With the digital age comes its fair share of conveniences — and concerns. Between spam, scams, malware, misinformation, and more, there’s an increased need for online safety and literacy. Google, as a leader in the tech scene, is committed to the cause, as it hosted its first ever Safer with Google event in Singapore.
Graced by Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs, and Sun Xueling, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, it announced new and expanded initiatives to further educate and benefit individuals and businesses.
First on the list is the Be Internet Awesome programme, which was introduced last year in 2022. The effort seeks to promote digital literacy among vulnerable segments of society, such as young children and seniors, and has trained 50,000 parents and kids on cyberbullying, misinformation and privacy to date. Moving forward, Google will teach another 50,000 parents and children in navigating online safety alongside the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Media Literacy Council (MLC), bringing the total to 100,000 by 2024.
“I am heartened to hear that this programme has been successful in helping to equip our young people with positive cyberwellness and online safety habits. Having already connected with 50,000 parents and children in the first run, they next intend to teach over 100,000 Singaporeans how to be smart, alert, strong, kind and brave online over the next two years,” said Teo. “Overall, I am very encouraged to see ground-up efforts taking off in the spirit of the Digital for Life movement.”
The Digital for Life (DfL) movement represents the government’s 3P — Public, Private and People — sectors coming together to help Singaporeans reap the benefits of digital in all aspects of life. Other new programmes unveiled at Safer with Google include Project PRAISE, Creators for Impact, the YouTube Priority Flagger Programme (YTPFP), as well as Google Cybersecurity Certificates for businesses.
Project PRAISE, abbreviation for Police-RSVP Anti-Scam Engagement, seeks to raise scam awareness among seniors, with Google enhancing the training curriculum and provide additional training to over 100 RSVP Senior Volunteers who are trained PRAISE Advocates. Meanwhile, Creators for Impact marks its second year of engaging creators who want to use their voices to be agents of change.
For YouTube users, the YTPFP has got them covered. This initiative will onboard four organisations from Singapore — Limitless, Samaritans of Singapore, SG Her Empowerment, and TOUCH Community Services — to tackle online harms by training them to assess content that violates YouTube Community guidelines. These individuals can then flag content directly to Google, allowing problematic videos to be prioritised for review.
Rounding out the partnership effort is the Google Cybersecurity Certificates, handed out in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. Under the scheme, learners will be taught to identify risks, threats and vulnerabilities, and gain hands-on programming experience using Linux Commands, Python, and other security tools. Those who complete the course are required to sit for the CompTIA Security+ exam, the industry-leading certification for cybersecurity roles.
It wasn’t all presentations at the Safer with Google event, however. Interactive booths decorated the premises, offering a gamified experience for attendees that ranged from an arcade basketball challenge to a setup modelled after Dance Dance Revolution. Elsewhere, installations themed after iconic Singapore sights, such as the MRT and letterboxes in HDB estates, livened up the space.
Nothing like some fun to cap off the event!
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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Linette Lin
