By: Alieu Jallow
In collaboration with UNESCO, the Open Media Centre (OMC) commenced a two-day digital literacy training on Friday, October 20th, for 20 secondary school students from all regions of the country. These students will later conduct regional step-down training in November.
The initiative, titled “Strengthening the National Infrastructure for Peace to Promote Social Cohesion in The Gambia,” aims to empower young Gambians, fostering responsible, critical, and ethical online citizenship. This effort is part of a broader strategy to combat hate speech.
Njenarr Yassin Jeng, the national project officer in The Gambia working on peacebuilding, highlighted the mandate to address misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech. He emphasized their contribution to peace and social cohesion. During the opening session, Jeng expressed the goal of empowering young people, especially students, to develop the competence needed to critically engage with information from online and traditional media.
Kebba Jefang, the head of media monitoring and fact-checking, explained that the initiative originated from their work on media monitoring and fact-checking. He underscored the vulnerability of students, particularly girls, to cyberbullying, sexting, and online scams. Jefang emphasized the importance of media literacy training to teach students how to protect themselves online, including safeguarding their data. The training also focuses on equipping students with the skills to detect disinformation and misinformation, recognizing the vulnerability of young people to misleading information on the internet.
Jefang stated, “The idea is to train them on media literacy—knowing how to protect themselves online, secure their web browsers, and be cautious about sharing certain information on social media, which can put them in danger.”
The 20 participants are expected to acquire the necessary knowledge to conduct step-down training in their respective regions. This initiative aims to contribute to the creation of a society with reduced levels of hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation.
