Ake Ayodeji
The Nigerian Film Integrity Awards (Homevida), with support from Google, held a policy makers training and panel discussion recently held in Abuja, themed: “promoting safety across online platforms through established control measures, people sensitisation and self-regulation”.
In her opening remarks Nnenna Eze, Homevida program officer welcomed the dignitaries present and emphasised the purpose of the training and panel discussion is to engage with relevant stakeholders who will discuss and highlight the benefits of the internet and also educate citizens on the effects of hate speech and importance of fact checking information to curb the spread of fake news and also using the internet to promote democracy.
The training and panel discussion enlightened both policy makers and citizens on the benefits of the internet in promoting democracy, countering hate speech and increasing citizens participation in governance.
The sessions were very interactive as everyone present was given an opportunity to share ideas and experiences. To encourage a tech driven society a raffle draw was conducted which was supported by shift Nigeria and the winner went home with a brand-new Samsung Tablet.
Alongside the event, an art exhibition was going on where artist portrayed in their works some of the benefits of the internet.
The event was featured during the Zuma film festival is nigeria’s foremost film festival organised by Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).
The festival seeks to recognise and reward excellence in the Nigeria motion picture industry. It is also a platform for Nigerian film professionals to interact and exchange ideas and network with their foreign counterparts from other film cultures.
