Google on Wednesday announced two child online safety initiatives in Nigeria, pairing the country’s first nationwide research on how young people use the internet with hands-on training for the parents and teachers closest to them, RaveNewsOnline reports.
The commitments come as recent public consultations led by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission found that 93.5 percent of Nigerians are concerned about online harms facing minors.
Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, is providing $550,000 in funding and $50,000 in Google Ad Grants to the TechSocietal Development Foundation.
With this $600,000 in support, TechSocietal will conduct Nigeria’s first baseline study of youth digital risks, surveying 2,000 adolescents across all six geopolitical zones, deliver its Safety First curriculum to 5,000 teachers and school administrators, and train 200 community champions to reach up to 10,000 parents and caregivers.
Google is also bringing Meet LEO, short for Learn and Explore Online, to Nigeria in the program’s first pilot in Sub-Saharan Africa. Delivered by Tech Hive Advisory across four states, it will train 500 educators and youth leaders to set digital ground rules with tools such as Google Family Link, SafeSearch and YouTube Supervised Experiences, and equip them to pass that training on to 2,500 more students and community members.
The announcements come as more than 22 million Africans turn 18 every year, many of them on phones shared by several family members, and as governments around the world, including Nigeria’s, weigh how to protect children online without cutting them off from what they learn there.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and today that village extends into the digital world, where protecting our children must never mean disconnecting them from their future,” said Olumide Balogun, Country Director, Google Nigeria.
“We build protections into our products by default, and by pairing them with local research through TechSocietal and educator training through Tech Hive Advisory, we are helping every Nigerian child learn and explore safely online.”
“Protecting our children in the digital world requires active collaboration across government, technology platforms, educators, and families.
“The NDPC’s recent national consultations made it clear that Nigerians are deeply concerned about the risks young people face online.
“Google’s support for nationwide research through TechSocietal, alongside the practical, grassroots safety training being delivered with Tech Hive Advisory through the Meet LEO program, marks a significant and commendable step forward.
“By combining local evidence with hands-on digital skills, we are building a safer, more empowering digital environment where every Nigerian child can learn, explore, and thrive,” said Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
“Bringing the first Sub-Saharan African pilot of Meet LEO to Nigeria puts usable safety tools directly in the hands of 500 frontline educators and youth leaders, creating a multiplier effect that will reach 2,500 learners,” said Ridwan Oloyede, Lead Partner at Tech Hive Advisory.
“With this support from Google.org we are launching the country’s first nationwide baseline study of 2,000 adolescents across all six geopolitical zones, while equipping 15,000 teachers and caregivers with the skills to guide young people safely through the digital world,” said Tope Ogundipe, Executive Director, TechSocietal Development Foundation.
The commitments build on more than $3.5 million that Google.org has provided for online safety across Sub-Saharan Africa since 2020, including support that has reached 2.3 million Nigerians through 10 local organizations and trained over 43,000 young people with Junior Achievement Africa.
