MTN partners Mobile Web Ghana to empower young girls on cyber security

Ghana’s leading telecommunications company, MTN on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, partnered with Mobile Web Ghana to empower young school girls on cyber security.

The important event is part of activities to mark this month’s ‘Girls in ICT Day’. The day is a day set aside to encourage more girls to do Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses, IT course to be more precise.

In all, 60 young girls drawn from the Ebenezer Methodist Junior High School (JHS) and the Kwabenya Senior High School (SHS) were taken through various processes to open their eyes to the importance of staying safe online.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the capacity building programme, Mrs. Cynthia Mills who is an Economic Empowerment Adviser at the MTN Ghana Foundation stressed that in the midst of the high use of social media by young people, it is crucial to tool school girls on how to protect themselves.

“The reason for the girls in ICT is to empower the girls and this year’s theme is on “Access and Safety”. There are so many issues in cyberspace in terms of Facebook, WhatsApp, and other platforms. Girls are going through a lot of challenges and they are not aware of some of the Safety issues or where to report them,” she said.

Mrs. Cynthia Mills added, “So we decided to host this event with Mobile Web Ghana to enlighten the girls and empower them to know what they can do to take care of themselves when on the internet and also use the internet as a means of study because there is so much material that they can get apart from just learning in the classroom.”

On her part, the Director of Mobile Web Ghana, Madam Florence Toffa noted that the ‘Girls in ICT Day’ is important because “while we want to make the internet accessible to young girls, we also want them to be safe online.”

She advised young girls to stay protected online by using things like strong passwords, going through their settings, making sure the privacy settings are well done, and also using a two-factor authentication methodology to ensure they become safer online.

“My advise is that with the internet you can have the good and bad. But we want to encourage them that look, staying safe online depends on you. Don’t give out information, numbers, and personal details to people that you don’t know. It will be very helpful for your development,” Madam Florence Toffa urged the young girls.

Engaging the young school girls, Superintendent Sophia Eva Anim from the Former Police Unit [FPU]) charged beneficiaries of the event to always look out for red flags when interacting with people on social media.

She advised that anytime young girls feel threatened, scared, or feel someone has bad intentions about them, they should immediately walk away.

Superintendent Sophia Eva Anim further admonished girls to never advertise their bodies, especially private parts on social media.

“Confidently report what you experience on social media and you don’t like so that you receive help. At this age, your focus should be on your books. Control your lust and stay away from the bad things on social media.

“We are not saying you shouldn’t make friends but what you need are healthy friendships. Let us be careful. If you are feeling threatened by someone on social media please make sure you report it. Report to Police or DOVVSU,” she told the young school girls.

For MTN Ghana, this is just one of many engagements with young girls this year as part of its empowerment programme for young girls.

In the coming months, there are plans to visit schools to speak to the larger groups to remind young girls of the benefit of ICT, what they can do, and the careers that they can also go into.