The first Nigerian Teen Cyber Festival, organized by the Child Cyber Protection Organization (CC-Pro) and partners is scheduled to hold on the 26th and 27th of May, 2021.It will take place both virtually and onsite at the Crest Hotel, Jos, Plateau state and will kick start from 8 in the morning on the 26th and 27th respectively.
The theme for the event, “Harnessing the Power of Young People Online in the Digital Age” is aimed at creating mass awareness on teens and Cyberspace at various institutions across the state. Statistics made available by the Cyber Security Alliance states that 7 out 10 internet users that are teenagers are victims of cyber bullying and therefore is aimed at creating and implementing broad -reaching education and awareness to empower young users both at home and school with the information they need to keep themselves, their systems and sensitive information safe and secure online.
The Africa Digital Economy Forum (ADEF) has announced its support for the event. The President Olusola Teniola made a statement in Lagos last week saying “The Forum’s endorsement for the Festival creates a huge part of its objectives to draw awareness among the younger population”.He also said that, “Raising awareness to improve capacity, investments, policies and regulations for the population should be encouraged to foster the drive for Africa in digitalizing its economy”.
Experts from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the Plateau State ICT Development Agency (PICTDA) are expected to lead deliberations on cyberspace and young people from the government’s perspective. The Festival is also supported by UNESCO and the Plateau State government through PICTDA.
This festival will educate teens on the acquisition of digital literacy skills that are needed to live, learn and work in a society where communication and access to information is key especially with the rapid evolution of the digital world.
According to the CCPRO, the festival will feature a number of young tech founders and software developers, including, Miss. Jamila Idris, Miss. Sonia Atsen of Jos Tech Girls, Miss. Maryam Aminu Jamiu, Samuel Adebayo Oluwaseyi, Kayili Precious Solomon, Clinton Imaro, Seth Micheal of UnifiedCamp and Daniel Ogbuti who will give presentations on various topics related to the theme of the event and share their journeys and ideas in the cyber field with the audience.The First Nigerian Teen Cyber Festival is holding as part of activities to observe this year’s International Child’s Day.
