School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

The ubiquitous Internet company Google has shown a display of social responsibility early this month as they got involved in a safety awareness campaign. Google’s Indian sector, Google India, partnered up with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) and the Kolkata Police in order to help promote Internet safety among Indian students. The first leg of the campaign was held at the Ballygunge Government High School. The rest of the country will have the chance to be exposed to the campaign throughout the year. This campaign, dubbed Be NetSmart, started in February of this year.

Some thoughts to ponder. Google is undoubtedly one of the biggest companies in the world today. Though a lot of other companies probably surpass Google in earnings and worth, there is no doubt that the brand name is at the top of the list in any country in the world. As such, I think that a campaign such as this is benefiting greatly from Google’s sponsorship. More so, the fact that such a big name in the Internet industry is taking action to encourage cyber safety among school children is not something to be taken lightly. You know that I have always believed in the importance of the private sector’s involvement in coming up with solutions to school safety issues. This is why I really like the idea that Google is involved in this.

One aspect of the campaign that I particularly like is the fact that it not only focuses on the school children but their parents as well. It is much like opening the eyes of the parents to the fact that they have responsibility over their children’s online activities. They have to be involved if they want to ensure their children’s safety online.

Another thought has crossed my mind, though. Google is based here in the United States. I wonder why they have not launched a similar campaign here? Or have they and I have just not heard about it? If they haven’t, perhaps a reason is that there are so many other companies that are already involved in school safety awareness campaigns?

In any case, the school children of India should benefit a lot from Be NetSmart. Considering that India is quite technologically advanced in terms of the Internet and communications, it is vital that the children are made aware of the potential dangers of the Internet. It would also be good to have similar campaigns in many other developing countries wherein the Internet is currently experiencing a sudden boom, don’t you think?

Source Google Tutor’s Tips blog.

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