As technology and the internet continue to play larger roles in our daily lives, ensuring the safety of everyone online is becoming a higher priority. Already cyber bullying has presented itself as a huge threat to the well being of students, as well as adults using social media. So far, Belize, does not have any concrete legislation to protect people from cyber crime, but as need grows, different organizations and governmental entities are working to change that. Today the Ministry of Education hosted a workshop to develop and implement a Regional Cyberbullying Manual. We spoke Sylvester Cadet, one of the consultants of the project, about why it is so needed...
Sylvester Cadet - Program Officer, Int'l Telecomms Union, Barbados
"Fundamentally the ITU's critical mandate is to ensure that we have communications throughout the world, but in ensuring that there is there right to information and to communication is also the mandate to ensure a certain level of security among all users and specifically when it comes to the youth. In that regard we have been looking very closely at the whole issue of cybercrime, cyber bullying, as a key element in the security of young persons. And in that regard the ITU have set up an initiative referred to as the Child Online Protection Initiative in partnership with the many partners around the world, global partners, including some of the UN agencies, industry players, academia as well as sector members, and by sector members we are referring to the members of the ITU who are in industry."
"This is critical especially when one considers what is happening around the world now with young persons. And the impact that cyberbullying has on their social life, their mental wellbeing as well as their outlook generally. In fact, cyberbullying has led to very grave circumstances including suicide, including of course lashing out in violent ways. And other areas in which it has impacted not just the victim, but also the perpetrators themselves, as well as their family circle, their school circles. It has impacted on the way in which they lead their everyday lives in such ways that has called grave concern."
"This is the essence of the workshop here in Belize."
This initiative is being implemented throughout the Caribbean, where Cadet told us the needs are on the same level as Belize in terms of cybercrime legislature.
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