Developing Responsible Digital Citizens

A s you read this editorial in the digital format, the digital world has grown bigger than our real world. The trend in every walk of life indicates that digital life has a predominant place in our life. The pandemic has put the change at a faster pace. We, as a nation, could curb the threats of COVID-19 most effectively. Majority of the population is vaccinated. Economic and social life is getting back to normal. Thanks to the visionary leadership and efficient administration.

EXPO 2020- Dubai had a grand opening in October 2021 and will continue till March 2022. The EXPO, with the theme “Connecting Minds Creating Future” attracts futuristic and enterprising minds from all across the globe. Forest pinball, Play with whales, 4D print of live cells, Expo school programme, Expo University Programme are some of the attractions of Expo 2021 for students and the education community, giving exposure to the wonders of the world that keeps evolving before them.

Digital Majlis, envisioned and created by Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, is bringing bright minds to a platform of discussions and dialogues on addressing human challenges through technology and innovation. Digital Majlis brings out original thoughts and extraordinary solutions.This year, the theme of Digital Majlis is “AI and the future of Government”. We are excited to see how these discussions are leading to solutions that transform the future of governance.

It’s a matter of great pride that Higher College of technology has the first 120 students trained under the prestigious ‘ResilientMe’ pilot project of the SESA Ecosystem. ResilientMe focuses on creating a unique digital and localised environment to help its members to create a very specific self awareness and inculcate social emotional competencies. This is the first step towards imparting 21st century skills to our students.

ESAFE has collaborated with Abu Dhabi University and other

ESAFE has also joined hands together with Takyon System Solutions Pvt Ltd, pioneers in providing technology solutions and learning experiences to schools and students to reach out to students and education institutions to sensitise them on being responsible while being online.

Such great achievements are strongly backed by the fundamentally strong education system and visionary policies UAE has in place.

Education shapes up us and our future. Education should essentially serve the purpose of shaping us to live the life that the ever changing world demands. Learning has evolved to a great extent that the age- old classroom method is taking a back seat.

Educators find it challenging to bring about the changes that the new normal is demanding. There are technologies and platforms that help them to cope up with the change.

But the questions are,

What is right?

To what extent is it right?

Where to set the boundaries?

To a great extent parenting is protecting. Till children reach an age of maturity, parents keep the protection shields open. Do we ever let our children go out into a busy street till we are sure that they can manage to be safe and find the way back home? Don’t we teach our children the manners of behaving in public?

It holds good when our children go online. Digital world opens up great opportunities. As we let our children explore more of the online world, we must realise and let them realise the associated threats. Misbehaviour in the digital world certainly has far reaching consequences. Some of the major threats to be aware and protected from are inappropriate relationships, inappropriate content, inappropriate behavior and misuse of personal data. Doesn’t it sound similar to threats of the real world? Well, the nature of threats is the same but the gravity of consequences differ in the online world

Our children will be spending more of their time online than in the real world. There is no way we can stop this. But we can certainly take measures to help them have a quality online life.

Is there a ‘one two three’ method to protect our children online? There are some methods and measures advocated. But there are no foolproof methods beyond criticism and short falls. As the digital world keeps evolving, the nature of threats keep changing. To address such concerns, safety measures must also keep evolving. For children, setting up a fair playground with boundaries is a good practise. Children must also be educated that the boundaries and restrictions are on their interest. Children should also be made a part of the process right from policy making and implementation.

No doubt, children are the future citizens and netizens. We are obliged to give the right values, perspectives and skills to transform them into responsible netizens.

As we bring out this edition of our magazine, we take a step further towards our vision of creating a safe online world for our children while they become responsible digital citizens. Together, let us move ahead and match the pace of the ever changing life. Let our future be brighter with greater achievements in all walks of life.

I hope you will enjoy reading our magazine and I welcome reading your views/comments addressed to: