The Kenya Scouts Association in partnership with Google has launched the 2019 edition of Web Rangers in Kenya. Web rangers is a youth programme for online safety and it was launched at an event to mark Safer Internet Day.
The initiative has been implemented in over 15 countries and was launched in Kenya in 2015. This year, Web Rangers plans to expand its reach in Kenya and is targeting 90,000 scouts and 50,000 scout leaders in the country.
Google is also collaborating with Kenya Scouts Association, CODE-IP Trust and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to launch an online safety manual. Approximately 1.4 million scouts and 50,000 scout leaders and trainers are expected to receive the Kenya Scouts Association Online Safety Learners’ Handbook and Teachers’ Guide, which will provide counsel on how to safely navigate online platforms.
In a speech read on her behalf by Dr. Francis Owino, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Youth Affairs , Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Youth & Gender Affairs said: “I consider the safe and responsible use of the internet to be a vital skill for the virtuous and patriotic youth of the 21st century. Programmes such as Google’s Web Rangers and its partnership with the Kenya Scouts Association are a very welcome complement to the work that parents, teachers, guardians and the Government do in building a better world for our children.”
“Google is proud to be a partner of the Kenya Scouts Association, Kenya’s largest youth movement, in scaling the Web Rangers program to empower an even greater number of young people to be safe and responsible users of the Internet,” said Mr. Michael Murungi, Google’s Policy & Government Relations Lead for East Africa.
This year, the Safer Internet Day theme is: “Together for a better Internet”. The slogan is a call to action for all stakeholders to join together and play their part in creating a better internet for everyone, and especially for younger users.