The CyberSmartBW campaign came to its exciting conclusion yesterday with the presentation of Awards to some remarkably talented young people. Over the past 6 weeks a nationwide campaign, supported by Cyber4Dev, has searched for Botswana’s most innovative young communicators and challenged them to come up with creative videos on the subject of ‘being CyberSmart’.
Awards were presented by H.E Jan Sadek, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Botswana and SADC.
Presenting awards to the top four entrants, the Ambassador remarked;
The digital sector has a great potential to improve citizens lives in Botswana and around the globe, but it is also important to realize that there are risks associated to the digital transformation that we need to prevent and fight. In a world with over 50 billion devices connected to the internet, cyber-attacks are a growing phenomenon that can disrupt not only businesses or our personal systems but also the supply of essential services that we take for granted such as water or electricity, even a surgery at a hospital. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to protect the internet from cybersecurity incidents, malicious activities and misuse.
In this regard, the European Union has been working with partners, including Botswana, promoting the establishment of a secure digital infrastructure. This is why we established the Cyber4Dev project. Through this project, we are working with our partners to strengthen cybersecurity, help prevent incidents, and when they occur, be able to respond quick and efficiently to them.
We are delighted to see that Botswana is putting so much energy behind the effort to secure a digital infrastructure for its people. We are also very happy to learn that the Government of Botswana has recently launched a robust National Cyber Security Strategy, which identifies important measures to put in place and capacities to be developed to keep us all safe.
On behalf of the European Union, I would like to thank all the young Batswana who participated in this competition for helping Botswana in the path to digital transformation. You are the future and I hope you will continue to work with organisations like eBotho to promote cyber security to your friends, your families, in your homes.
Speaking on behalf of Cyber4Dev, our Expert Nick Small –
Bringing together stakeholders from across civil society, the public sector, and media, the Cyber Smart initiative demonstrated how a collaborative approach can exponentially increase the reach and impact of national campaigns. The results exceeded expectations and demonstrated both the creativity and knowledge of young Batswana –and their unique approaches to promoting good habits online.
To view the top four entries and to find our more about the campaign, please visit our Botswana CyberSmartBW page.
