Vodafone imparts lessons on online safety to children

Vodafone said it engaged more than 1,000 children, teachers and parents on the topic of online safety throughout the week-long Doha International Book Fair, which came to a close yesterday.
This came as part of Vodafone’s AmanTECH online safety programme, which aims to equip people with the right tools to navigate the digital world safely.
In line with Vodafone’s commitment to promote online safety across the community, the company has been rolling out its digital safety training across schools and key events in the country to reach a large number of people, Vodafone has said in a statement.
Vodafone used innovative digital technology to help visitors to its dedicated stand learn about how to stay safe on the Internet. The company created an augmented reality (AR) app, which brought everyday objects to life with overlaid informative videos and infographics.
The 25 AR learning activities included topics such as ways technology can help with education, how to stay safe using social media and how long it is good for a child to spend on screens each day.
Vodafone Qatar’s external affairs director, Mohamed al-Yami, said: “In today’s ever-expanding digital world, the subject of online safety has become critical to understand. Nearly half of Qatari children aged 8-15 years own a smartphone, and 76% of children aged 9-16 years have a social network profile. The average Qatari 9-16-year-old spends over three hours per day on the Net, which is a considerable amount of time spent by people of different age groups online.
“It is, therefore, crucial that we ensure youth are surrounded with a healthy technology-driven atmosphere and that we don’t miss out on the extraordinary benefits of this revolutionary era in human communications.”
Launched in 2014, AmanTECH has been working through a three-pronged approach to reach out to parents, teachers and children aged between five and 17 years with a focus on awareness, education and technical support.
The AmanTECH programme includes ongoing workshops, an online source for information and tips for parents at www.vodafone.qa/AmanTECH, where online magazines and a digital parenting guide is also available.