Consumer protection
& community empowerment
and good digital citizenship
Singapore is one of the most wired countries in the world. Our mobile penetration rate is 156 per cent1, and 84 per cent2 of our households have broadband access. While this connectivity brings about convenience and opportunities, it also brings with it new challenges. Cybercrime, cyberbullying and other forms of irresponsible online behaviour are issues that many connected societies, including Singapore, are grappling with.
As a result, there is a need to raise awareness of these issues, cultivate good digital citizenship and foster a discerning and responsible online community.
In this regard, MDA provides secretariat support to the Media Literacy Council (MLC)3, which was set up in 2012 to spearhead public education programmes on media literacy and cyber wellness.
The MLC has introduced various programmes and initiatives to reach out to multiple stakeholders through partnerships and the creation of educational resources for students, teachers and parents. It has made the global initiative, Safer Internet Day, which is held in February every year, a marquee event in Singapore for public education. The 2014 edition, themed “Let’s Create a Better Internet Together”, was launched via a multi-platform campaign to promote values and encourage civil and responsible online interactions. In particular, the 2014 campaign raised the awareness of the Media Literacy Core Values of respect, responsibility, empathy and integrity, as well as skills such as discernment and the ability to inspire.
Working with the MLC, MDA also partnered the Ministry of Education (MOE) on the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) for students from primary schools to junior colleges. Based on a peer-to-peer leanring model, the CWSAP is a student-led initiative to promote cyber wellness peer advocacy and influence. MDA hopes to bring the programme to newer heights to cultivate a new generation of young leaders and ambassadors who will champion and advocate media literacy projects in their schools.
MDA is also co-secretariat to the Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Steering Committee (ICSC). To date, the ICSC has supported campaigns and programmes which reached out to over 242,000 students, parents and teachers in public education on cyber wellness.
(Photo courtesy of MOE)
1 http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Telecommunications
2 http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals