Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY Launches WCF CyberSmart Portal for Children and Youth Nationally
Mumbai: WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm WNS Cares Foundation (WCF) today announced the national launch of CyberSmart portal by Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm WNS Cares Foundation (WCF) today announced the national launch of CyberSmart portal by Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. CyberSmart (cybersmart.wnscaresfoundation.org) is a holistic cybersafety learning ecosystem for education & empowerment of students, teachers, volunteers and parents, supported by NASSCOM.
CyberSmart is a free-for-all gamified learning platform that uses thematic quiz-based modules. The portal offers age-appropriate learning journeys that are based on curriculum advisories and challenges that children commonly encounter in cyberspace. The platform offers a host of features that makes learning immersive and engaging for children, and covers a bandwidth of 50,000 concurrent users, without capturing any personal data. A key feature of the portal is a ‘call for help’ button for children under duress. The portal also enables parents and teachers to impart cybersecurity education using a unique online and offline methodology.
Speaking at the launch, Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY, Government of India said “I am very happy to note that WNS Cares Foundation has launched a free-for-all gamified learning platform CyberSmart (cybersmart.wnscaresfoundation.org) for children and youth to spread awareness around cyber safety, supported by NASSCOM.
As millions of children across the nation are increasingly accessing the internet for online learning due to COVID, I am sure the deployment and adoption of smarter cybersecurity measures like CyberSmart is the need of the hour. This portal is very much in line with our mission to create safe cyber environment for every citizen of the country, especially our children and youth. I am delighted to partner and launch CyberSmart portal on a national level,” he added.
“In an increasingly digital world, a seismic shift to smarter cybersecurity space is a critical need, especially for our children and youth. CyberSmart portal is an attempt to create a repository of age-appropriate content that is engaging and empowers our young generation alike to navigate the internet judiciously,” said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS.
Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM said “Launch of the CyberSmart portal could not have come at a more appropriate time. This resource is sure to benefit parents and teachers as much as it will impact students in learning about traversing cyberspace purposefully, during and post COVID-19 world. NASSCOM supports the CyberSmart initiative that would spur safer internet landscape across the nation.”
Shamini Murugesh, Honorary Chief Mentor, WCF said “The purpose of CyberSmart platform is to create awareness and educate students and parents about cybersafe behavior through an engaging gamified learning model. The portal is currently available in four languages- English, Hindi, Marathi & Telugu, and soon, it will be available in five more regional languages.”
In 2017, WCF created an awareness program around the dangers of the digital world, CyberSword, through a competition which reached over 1,35,000 children across 345 schools in eight countries including India through a series of videos and multi-media presentations. Further, WCF launched a digital-led initiative, ThinkTalkTeach, in January 2019 and created two informative videos on the safe use of the internet for primary and secondary school students. This initiative has garnered 1.3 million+ views on social media so far.