The Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (CATT), in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is set to impact the learning and digital access of 250 boys attending Eastern Boys Government Primary School with the establishment of a digital corner. CATT and IDB launched the digital corner October 31 at the Eastern Boys’ Government Primary School in Port-of-Spain and provided the keen students with laptop computers. The Digital Corner is in keeping with IDB’s new country strategy for Trinidad and Tobago which seeks to improve the business environment to enable digital transformation, enhance the delivery of services and importantly, improve educational outcomes and digital skills in the country.
Sergio Rios, Chief of Operation at IDB stated he hoped the students will continue to learn and develop more online skills but he stressed that more children needed to be aware of the challenges of the internet including cyberbullying, identity theft and the misuse of information. He said the expectation was that children will learn to utilise the power of technology but they should navigate the online world safely.
The Digital Corner was part of a larger project, sponsored by IDB and executed by CATT and aimed at creating awareness on online safety and particularly online grooming. The campaign also sought to teach children and the general public to recognise the strategies used by perpetrators and groomers, stimulate behavioural change against cultural norms of physical and sexual abuse and educate children on taking action to prevent and report abuse. Kitty Al Hosein-Garcia, Member of the Authority’s Board of Management said that this initiative brought the boys a step closer to fully exercising their right to an education while utilising technological tools. She hopes that the digital tools will result in improved teaching and eventual success in their studies. She added, “At the Children’s Authority, we believe that every child should live to see their full potential. Therefore, a child can only do so when they are protected from harm and neglect, when they are given the tools and resources required to succeed and when they are no longer recognised as the voiceless within our society and can exercise their right to be heard!” In alignment with IDB’s country strategy on digital transformation, both teachers and students will receive training to use the devices by the Authority’s Information Technology Unit.
About the Children’s Authority
Established in 2015, the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago seeks to promote the best interest of children through advocacy, prevention, intervention and collaborative strategies based on multidisciplinary approaches. The Authority seeks to defend and support child rights and make child protection everybody’s business. Since 2015, the Authority has received and dealt with more than 31,000 reports of abuse in Trinidad and Tobago.
PHOTOS ATTACHED
• 7501951 – From left to right: Kitty Al Hosein-Garcia, Member of the Board of Management of the Children’s Authority, Sergio Rios, IDB’s Chief of Operation makes the presentation to Gillian Frank, Teacher I at the Eastern Boy’s Government Primary School.
• 7502002 – Students of the Easten Boy’s Government Primary School use the laptops provided at the school’s Digital Corner.