Google on Tuesday announced the launch of a $1 million pan-African Google.org fund to support innovative ideas around privacy, trust and the safety of families online across sub-Saharan Africa.

Seember Nyager, Policy and Government Relations Manager, Google Nigeria, said at the 16th annual Safer Internet Day (SID) “that Google was committed to a safe internet for children, as well as the empowerment of organisations who shared the commitment.

“The fund will be administered by a third-party partner on behalf of Google.org, and we will be sharing details on application criteria and deadlines soon.

“Google would look to support initiatives across Africa and be administered by a trusted partner.

“Details of how to apply, deadlines and criteria will be made available in due course.”

According to her, beyond our own products, we also want to help kids learn how to be safer, more confident explorers of the online world.

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“Today, we join the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to hold SID events in 36 states towards empowering teachers, parents and younger children to better understand and navigate the Web with confidence.

“Google also announced ‘Be Internet Awesome’, in Nigeria, Abuja, Netherlands, South Africa today, and earlier in Kenya, which is a landmark child online safety programme,’’ she said.

Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, Head of Brand and Reputation, Africa at Google, said that Internet Awesome seeks to help minors explore the internet safely and confidently.

She said that Google was excited to strengthen the work being done with parents and children in the field of online safety in Nigeria.

She said in addition to Family Link, which allowed parents to help their families develop healthy digital habits, Google also launched Password Checkup exactly one year ago to empower users to check and strengthen online security settings for their Google Accounts.

“Be Internet Awesome teaches kids important skills for surfing the internet, like how to recognise potential online scams, using the internet securely and safeguarding valuable information.