Vodafone Qatar discusses knowledge transfer opportunities

The delegation visited Qatar recently and met with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, ictQatar, Reach Out to Asia, Family Consulting Centre, Social Rehabilitation Centre (Al-Aween) and Mada (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre).

The delegation included Bernard Agius and Mark Spiteri of the Malta Communications Authority, managers of Information and Society and the BeSmartOnline! (BSO) project, and Janice Richardson, senior adviser of the Insafe Network and European Schoolnet.

The delegation, led by Dana Haidan, head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability at Vodafone Qatar, heard from the key Qatari stakeholders on how Qatar is addressing Internet safety and how the Net is impacting minors and their families in Qatar, and also shared Maltese and European experiences in the field.

The delegation also discussed the role civil society and the private sector play in Qatar’s national initiatives. Additionally, the delegation presented strategies undertaken in Malta and Europe over the past 12 years to protect and support children, youths, parents and society at large and showcased activities spearheaded by the Insafe Network and BSO project, as case studies.

Some of these activities and initiatives comprised school lessons on digital citizenship and footprint for 10-15-year-olds, talks for parents at local councils, a helpline for advice on online safety, ChildWebAlert - a 24/7 hotline service that offers the public to anonymously report child abuse related content, information days on Internet safety that happens during national activities such as World Children’s Day, Spring Festival Malta and the Bicycle Marathon, professional development sessions for professionals working with children, collaboration with MCAST arts and design section for students studying for an arts and design course with a number of resources on the theme, “Flimkien man-nanniet fuq il-komputer” - a competition held to mark Safer Internet Day 2012 targeting children aged 10 to 12 years and their grandparents at which children were encouraged to do an activity with a grandparent using a computer, and a Youth Panel that empowers young people to voice their opinions as well as share their ideas on how to create more effective awareness about Internet safety.

The Youth Panel also acts as the national champion for positive content and participates in the wider pan-EU Youth Panel.

Haidan said, “We are very honoured to host such an esteemed delegation with considerable knowledge in the space of digital parenting.”

On behalf of the BeSmartOnline! project and the Malta Communications Authority, Mark Spiteri thanked Vodafone and all the Qatari entities for hosting the delegation and for giving them the opportunity to learn from their best practices in the field. He said “this visit has been an invaluable opportunity to observe Qatar’s bold strategy that seeks to balance between promoting ICT as an integral part of life and education, while also securing a safe online environment for the wellbeing of the younger users”.

For more information on AmanTECH, visit www.vodafone.qa/AmanTECH