With the help of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, TikTok and Zindagi Trust have announced an expansion of their partnership to promote awareness of digital safety.
About 50,000 beneficiaries will benefit from this renewed cooperation, which is a part of TikTok’s international efforts during Safer Internet Month, spread over 100 public schools in all of Pakistan’s provinces. A larger number of schools will have access to this campaign thanks to the Pakistan Telecom Foundation’s inclusion in this alliance.
The MoITT, who supported the Digital Safety program, was present at the signing ceremony between TikTok and Zindagi Trust. Almost 1800 students, teachers, and parents benefited from more than 20 workshops held in the first phase of this cooperation, which was started last year, at the two government schools chosen by Zindagi Trust: SMB Fatima Jinnah and Khatoon-e-Pakistan.
The workshops covered a wide range of topics related to staying safe online, including safety rules and the TikTok Community Standards.
“We are happy to extend our partnership with Zindagi Trust, especially after the impact we were jointly able to create around digital safety awareness during the first phase,” said Farah Tukan, Head of Government Relations and Public Policy – Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Pakistan, and South Asia at TikTok. This expansion is yet another positive step in maintaining the online security of our TikTok community in Pakistan.
“To honor the Safer Internet month, the government deems it a priority to actively work towards building safer digital spaces,” said Syed Amin UlHaque, the federal minister for IT and telecommunication.
The collaboration between Zindagi Trust and TikTok is a positive step in raising necessary knowledge and directing youth toward digital safety. To help our younger generation, we are eager to contribute value to this cooperation.
The National Information Technology Board’s Aisha HumeraMoriani, Additional Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We are totally dedicated to developing a cutting-edge digital infrastructure in Pakistan that guarantees a secure cyberspace and a supportive regulatory environment for everyone.
We hope to foster e-governance, transparency, and financial inclusion by assisting TikTok and Zindagi Trust in their relationship, despite the various difficulties and dangers that come with using the internet, such as data privacy, security, cybercrime, and fake news.
The Chief Academic Officer of Zindagi Trust, Dr. Aamna Pasha, continued, “At Zindagi Trust, we recognize that opportunities come with risks, and it is crucial when offering access and opportunities to our students that we also prepare and enable them to identify and manage any dangers. We are fortunate to have fantastic partners like TikTok who help us to continue our efforts to have an influence on public schools, which is why we are very proud of our relationship.
A digital safety toolkit will be created as part of the second phase of this joint venture to aid in educating kids, teachers, and parents about online safety. The toolkit will be a thorough manual with all the instructions you need to navigate the digital world properly using both interactive activities and theoretical knowledge. Along with teaching them responsible reporting and protection methods, specific strategies will be provided to address various online issues, such as cyberbullying, cyberharassment, scamming, fake news, etc.
These toolkits will be made available both digitally and during the digital safety workshops that will be held at various schools around Pakistan. To guarantee that awareness and learning continue beyond the current scope of the project, the Zindagi Trust team will additionally provide training and advice to public schools who seek to launch the safety toolkit in cooperation with TikTok.
Building trusting relationships between parents and students will be another crucial element to ensuring that students have dependable adults to turn to in case they get into problems online and that parents have an open view of their children’s online activities.
The workshops also aim to teach parents and teachers how to use security measures on websites like TikTok to protect their kids online. They will be instructed, for example, on how to use TikTok’s Family Pairing features, which let parents link their accounts with those of their children and adolescents to impose limits like Screentime Management, Restricted Mode, and Direct Messaging.