First Digital Citizenship Summit in Africa to be Held in Nigeria
Press Release, Hartford, CT— July 18, 2017
Diverse range of speakers and participants to address the responsible use of technology and social media to be hosted at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria on July 25 and 26, 2017
(Lagos, Nigeria — July 25 & 26, 2017) — On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 25 & 26, 2017, Resources in Flow Ltd. will host the Digital Citizenship Summit launch at the University of Lagos J.F. Ade Ajayi and Hall. The Digital Citizenship Summit, a major gathering of organizations, industry, educators, parenting experts, students, and more, will bring together new, well-known, and unexpected voices from a wide variety of backgrounds for a fast-paced and energetic mix of presentations, panels, videos, and awards. The day will be live-streamed to a large global audience, and seeks to broaden the appeal and accessibility to digital citizenship and media literacy. “Digital Citizenship” has been defined as “the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use.” [Dr. Mike Ribble, author of Digital Citizenship in Schools.]
“Our young people need Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy education to fully participate in today’s digital economy and culture. Stakeholders such as education administrators, parents, teachers, students, citizens and governments at all levels need to work together to educate them about the ramifications of the positive, responsible use of technology and social media,” says Sola Fakorede, the Chief Convener and President of Resources in Flow Limited, organizers of the Summit.
“The Summit,” added Tola Olayefun, a Senior Advisor at Resources in Flow, “aims to raise awareness of Digital Citizenship across Nigeria so that Nigerian youths can have confident and positive engagement with digital technology. “It also seeks to encourage all stakeholders to help achieve pervasive digital access in the classrooms and ensure that digital citizenship education become a mandatory feature of elementary to secondary education across the Nigerian school system.”
“We are excited about connecting local, global and digital communities by changing the narrative from the reactive to proactive,” says Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran, co-founder of US based Digital Citizenship Summit and founder of the Digital Citizenship Institute. “We want communities to work together to solve problems and create solutions,” Curran continues. “The Digital Citizenship Summit is an opportunity to explore technology for good. So often we read and hear the horror stories about how social media is ruining lives. Our mission focuses on what to encourage not just what to avoid. We go beyond the scare tactic approach and provide best practices on how to learn and work together.”
“It’s a remarkable thing to be collaborating with people all over the world to expand awareness about Digital Citizenship,” adds Michelle Linford, Executive Director of EPIK Deliberate Digital, a nonprofit that will host the US/International DigCitSummit in November in Utah, USA). “In the US, we have the challenge of trying to change conversations and culture around kids and technology so that it’s not all fear-based. Nigeria has a unique opportunity to build its Digital Citizenship culture from the ground up, one that can focus on both avoiding risks and deliberately leveraging the positives of the internet. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to those who are making DigCitSummitNG happen, and we look forward to sharing successes and insights throughout the coming months.”
By bringing together a broad range of experts, organizations, and interested parties, the Digital Citizenship Summit on July 25 & 26, 2017 will take a multi-stakeholder participatory approach to solving some of the vexing issues regarding social media and tech use. Partnering organizations include the DigCitKids, Digital Citizenship Institute, Educate Empower Kids, EPIK Deliberate Digital, Global Education Conference, GlobalMindED, National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and White Ribbon Week.
The Summit speakers traveling to Nigeria include Dr. Mike Ribble, known as the Godfather of Digital Citizenship, “It is wonderful to see how technology expands our reach around the globe. I am looking forward to expanding this conversation of Digital Citizenship to the participants at the upcoming DigCitSummitNG. One of the goals of Digital Citizenship is to connect with as many people so that we can learn how we can become better digital citizens.” Chief Curiosity Curator, Matt Murrie from What if…?360 is bringing his Curiosity Based Learning process to Nigeria to allow the audience to become active participants at the Summit and leave with collaboratively-designed actions they can take immediately. In this case, those actions will be designed around Digital Citizenship, what it is, what it can be, and how we get there collectively.
“It is important for ALL stakeholders in Nigeria to have a voice,” says Rob Jacklin, presenter and educator. “While educators often take the lead when it comes to Digital Citizenship, it is the responsibility of the entire community to rally around and participate in the development of a positive Digital Citizenship movement.” At age ten, the youngest speaker to engage the community is Curran Dee, the Chief Kid Officer of DigCitKids who will represent student voice as he shares the importance of digital access for all students everywhere, “We need to learn about the world with the world.”
“We want people impacted by tech and social media to feel empowered,” Curran continues. “Instead of being reactive, we want people to be active participants in the digital future. We want people to be the digital change.”
More information can be found at http://digcitsummit.com/ and http://www.digcitsummitng.com/.
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Press contact for Digital Citizenship Summit Nigeria:
Sola Fakorede
Email: Sola@digcitsummitng.com
Press contact for Digital Citizenship Summit:
Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran
Email: marialice@digcitinstitute.com
About the Digital Citizenship Summit
The Digital Citizenship Summit is a global network of summits and projects focused on the positive use of technology and social media. The Digital Citizenship Summits are dedicated to creating a new culture in which everyone — particularly the next generation of digital natives, educators and parents — has a voice, and feels empowered to use it. The Digital Citizenship Summit brings diverse groups together to connect in person, join the conversation and take an active role in creating positive digital change on both a local and global level.
The first Digital Citizenship Summit was held on October 3, 2015 at the University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut. It drew over 220 educators, students, parents, administrators, organizations, and members of industry, and trended #1 in the nation (#digcitsummit). By January 2016, the first international Summit was held in the UK at Bournemouth University. This past October, the Summit was held at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco. The next US/International Summit is being held in Utah on November 2 & 3, 2017. Contact Michelle Linford at michelle@eoik.org for more information about the November DigCitSummit in Utah.
