The Day of the Namibian Child for the Omaheke Region was celebrated at Leonardville in the Aminuis Constituency on Thursday under the theme ‘The Right of the Child in a Digital Environment’.
The day is celebrated every year on 28 September since the year 2000 and is used to honour the worth of every Namibian child and assess the progress in meeting the commitments of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare.
Chief Education Officer at the Omaheke Region Education Directorate Theofilus Mokhatu in his speech representing the region’s Director of Education, Arts and Culture Constance Wantenaar, encouraged parents and all stakeholders to monitor what children are doing online.
“Be aware of what children are doing online, avoid posting images of children with school uniforms, badges and numbers. Encourage the child to have hobbies outside the internet, and educate yourself on safety features of devices and platforms,” he said on Wantenaar’s behalf.
Children are a vulnerable group in society and they too are present online, their rights should accordingly be protected online, to an even greater extent because of the inherent risk which comes with the digital world, she stressed.
She further emphasised that although the digital environment has benefits as learners can now be educated through different online platforms, the internet also may expose children to many risks and they have to be vigilant.
“Explore and research how a device works before making use of it, turn off your location if not needed, and do not share personal information such as date of birth, age and nationality. Do not post or share content that will cause harm to the next person,” she warned.
In the speech of the Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare Doreen Sioka which was read by Omaheke Governor Pijoo Nganate, Sioka emphasised that the Namibian child day finds its roots in the unwavering commitment of the Namibian government of upholding the rights of children.
“It is our collective responsibility as responsible adults to ensure that children have equal and safe access to the wealth of knowledge and resources available online,” she said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency