On Tuesday, 11th of
February of 2020, APLE Cambodia was proud to hold,in collaboration
withthe National
Committee for Counter Trafficking and the Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sport, the event “Together for a Better Internet” in order to promote the
safe use of digital technology, especially among children and young people.
The
event was held at
the National Education Institute in Phnom Penh,
with the support of ECPAT Sweden and was part of a Global Campaign promoted by
the INHOPE Network (a global network of member hotlines, leading the fight
against Child Sexual Abuse Materials online) and
supported by the European Commission.
Mr. Seila Samleang, APLE’s Executive Director,
welcomed close to 600 attendants from public and private schools in Phnom Penh,
government officials, youth and various NGO staff members and gave a brief
explanation of the background of the event: “The Safer Internet Day initially
was celebrated by only 14 countries within the European Union and Australia in
2004. In 2019, over 150 countries joined the global campaign”. Mr. Samleang
thanked the attendants and the government officials for their demonstrated
commitment and called for joint forces to protect children online.
Her Excellency Chou Bun Eng, State Secretary of the
Ministry of Interior and Permanent Vice Chairperson of the National Committee
for Counter Trafficking, talked to attendants about online safety and encouraged
safe use of the Internet.
Mr. Sithorn Chumno and Ms. Som Vichyini, child
representatives, spoke about the
importance of being good citizens and using the internet in its good
applications, such as information sharing and learning, yet being responsible
and cautious of harmful individuals that hide themselves behind screens.
Attendants played games, took pictures, painted their
faces and enjoyed an entire morning while learning about how to keep themselves
safe online, uploading pictures to their social media using the hashtag
#SID2020.
