Overview
The Internet transformed our lives at an unprecedented rate and scale. For children in developed countries, the digital world is what they are born into and consume every single day. The Internet and its associated technologies are integrated into our daily lives across various of activities.
Zain considers online safety for children of great importance given that we provide access to connectivity for millions of children every day that are using digital devices across our footprint. The company is dedicated to playing a key role in addressing this especially that our region has the highest youth bulge, coupled with a rising broadband connectivity rate. At Zain, we are fully committed to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 which is dedicated to ending all forms of violence against children by 2030.
Zain aims to empower millions of young people across our footprint, enabling them to reach their maximum potential. Part of this objective is keeping them safe from harmful content and people, and one of the pillars of our Corporate Sustainability strategy, Generation Youth, contains initiatives that are dedicated to online safety for children. In addition, the company is striving to install mechanisms in place to block child sexual abuse materials in its networks and is looking to install parental controls within its networks.
Zain has been a major advocate on issues related to raising awareness of online safety through initiatives and collaborations that include the following:
Online Safety Booklet
Online Safety Booklet was developed in collaboration with the Zain esports department and UNICEF. The aim of the booklet is to educate children on the risks they may face while connected online or gaming. The booklet also provides recommendations on what to do and not to do while connected. It was developed for Zain esports to disseminate to any partner where children are key players, with the aim to communicate and instill the idea of playing online responsibly. The booklet is available in English and Arabic.
Internet Monsters
Zain Group launched a social media campaign entitled ‘Internet Monsters’ which aims to raise awareness on online safety for children and the risks children might face whilst being connected. The campaign was done in response of increased online activity due to the pandemic. The online campaign is based on classic fairytales to which modern twists have been added to depict what is occurring in the modern digital world. Zain depicted the telco’s take on the classic children’s stories of Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood, showcasing the villains in each story in a digitized manner, with them emerging from laptop screens, smartphones, tablets and TV screens (gaming). The digitization of the classic stories, reflected against a backdrop of different digital mediums, is meant to help children visualize and relate to the threats faced online, and understand that there are ways to counter them. The main objective of Zain’s online safety campaign is to reiterate the importance of this issue, and advocate for parents and caregivers to stay vigilant and aware of the risks, emphasizing that people are not always who they might present themselves to be online. Please visit our different social media channels (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) to learn more about Zain Group’s current campaigns.
Child Online Safety: Minimizing the risk of Violence, Abuse and Exploitation Online
In October 2019, Zain published a collective report on child online safety that highlights the risks children face and provides actionable recommendations to address abuse and exploitation that children may face online. The report was developed in partnership with Childhood USA and Zain Group’s leadership. Under the working group, Zain launched the Child Online Safety Universal Declaration, which confirmed the working group’s commitment to protect and educate children on how to navigate digital technologies and protect their privacy, security and safety online
Keeping up with the latest trends in this ever-changing digital world can be overwhelming for anyone, especially for parents and caregivers worrying about their children’s online safety. To address the challenge parents and caregivers currently face, Zain launched a social media campaign and an internal announcement promoting tools and resources that offer tips and advice on how they can keep their children safe online. Through the internal announcement, Zain communicated the resources to 6,200 employees across Zain’s operations.
We urge parents and caregivers to review the link below to learn more on how to protect your children online.