Cooperation of YCAB Foundation and Facebook Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture to provide digital skills to more than 700 teachers and 16,000 students in Indonesia through the Asah Digital program.
Asah Digital is a program that was created with the aim of honing digital skills, believing that everyone can create a positive culture while using the internet wisely.
Jakarta, 20 April 2021 – YCAB Foundation and Facebook Indonesia, together with the Ministry of Education and Culture, are committed to educate the digital community in becoming internet savvy through the Asah Digital program. This program aims to develop digital literacy by targeting teachers and students across Indonesia to wisely use the internet to spread positivity.
The implementation of the Asah Digital program began in July 2020 and was delivered through virtual platforms. Participants consisting of more than 700 teachers and 16,000 students from 8 provinces in Indonesia learned about digital skills, specifically on how to discern and share accessible information, how to respectfully interact with others, and how to safely spread ideas and influence others in the digital world.
As Indonesia enters into Industry 4.0, internet users continue to increase, along with society’s usage of mobile phones. According to a report from Hootsuite, there were 175 million internet users in Indonesia in 2020, a 17% increase from 2019. This wave of digitalization has brought much changes to the way people do things, including the shift into utilizing digital methods in schools and other educational institutions. With significant changes and an increase of internet users, honing skills in digital literacy became crucial to create a positive and safe internet culture. At the moment, the digital literacy skills of users is struggling to keep up with the rapid digital development. The results of a study by Nielsen, which conducted a survey of smartphone users in Indonesia, shows that 75% of respondents lacked critical thinking in detecting fake news. In addition, the results of a Microsoft study in 2021 shows that 5 out of 10 internet users in Indonesia are victims of cyber bullying, with the most vulnerable being millennials and gen Z.
Having said that, acknowledging the potential for negative activities and harm surfing in the digital world, it is very important to hone skills in the internet to be a smart user. This is why through Asah Digital, we hope to create a safe, positive digital world for all, by educating the public about various topics, including how to detect false news in the internet and how to discern its authenticity and trustworthiness. Participants will also be given knowledge about various themes surrounding digital footprint, digital identity, critical thinking, empathy, and news verification.
Veronica Colondam, Founder and CEO of YCAB Foundation said, “Entering the all-digital era, digital literacy can open many new opportunities for students to develop new ideas, innovations, and creativity. The focus on digital literacy needs to be continued and applied to teachers and then students, the nation’s future generations. Through the Asah Digital program, students and teachers can open their horizons to apply digital literacy to the fullest. They can gain knowledge about interacting safely in the digital world, spread the good news wisely, and maximize potential through digital literacy to create better change. ”
“In a country with a high level of internet users like Indonesia, presenting digital literacy programs to teachers and students is very important to create positive, safe and informed public interactions on the internet. The Asah Digital Program that we run together with YCAB is a means for teachers and students to gain knowledge on how to be good digital citizens and share their experiences with more people around them,” says Ruben Hattari, Head of Policy for Facebook in Indonesia.