Smart Axiata Co., Ltd | Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards
 

The Digital Literacy and Internet Safety Pilot Programme

Smart Axiata Co., Ltd

INTRODUCTION

The Digital Literacy and Internet Safety Pilot Programme aims to bring awareness about internet safety and mobile internet literacy to young Cambodians through on-ground workshops and a public awareness video campaigns under four thematic areas: internet surfing, password strengthening, online fraud and digital citizenship. Additionally, the project also equips participants with digital skills thus enabling them to create positive impact in their communities. The project was implemented with strong support from Google, GSMA, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and importantly the alumni of the SmartEdu University Student Development Programme. This project started in November 2019 and finished in March 2020. It is part of the CSR agenda overseen by the Corporate Affairs Department at Smart Axiata.

FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY

Prior to conducting ground activation workshops, all mentors, facilitators, and speakers received a train-the-trainer from Google and Smart Axiata. Following the conclusion of the on-ground workshops, students formed groups to submit videos as part of a competition to promote awareness about the concepts they have learned. This project is intimately connected to the Company’s goal of being a responsible mobile service provider. Smart has embarked on a strong sustainability agenda that also includes a new component about digital literacy and internet safety. With more and more Cambodians being able to access the internet, it is vital that they are made aware about the positive impact it can bring if utilised correctly while at the same time understanding the risks that may be exposed especially to the young.

ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT

Overall, the project directly impacted around 1,500 students and teachers from 9 high schools at 3 provinces via the on-ground activation workshops. This does not include the indirect beneficiaries which would be multiple times. The four videos on social media reached 1.4 million people with 406,221 views through a structured digital video campaign. Through the student video competition, 11 additional videos were shortlisted from all the submissions. These videos reached 1.4 million people with around 344,000 views on YouTube and Facebook. Based on the post-workshop surveys that were carried out with all the workshop participants, 82.2% understood better that passwords should not be shared with anyone while 93% became more aware of online issues and being a responsible citizen online. The students’ understanding about online fraud increased by 20% while their awareness about privacy and data protection increased by 25%.

FUTURE DIRECTION

Future plans for expansions include scaling the focus of project to cover more digital tools and concepts in workshops and supplementary materials. On top of this, based on comments from the post-workshop surveys and practical lessons learnt during the pilot programme, the structure of the workshop will be modified to ensure effective learning takes place. To raise public awareness, the digital video campaign will be extended into a series to explore the dangerous exposure of children to online contents and online predators. This campaign will educate the public, especially parents, on the dark sides of social media while also introducing different services that work on child protection. Additionally, the Company is looking to engage with more partners to launch an interactive website that will be used as an educational platform for children, parents and teachers on digital literacy and citizenship.
Smart Axiata Co., Ltd. Is Cambodia’s leading mobile telecommunications operator, currently serving over 8 million subscribers under the “Smart” brand. The Company is part of Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s largest telecommunications groups. The Company is also rapidly transforming itself into a digital lifestyle brand, having introduced many innovative offerings and lifestyle entertainment value propositions.
www.smart.com.kh