The Kenya Scouts Association, with the support of Google has launched the 2019 edition of Web Rangers, a youth program for online safety.
This was done at an event to mark Safer Internet Day under the theme Together for a better Internet. The initiative has been implemented in over 15 countries and was launched in Kenya in 2015.
This year, Web Rangers is expanding its reach and is targeting 90,000 scouts and 50,000 scout leaders in the country. Google is also collaborating with Kenya Scouts Association, CODE-IP Trust and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to launch an online safety manual.
Approximately 1.4 million scouts and 50,000 scout leaders and trainers are expected to receive the Kenya Scouts Association Online Safety Learners’ Handbook and Teachers’ Guide, which will provide counsel on how to safely navigate online platforms.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Youth Affairs Francis Owino, Prof Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs said that she considers the safe and responsible use of the internet a vital skill for the virtuous and patriotic youth of the 21st Century.
“Programs such as Google’s Web Rangers and its partnership with the Kenya Scouts Association are a very welcome complement to the work that parents, teachers, guardians and the Government do in building a better world for our children,” she said.
According to McAfee Security, 87 per cent of youth today have witnessed cyberbullying, while nearly 69 per cent have experienced it.
Moses Danda, the National Executive Commissioner, Kenya Scouts Association said: “The Kenya Scouts Association is the largest youth movement in Kenya, with the objective of developing young people into responsible, active citizens who will positively contribute towards societal progress. Under the Kenya Web Rangers Program, Kenyan Scouts will now be ambassadors of safe adventuring and exploration of not only the physical space but the online space as well.”
From cyberbullying to social networking, each year, Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging issues connected to usage of online platforms.
