Digicel Foundation is expanding its Safer Internet Together (SIT) programme to include parents and teachers, equipping adults with the knowledge and tools needed to guide and monitor children’s behaviour online.
The move follows a strong year for the initiative, which reached more than 34,000 students across 150 schools islandwide with lessons on digital citizenship and online responsibility.
SIT is a year-long programme designed to provide Jamaicans with the skills and awareness needed to navigate the digital world safely.
More than 50 parents and teachers have already participated in the programme, which addresses issues such as cyberbullying, parental controls, protection of personal information and data privacy.
The foundation plans to deepen its engagement in the coming months, hosting a series of targeted sessions this summer for school principals in Regions 1 and 4 of the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information. The initiative is intended to strengthen partnerships with school leaders while extending the programme’s reach within those communities.
It aims to extend the programme to a further 100 schools and stage 25 parent-teacher association sessions.
“The digital landscape is evolving at a pace that can be difficult for any parent or teacher to keep up with. Through SIT, we are ensuring that the adults in our children’s lives are not left behind. Adults need to be aware of what is happening online so that they can effectively monitor, guide, and protect the young people in their care,” said Charmaine Daniels, chief executive officer of Digicel Foundation.
STEM Builders Learning Hub, the programme’s implementing partner, delivers the digital safety curriculum in schools and community settings. Its chief executive officer, Kavelle Hylton, said experience in the field had underscored the need to involve parents alongside students.
“What we are finding is that parents sometimes are simply not aware of what their children are encountering online – the risks, the platforms, or the conversations happening in digital spaces. Educating them and guiding them is so important, because they are the ones who can guide our children at home. When we strengthen the awareness of parents and teachers, we multiply the impact of everything we do in the classroom,” said Hylton.
