Communications and entertainment provider Flow says it is providing the opportunity for more schools to participate in the Safer Internet School Grant and has extended the deadline for submissions to March 17.

The country’s largest internet service provider launched the grant as part of its annual online safety initiatives on January 31 where schools were invited to propose an online safety initiative and vie for funding.

At the launch, Flow’s Vice President and General Manager, Stephen Price, noted that, “in recognition of the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, the Flow Foundation has established a J$1.5-million Safer Internet School Grant, which we will make available to six schools that best demonstrate how they can promote safer internet use in their respective institutions”.

CULTIVATING VIGILANT AND SAFE INTERNET HABITS

Through the grant, students are being challenged to submit ideas about promoting online safety, specifically to teenagers, while cultivating vigilant and safe internet habits.

“By empowering schools to actively participate in the safer internet movement, this initiative is meant to better integrate online safety in the school culture. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to share their creativity with powerful messages around an area of growing importance, especially for teenagers,” Price added.

Each high school can make one submission outlining how they would promote internet safety among the school population. All entries must be emailed to [email protected] by March 17 and the winners will be announced by March 31. Schools will have up to April 30 to implement their project.

Price further remarked: “We’re excited about this grant and the creative ideas that we know our young people will bring to life as we entrench the online safety culture that is necessary to safeguard our people.”

Endorsing the grant, Dannyelle-Jordan Bailey, president of the National Secondary Students’ Council, said the initiative allows students to explore the issues they experience online while creating possible solutions.

“Considering that students are the ones who are benefitting from Safer Internet Day, it’s a good opportunity for them to really think about what challenges they’re experiencing within the space, and not just identifying the challenges, but finding the solutions to them,” the St Hugh’s High School sixth-former stated.

“In finding the solutions they get a reward and they can then implement that reward within their school community. So it’s an amazing opportunity for students to see their work come to light and to actually conceptualise and implement something that’s good for them,” Bailey added.

A full list of the rules and criteria for the Safer Internet School Grant can be accessed at the Flow Jamaica website: https://discoverflow.co/foundation/saferinternet.