IAMAI & Facebook Partner on Internet Safety Education for Students

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Facebook have joined hands to launch Internet Safety Education programs for Students between the age group of 13 and 17 years.

The campaign, which is focused on building community awareness on this developmental issue, will also train Educators, and Child safety NGOs about Internet safety practices.

As a part of the first phase, the program will be rolled out across Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad to cover 18000 students across approximately 30 schools and institutions immediately, and conclude with a national conference in Delhi addressing online child safety issues later this year. The program will be extended to other Indian cities through 2014.

Subho Ray, President, IAMAI, said, "IAMAI has been running the Safe Surfing campaign in India for past 4 years covering 625000 students across India. We are delighted that Facebook has come forward to support this critical initiative and enrich the campaign with their global learning's. "

Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy, Facebook India, said, "Safety is an ongoing conversation between parents and kids, teachers and students, companies and the people who use the Internet. We encourage parents to have conversations about safety and technology early and often, in the same way that they talk to their kids about being safe at school, in the car, on public transportation or playing sport. Let's keep talking about safety so that we can all make smart choices, wherever we are. We are glad to collaborate with IAMAI on this important initiative."

Facebook will develop the content and training materials and translate the same in regional languages. As part of the partnership, Facebook safety specialists will work with IAMAI trainers on safety content and participate in these training programs.

Facebook is part of a larger online safety community. It works with a diverse set of experts and organisations devoted to online safety. In order to bring the best safety resources, Facebook has created a Safety Advisory Board that advises the company on safety issues.

The members of that board are leading Internet safety organisations such as Childnet international, ConnectSafely, The Family Online Safety Institute, The National Network to End Domestic Violence and WiredSafety.

This initiative combines the above aspects with IAMAI's experience of strong onground program implementation carried on in the school pemises called Safe Surfing. This programme will train children, teachers and parents on how to reap the maximum benefits from internet while not compromising on their safety and security

About IAMAI:
The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] is a young and vibrant association with ambitions of representing the entire gamut of digital businesses in India.

It was established in 2004 by the leading online publishers, but in the last eight years has come to effectively address the challenges facing the digital and online industry including mobile content and services, online publishing, mobile advertising, online advertising, ecommerce and mobile & digital payments among others.

Nine years after its establishment, the association is still the only professional industry body representing the online and mobile VAS industry in India.

With a membership of 130 plus Indian and MNC companies, and offices in Delhi and Mumbai, the association is well placed to work towards charting a growth path for the digital industry in India.