South Africa Safer Internet Day Committee - Film and Publication Board
About our SID activities
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) ramped up its annual Safer Internet Day campaign in 2022, broadening the impact of key messages to South African communities. Aligning to the global theme of “Together for a better internet”, the FPB expanded the message by including a sub-theme: “All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online”.
In a week of activities leading up to SID itself, public education events were organised at 18 schools (including three special needs schools), while an energetic Twitter Space session with two Brand Ambassadors in the digital safety advocacy space rounded off the build-up on 7 February 2022.
The main SID event brought together 200 school children from 20 schools, along with their teachers and school social workers. Reflective of these hybrid times, the reach of the event was extended through a webinar and live stream on social media. Live coverage from two community radio stations, four radio interviews, and one television interview further amplified the reach of campaign messages.
Stakeholders from different segments of South African society added to the impact of the main event programme. A panel discussion with representatives from Meta, Google and TikTok provided insight into the role of internet/digital service providers in cyber safety, with curated questions from the children diving deep into the challenges that young people currently face online. Additionally, partners from the public and civil society sectors weighed in with presentations ranging from the positive aspects and benefits of the internet, promoting responsible online behaviour, and creating awareness of social issues that have been multiplied through digital platforms and social media.
