Empowering Digital Citizens: Safe Cyber Access,Photo-shoot Training and Responsible Social Media Use
From the 26th to the 27th of May 2024, the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) facilitated a 2-day trainingin the Quang Tri province about photography, safe access and use of social media, its benefitsand potential risks. This training is a part of the ongoing SRD project “Together We Can” - VM075 and isfunded by Caritas Australia and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).There were 36 participants present over the 2-day training, most of whom were young women who arecaregivers, youths and young women with disability (PWDs).
This type of training is important as social media has become a major part of people’s everyday lives it’s one of the primary wayshow we communicate and share information.Therefore, it is vital that people know how to use it properly and safely.The goal of this training was the inclusion of women and women with disabilitiesand thepromotion of digital literacy as well as empowerment.And that the information learnedwill then be shared with others by the participants in their households and local communities. Additionally, ittaught participants about the different types of social media and the benefits of using them to communicate with others. This also included learning aboutphotography, how and what photographs are appropriate totake and to post online, as well as practising their photography skills to gain practical experience. Furthermore, participants were taught to be aware of the dangers online,such as scamsattemptingto access your personal information and to take necessary preventative safety measures by creating strong passwords, keeping profiles private, and never sharing any personal information like birthdays or identity cards, or bankdetails online. The skills and information learned from this can also be utilised not only for personal use but also professionally. For instance, some participants who are also business owners can now better promote and protect their businesses online.
Quotes from Participants following the training:
“I have learned a lot in the past 2 days from staying safe on social media and protecting personal information to taking pictures.I am very happy that me and my son have taken part in the training,learning to meet and work in group with others that would help to build our self-confidence and to apply the knowledge learned in our business later on, and I hope we get more opportunities to take part in more activities in the future.”
“This is my first time joining an activity in a big group of women with the SRD project. I am very interested in learning about the advantages and disadvantages of social media and how to use it safelyand avoid to avoid scams. I have more knowledge now about cyber safety and not sharing personal information online. I also liked the opportunity to socialise and meet other people together at these trainings.”
I am happy with the training and have learned a lot about Facebook and photography, it is good for me to participate in social settings like these. I used social media and took photos from the cell phone because it is popular without knowing well whatto do or how to do it. I now feel more confident using social media and how to better use Facebook. I will share what I have learned with other members in the community-based classon how to stay safe on social media and to avoid the dangers, how to take a good photo so that we will enjoy doing it together in our class.”