WCD Ministry, Facebook To Make Social Networking Safe For Women, Children

The Social-networking Giant Facebook, in its efforts to make social networking safe for children and women, announced several initiatives at the second edition of Facebook’s South Asia Safety Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The 2^nd edition of South Asia Safety Summit was organized by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Facebook. The summit was organised to highlight the issue of safety while individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform.

Among the initiatives are a content partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), formation of an ideal “Internet Consortium” to propose recommendations for online child safety and the launch of “We Think Digital” website, the company’s global digital literacy programme, which was launched by the Union Minister of WCD, Smriti Irani.

“We Think Digital” is an online education portal with interactive tutorials aimed at helping people think critically and share thoughtfully online. The topics covered include privacy, safety, security, digital discourse and knowing your footprint. “

“While the internet opens doors for women and children to learn and gain knowledge, it also comes with the responsibility to ensure their safety, and to enable them to express their views without any apprehension. Our constant effort has been to progress the cause of equal opportunity for women and ensure a safe environment for children,” said Smriti Irani to the gathering at the summit.

Participants from over 100 organisations from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and India had attended the summit.