Cyber Awareness and Safety
On 18th January NPS KRM invited two eminent speakers Mr. Akshay Garkel and Dr. Shaibya Saldanha to address the students and parents of grades 7 and 8 on ‘Cyber safety and prevention of cybercrime against children’. While Mr. Garkel is a cyber-expert dealing in many international projects relating to cybercrime and ethical hacking, Dr. Saldanha is the co-founder of Enfold India, an organization that aims at building safe and inclusive communities with healthy and safe children living with dignity.
Mr. Garkel’s engaging interactive session with interesting Garfield videos cruised the students through the basic concepts, benefits and most importantly the dangers of cyber activity. He elaborated on how menacing the perils like cyber bullying, malwares and unchecked cyber use can be. Students were advised to responsibly use social media and internet with their parents’ permission; be wary of their posts including pictures and videos; never share personal information and never download/click suspicious file/link. The young netizens took home the message of safe networking for learning, sharing, collaborating positively and guarding themselves against any cyber mishap.
During the parents’ session too, Mr. Garkel reiterated the need of parental guidance, supervision and care in their wards’ cyber activities. He illustrated the magnitude of risks out there with case studies that Mr. Garkel himself dealt with. Parents were made aware of the addictive games/activities children are indulging in and how, if unrestrained, it can lead to severe physical and psychological repercussions. However, if anything goes wrong, where to look for help, was also discussed. Many useful tips were shared with the students and parents alike.
Dr. Saldanha captivated the parent audience with her penetrating and direct approach. She elaborated on how parents are the role models for their wards. Nurturing a healthy and caring domestic environment where children imbibe the values practised by their parents, whether in their conduct or relationships, was the focus of Dr. Saldanha’s talk. The session ended with Q&A round and a few effective suggestions by the principal Ms. Jyotsna Nair.
