"Digital Friend" Project from Vodafone Turkey Foundation and TOG

Vodafone Türkiye Foundation President Hasan Süel said:

"Research shows that today children and young people face unprecedented digital risks and impacts. According to the research conducted by the Global Vodafone Foundation in cooperation with Save The Children in 9 European countries, only one in 4 children and young people rate their digital quality of life as good, while 3 out of every 4 children struggle with sleep disorders, high stress levels or difficulties in balancing their online and offline lives.

The main goals of the Digital Friend project are for children to recognize the risks they may encounter in the digital world at an early age, to learn to access accurate and reliable information, to respect their personal boundaries and the rights of others, and to manage the impact of technology on their daily lives in a healthy way. Our goal is to reach 5 thousand students in a year.”

Community Volunteers Foundation General Manager Seçkin Karataş said, "We aim for the project to create a model that can be implemented in different cities and schools, develop with experiences gained from the field, and be sustained with the active contribution of young people." he said.

Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Educational Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said:

"The architecture of digital platforms is designed to keep the user on the screen longer. The Digital Friend project is a visionary step that responds to this vital pedagogical need and aims to strengthen children's existence in the digital world with game-based learning approaches, interactive scenarios and peer solidarity."

CHILDREN'S DIGITAL JOURNEYS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED

With the Digital Friend project, children will be supported in recognizing the risks they may face in the digital environment, learning how to protect their personal information and privacy, observing their own limits and the limits of others in the digital environment, recognizing risky behaviors such as cyber bullying, developing safe behaviors in the face of suspicious content, messages and links, balancing screen use with sleep, movement, responsibilities and social life, and asking for support from reliable adults when they need it.

TRAININGS WILL CONSIST OF 6-HOUR MODULES

Each of the programs to be implemented for primary and secondary school students will consist of 3 modules of 6 hours in total. The modules determined for the primary school program will consist of the titles "My Digital Boundaries and Shares", "My Digital Balance and Safe Choices", "I am Safe, I Can Ask for Help", and the modules determined for the secondary school program will consist of the titles "My Digital Identity and Privacy", "My Digital Rights and Cyber ​​Bullying" and "Safe and Conscious Choices in the Digital World".

All applications will be carried out in schools as face-to-face and interactive workshops. Instead of an education model where children only listen, a learning approach will be adopted in which they actively participate, think, ask questions and start from their own experiences. Gamification, group work, scenario discussions, role playing and application-based activities will be used in the workshops.

105 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS WILL TAKE PART

Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to reach 5 thousand students with primary and secondary school practices to be carried out with the contribution of 105 Community Volunteer young people in Bitlis, Izmir, Ankara, Hatay, Istanbul, Samsun and Diyarbakır.