This archive report was first published on 24 November 2019.
From November 21 to 23, 2019, the Web Rangers Africa Summit brought together students, teachers, and government officials from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa to explore new ways of tackling online threats against the youth.
Organized by Google and Content Development and Intellectual Property Trust (CODE-IP), a local NGO, in partnership with the Kenya Scouts Association, the summit aimed to empower young people to become ambassadors of safe and responsible internet use.
According to Alex Gakuru, executive director of CODE-IP, each of the three countries had four students attending the summit, accompanied by two teachers per country.
Web Rangers is Google's online safety program for teenagers, founded in Israel and now with chapters in several countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and others.
Government officials from the three countries attended the summit, including representatives from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Kenya Film Classification Board, Communications Authority of Kenya, and the Ministry of ICT.
As part of the summit, participants visited the Rowallan Camp in Nairobi, the headquarters of the Kenya Scouts Association, to learn how the Web Rangers program is being implemented practically.
The Kenya Scouts Association, with over 2 million members, is the top youth movement in Africa and the sixth globally.
Through the tour, the summit organizers sought to demonstrate the value system of the Kenya Scouts, which resembles the values advocated by Web Rangers, and to showcase the achievements of the program.
Google also ran a session on Critical Thinking, aimed at helping young people analyze situations critically and avoid being duped by fake news.
Michael Murungi, Government Affairs and Public Policy lead at Google, emphasized the importance of Critical Thinking in dealing with online threats and distinguishing between disinformation and accurate information.
