21 February 2025, ItWeb, Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
This is according to Phakamile Madonsela, public and media skills development manager at Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), in an interview with ITWeb TV.
Madonsela spoke to ITWeb TV to mark Safer Internet Day, as part of a discussion on the protection of young people in the digital environment, policies, capacitating young people with digital and media literacy skills, as well as the increase in digital harms they continue to face.
When talking about protection of young people in the digital environment, Madonsela notes this extends to protection against mis- and disinformation, inappropriate content and keeping them safe when it comes to the online space.
She believes digital and media literacy skills play a key role in this regard, which is why MMA has been running its Web Rangers project for several years.
“Web Rangers has been designed to help young people understand the rights they have online, but also the responsibility that they have online. It helps to embody this concept of becoming active digital citizens, which means I can be online but not infringe on others’ rights to be online.