ISTANBUL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digital operator Turkcell (NYSE:TKC) (BIST:TCELL), DQ Institute and Turkish Ministry of Education announced that they are joining forces to improve children’s digital literacy in Turkey. As a first step of the collaboration, DQ World content will be made available in Turkish language to Turkish children as of September 2018, at the beginning of the new academic year.
DQ World project entails digital awareness training of children aged 8-12. Through self-directed e-learning, children are taught to make the best use of their digital experience while protecting themselves from exposure to harmful content and other vulnerabilities. The programme teaches the 8 core digital citizenship skills: Digital Citizen Identity, Screen Time Management, Cyberbullying Management, Cyber Security Management, Privacy Management, Critical Thinking, Digital Footprints, Digital Empathy.
Announcing the partnership at Turkcell’s Technology Summit held in Istanbul, Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu, underlined the operator’s commitment to using technology for humanitarian purposes:
“At Turkcell, we are well aware of the fact that digital is everywhere – we are thrilled about the opportunities that this presents but we are also aware of the fear that this transformation induces on the society. We are committed to putting the human element at the center of our technology, and improving the digital literacy of our children is a crucial dimension of this. We need to make sure that they build a healthy foundation for their digital experience. Our partnership with the DQ Institute will help us make research-based, internationally-endorsed premium content available to our children and their families, helping us build those healthy foundations.”
Dr. Yuhyun Park, the Founder and the CEO of the DQ Institute noted:
“Beyond IQ and EQ, we believe DQ (digital intelligence) represents the core digital skills that all children must have to thrive in the digital economy. The digital citizenship is the fundamental skills of DQ for our children to mitigate cyber-risks and maximize the opportunity of technology. #DQEveryChild™ is a strategic global movement to empower 8-12 year olds with comprehensive digital citizenship skills from the start of their digital lives – for instance, before they start actively engaging in social media or owing their mobile phone. We are privileged to work with Turkcell and Turkish Ministry of Education to empower Turkish children to truly become successful, responsible and ethical digital citizens of tomorrow.”
Dr. Mustafa Hilmi Colakoglu, the Deputy Undersecretary for Information Technologies and Strategy at the Turkish Ministry of Education said:
“As educators, we are bringing up the generation who will lead the world in 2050. I believe its a milestone for the World so we should do our best for the children. In last 50 years, we have solved the former problems of the world together. We have to do it for the future as well. Because future does not consist of only opportunities. New threats have appeared for our kids, like climate change, obesity, new kind of diseases, child labour, drugs, cyber-bullying and etc. We have to prepare a safe world for them hand in hand, patiently and in harmony. The responsibilities towards our children can not be postponed or neglected. Therefore we are doing a distinguished work with Turkcell and DQ Institute today.“
Only 9% of 8-17 year olds use internet to “reach information that is useful for the society”
Global research on children’s use of the internet does not present a positive picture. According to UNICEF’s “Children in the Digital World” reports (2016 – 2017), among the 8-17 year olds that use the internet, only 9% access it to find information on issues that would be of value to the society that they live in. 90% of the same age group identify cyberbullying as the biggest problem that they come across on the internet. 64% of their parents think that they internet is not a safe place for their children.
According to the DQ Institute’s own research (DQ Impact Report 2018), carried out in 29 countries and covering 38 thousand children, 56% of 8-12 year-olds are exposed to at least one cyber risk. Over 725 million children aged from 8 to 12 will be online by 2020, and 390 million 8-12 year olds will be exposed to cyber-risks.