DepEd launches cyber safety campaign for children

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has launched a campaign aimed at educating education stakeholders on how to keep children safe online.

The project, called #BeCyberSafe, consists of three major components and is launched in collaboration with Stairway Foundation and the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines. 

Its components include Project for Keeps, Dalir-Eskwela and Chatbot, which are aimed at ensuring that the scope of child protection extends to the cybersphere.

Project for Keeps is a social media movement created to empower children, with the help of their guardians, to take control of their online profiles and keep themselves safe from online strangers and predators.

Coined from the words daliri (finger) and eskwela (school), Dalir-Eskwela offers a range of educational materials including videos, brochures, and posters that discuss issues on cybersafety, from cyberbullying to online chatting, gaming, and pornography. 

DepEd said this component of the #BeCyberSafe project emphasizes the power of the fingers in connecting a child to the online world, as well as the threats posed by this online connectivity.

Meanwhile, the Chatbot, which is still in its development phase, is a social media page with a messaging feature which will be used as a helpline where child protection issues faced in the cyberspace may be reported and addressed.

“The launching of this program is certainly very welcome because we are now recognizing that harm can be inflicted not only in physical ways, not only by the destruction of our infrastructure and our facilities, the books that we read, what we teach our children, but also through cyberspace,” Edication Secretary Leonor Briones said. 

“We extend our gratitude to our partners for helping us ensure the best interest of our learners,” she added.  

Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Josephine Maribojoc said the project is in line with DepEd’s child protection policy that aims to nurture learners in a safe environment not only in the physical sphere, but also the cyberspace. 

“In this digital age when children socialize and spend considerable time online, DepEd recognizes that their right to protection against violence and abuse should also be realized online,” she said. 

“A child in the cyber world is a whole person with dignity, as much as a child in the physical world. Let us respect and protect each one of them, wherever they may be,” she added. 

Various government agencies, including the Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Commission on Human Rights and the Council for the Welfare of Children, has also expressed their commitment and support to the initiative.