Singapore’s inaugural participation in Safer Internet Day (2013 Factsheet)
05 Feb 2013
About the Safer Internet Day (SID)
The Safer Internet Day (SID) is a public awareness initiative started in 2004 by the Insafe Network, a network of Awareness Centres funded under the Safer Internet Programme of the European Commission. The SID takes place on the second day of the second week of the second month every year and seeks to promote safe and responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people. Currently in its 10th run, the SID has gone global with worldwide participation by over 100 countries. Participants and SID Committees are encouraged to come up with new and innovative ideas to celebrate Safer Internet Day in their respective countries.
Each year, Insafe aims to be at the forefront of emerging online issues and chooses to focus on a topic that reflects current concerns. The theme for SID 2013, which falls on 5 February 2013, is “Online Rights and Responsibilities – Connect with Respect”.
Singapore has joined the international community in celebrating the Safer Internet Day (www.facebook.com/SaferInternetDaySG) for the first time in 2013. The Media Literacy Council (MLC) has lined up several new initiatives and organised a series of events to mark Singapore’s inaugural participation in this global event.
New Media Literacy Initiatives
i) Media Literacy Badge Programme
The Media Literacy Badge programme aims to engage students through their school co-curricular activities. For a start, the programme is supported by the Boys’ Brigade (BB). It has adopted the Media Literacy Badge as a key component of its existing badge programmes that teach practical skills and inculcate values to students.
The Media Literacy Badge Programme seeks to infuse media literacy skills into the Boys’ Brigade’s values-driven approach to nurturing youths. It is delivered through a mixture of classroom-based sessions and activity-based tasks that test students’ knowledge-application skills. These accompanying tasks provide students with the opportunity to share best practices and engage their peers to be astute media and digital users.
The programme comprises four levels - from Primary 4 to Secondary 3 - and students will be awarded a Media Literacy badge upon completion of each level. Along the way, students will receive guidance and support from the BB Juniors and Seniors programme volunteers.
The Juniors Level, designed for primary students, has piloted at Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) on 23 January 2013. Participants were introduced to safe and responsible ways of exploring cyber space and understanding cyber wellness. Another pilot will be conducted to fine tune the programme and practical activities before the Badge programme is eventually rolled out to all of the Boys’ Brigade cohort of about 2,400 Boys across 44 primary schools in April 2013.
Topics covered in the Juniors programme include:
1. Netiquette & Values
2. Cyberbullying
3. Game Addiction
4. Sharing of Personal Information
5. Dealing with scams, hoaxes, trolls, advertisements and online information
6. Cyber Security
The Seniors programme (Levels 1-3) meant for secondary school students will be progressively rolled out to 4,000 Boys across 66 secondary schools in the latter part of 2013, focusing on the practical applications of media and digital literacy skills.
Through the programme, students will gain key insights into the media and digital world so that they will be able to more effectively navigate information on digital media platforms as well as have a greater understanding of social networking behaviours. In addition, the programme seeks to hone the boys’ spirit of service to the community by infusing BB’s traditional values with digital projects.
The Media Literacy Badge programme is created in partnership with the Singapore’s Cyber Sports & Online Gaming Association (SCOGA). SCOGA created the learning modules and conducted the pilot session at Fairfield Methodist.
ii) Get ‘DigiSmart’
Jointly-developed by the Media Development Authority and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, and supported by the Media Literacy Council, DigiSmart is an application specially developed in support of SID 2013.
DigiSmart houses six sets of simple quizzes designed to test a young person’s media and digital IQ, and at the same time impart media literacy and cyber wellness in a fun and engaging way. Users can download the game from Apple’s App Store or visit the MLC website (see below) to play it on the web browser.
iii) MediaCorp collaboration
The Media Literacy Council has collaborated with MediaCorp to tap on popular personalities from the Channel 5 comedy series The Noose to promote responsible online behaviour through three educational videos.
Centred on the SID 2013 theme of “Online Rights and Responsibilities”, these five-minute clips tell the story of online actions and offline consequences with humour. The clips will be made available for public viewing on xinmsn.com as well as on the MLC website from 6 February.
In conjunction with Singapore’s inaugural participation in SID 2013, MediaCorp will be broadcasting a series of public education spots with the key message of “Think before you Click” in four languages across its TV channels from 30 January to 10 February. Channel 5 will also specially telecast two programmes related to issues in cyber space.
- Best of Crime Watch
This is a special episode on police investigations into cyber crimes and it will be aired on 5 February at 10pm. - Journey With Me
This is a new series that focuses on the work of social workers which premiered on 31 January 2013. The episode on Online Bullying, in line with the SID theme on “Connect with Respect”, will telecast on 7 February at 10pm.
iv) Launch of Media Literacy Website
To provide the public with easy access to useful information and resources on media and the Internet, the Media Literacy Council has also set up a new website at medialiteracycouncil.sg
SID Activities by MLC and supporting organisations
i) SID Opening Ceremony and Youth Conference
The MLC has rallied educational institutions such as ITE, Innova Junior College and Nanyang Polytechnic to mobilise their students to join the MLC in supporting SID.
At the opening ceremony for Safer Internet Day, ITE College East students showcased the theme of SID 2013 with a song that was specially composed and written by the students. The song, titled Make A Change was performed publicly for the first time. Another group of students also performed a special flash mob dance to communicate this year’s theme of “Connect with Respect” through their innovative dance moves. They plan to take their dance and message to shopping malls around Singapore to further spread the message.
In addition, Innova Junior College students produced a video that captured students’ views on online rights and responsibilities. Students from Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Interactive and Digital Media (SIDM) also created “Cyber Hero”, a 2D mobile puzzle game that teaches cyber wellness in a fun and casual way. The game is available on Googleplay.
ii) Inspirational Youth Conference
A Youth Conference aimed at challenging young people to think about what it means to be a responsible digital citizen through interactive discussions with our invited panelists was another highlight of Singapore’s participation in SID 2013. The Youth Conference comprised two panel discussion sessions and was open to secondary and tertiary students.
Track 1- I Write. I Shoot. I Publish. I Share. And then . . . ?
Track 1 featured the following notable online content creators, bloggers as well as online experts who discussed challenges in online communications and shared their thoughts on what it means to be responsible and informed participants of a participatory digital culture:
Mr. Dee Kosh
Popular video-logger in Singapore
http://www.youtube.com/user/sweetestkind
Miss Joey Ong
2012 Panasonic Best Y-Bloggist (SPH Singapore Blog Awards)
http://iisjong.blogspot.com
Mr. Felix Soh
Digital Media Editor, STOMP
Dr. David Tan
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS
Mr. Stevie Zeng
Youth Worker, TOUCH Cyber Wellness
Track 2 - I Think I Can!
Track 2 featured the following young people who have pursued their dreams and passions using the Internet. The MLC hopes that youths in attendance would be inspired to harness the possibilities of cyber space to make the world a better place:
Mr. Keith Tan
Co-founder, Startnow.sg
Mr. Aseem K Thakur
Co-founder of GIVE.sg
Prof. John Ure
Executive Director, Asia Internet Coalition
Mr. Edmund Tay
Finalist for 2012 SPH Blog Awards, Best Family Blog Category, MLC Member
http://edunloaded.com/
Ms Andrea Loh
Legal Associate – Harry Elias Partnership
iii) Public workshops at NLB libraries
To raise awareness of SID 2013 and promote safe online practices to the public at large, the Media Literacy Council and the National Library Board has jointly-hosted four special workshops for parents and their young children.
Details of the public workshops:
Date Time Venue Capacity
Fri, 1 Feb 7 – 8.30pm Bishan Public Library Programme zone 70
Sat, 2 Feb 4 – 5.30pm Jurong Regional Library Programme zone 100
Sun, 3 Feb 2 – 3.30pm National Library Building, Possibility Room 120
Tue, 5 Feb 7 – 8.30pm Tampines Regional Library Auditorium 195
At these special workshops, parents learnt info-literacy and search skills, and received tips on how they can be more effective in guiding their children’s use of the Internet. There were also demonstrations by Internet Service Providers (SingTel and StarHub) on the installation and customisation of internet filters and parental controls. Performances by the cast of MediaCorp’s Mat Yo Yo and Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer kept the children entertained.
For media queries, please contact the following officers who are the press liaison for the Media Literacy Council secretariat:
Winston Chai (Mr) | Tan Yiwen (Ms) |
Assistant Director, Regulatory Comms | Executive, Regulatory Comms |
Communications | Communications |
Media Development Authority | Media Development Authority |
Hp: 65 9726-3029 | Hp: 65 8183-3945 |
Email: Winston_Chai@mda.gov.sg | Email: Tan_Yiwen@mda.gov.sg |
About Media Literacy Council (MLC)
The Media Literacy Council works in partnership with industry, community and government to champion and develop public education and awareness programmes relating to media literacy and cyber wellness. In an increasingly interactive and participatory media landscape, the Council seeks to cultivate and encourage the public to become discerning media consumers with the ability to evaluate media content effectively, and use, create and share content safely and responsibly. It also advises the government on how to respond to emerging issues relating to Internet and media content.