important skills for surfing the internet, like how to recognise potential online scams, using the internet securely and safeguarding valuable information.
\n\u201c(It teaches) how to identify and refrain from cyber-bullying, as well as what to do when encountering questionable content on the internet.\u2019\u2019
\nThe CEO, Public Private Development Centre (PPDC), Nkemdilim Ilo, said that SID brings schools, parents, teachers and industry together to make sure children have the power, information and resilience they need to make safe and informed choices online.
\nShe said that this year, PPDC was particularly pleased with the support of Google and the Government.
\nAccording to her, we have been able to infuse online safety courses into the Nigerian school curriculum.
\n\u201cThis will teach children the practical and emotional skills they need as they navigate their way through the digital world.\u201d
\nThe Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari, said that \u201cSID provides a great opportunity to promote internet safety across a range of audience and it\u2019s an event which the agency strongly support.\u2019\u2019
\nAbari, represented by Mette Edokobi, said that the agency was really glad to collaborate with Google and our reliable partners, PPDC, to launch \u201cThe Digital Parenting Initiative\u201d.
\nHe said it was a programme aimed at educating guardians, teachers and families on online tools that bring families together to learn, have fun and be safe online.
\nAccording to him, we are excited to strengthen the work we have been doing with parents and children in the field of online safety in Nigeria.
\nThe SID was organised by the Public and Private Development Centre, National Orientation Agency in partnership with Google.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google, yesterday, announced the launch of a $1million pan-African Google.org fund to support innovative ideas around privacy, trust and the safety of families online across sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria positioned to tap hugely from the fund to develop its tech and innovation industry. The Policy and Government Relations Manager, Google Nigeria, Seember Nyager, said at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n