Digital Citizenship Initiative to Raise Community Awareness of the Dangers of the Digital Environment

Project : Digital Citizenship and Online Protection Initiative

Eng. Hoda Dahroug, Minister's Advisor for Digital Community Development and Director of the Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development Project in Egypt, participated in the activities of the high-level discussion panel organized by the Synergies Center for International and Strategic Studies, in partnership with the Supreme Cybersecurity Council in Egypt (ESCC), through the Misinformation and Disinformation Forum, under the title "Combating Misinformation and Disinformation: Literacy, Awareness and Ethics".

During the discussions, the Minister's Advisor stressed the importance of raising community awareness and promoting ethical and responsible user behavior in light of the world's witnessing of the huge amount of information and data in the digital environment, and the multiplicity and diversity of sources of this information, which requires raising awareness among individuals, especially children and youth, about digital skills to deal with it in light of the increasing reliance on technology, the Internet and digital communications.
 In this context, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology - Egypt, has been keen to enhance the efforts made towards increasing community awareness and developing the digital capabilities of youth, enhancing the safe and positive use of technology, and qualifying for the digital transformation process, by launching the Digital Citizenship Initiative, in light of the association of the concept of building digital capabilities of individuals with the ability to use technology and digital media in a positive way, especially with regard to safe behavior on the Internet, and the necessity of empowering individuals with tools that enable them to select information and obtain support and protection during communication with the digital world and protection from its dangers in order to create a digital generation aware of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for living, learning, working, and creativity. The Minister's Advisor indicated that the initiative is based on introducing digital citizenship skills, raising awareness of the dangers of misinformation on the Internet, as well as inappropriate content and pornographic materials, exploitation and enticement via the Internet and electronic phishing, in addition to the misuse of social networking sites and the Internet, the dangers of electronic games, and how to protect personal information and data.  The initiative also seeks to cooperate with relevant partners and stakeholders on the importance of raising awareness of preventive measures against digital threats, and how to protect youth and adolescents from the dangers of the Internet, in order to achieve a safe and reliable electronic environment for society. The forum’s activities included three high-level discussion panels, including key stakeholders from various sectors, including government, media, and international development, with the aim of exploring effective and innovative strategies to deal with and combat misleading information proactively, and to promote policies that would address such challenges.