RIYADH: Using the Internet smartly and safely is the aim of the digital literacy initiative 鈥淜ulluna Online鈥� (We鈥檙e All Online) launched by the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK) and Google on Tuesday.
Starting this semester, around 10,000 boys and girls at 50 schools in Riyadh will attend interactive workshops by Google-trained facilitators, as part of the multiyear program that will later expand to include other parts of 萝莉视频. 
鈥淕iven the notable growth of usage of the digital world, whether through regular browsing or instant messaging applications, it was necessary that we find a creative initiative to spread awareness on digital safety,鈥� said Badr Al-Asaker, MiSk secretary-general.
鈥淜ulluna Online was the product of MiSK鈥檚 belief that the Internet has become one of the most important languages of our time and a necessary tool for development. The program aims to spread digital awareness and to keep up with the latest global practices, which ensures safe Internet browsing.鈥�
The day started at Riyadh schools with an interactive, chatty session between young onstage presenters and the audience, mainly students from elementary and intermediate grades.
萝莉视频 has 21 million Internet users out of a population of some 32 million, Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa said in his keynote speech. 
Speaking at a press conference, Mohamed Al-Harthi, deputy minister of education for curricula and educational programs, said: 鈥淓xecuting this program comes in terms of activating Saudi Vision 2030 and enhancing the partnership between the public and non-profit sectors.鈥�
The idea of the program started by gathering feedback from school students, their parents and teachers via focus groups delivered by MiSK, and listening to their concerns over their children鈥檚 digital usage and presence.
The workshops will teach students to think carefully before posting something online, and how to protect their privacy by not sharing passwords or oversharing personal photos.
It will also teach them how to avoid being victims of phishing, spam and identity theft, as well as how to have a positive attitude online.
Sam Blatteis, Google head of government relations and public policy for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), believes education lies at the heart of realizing Google鈥檚 mission: To organize the world鈥檚 information and make it universally accessible and useful.
鈥淲hat this project is doing is helping in one way to contribute to the foundation, setting the stage for developing a longer-term confidence and interest in the Internet economy,鈥� he told Arab News.
鈥淧arents have done a great job teaching children how to protect themselves offline by telling them not to talk to strangers or not to take candy from them. But there鈥檚 a growing need now for youth to have the same skills online. Think before you post. You are what you share.鈥�
Delivering the program will adopt a gamification technique to transform online safety education into memorable and fun content that children can embrace.
Google will gather post-mortem feedback in the form of qualitative and quantitative data from students, teachers and trainers to get an idea of the change in perceptions before and after the program.
鈥淭here are a lot of programs on online safety in terms of dos and don鈥檛s, and they were often referred to in the context of cybersecurity,鈥� Blatteis said.
鈥淲e thought there鈥檚 an untapped potential to popularize it and socialize this program through calling it 鈥榙igital literacy,鈥� to bring to life how this (program) is something that can be uplifting and give kids confidence when they surf online.
鈥淭hat was a finding that we at Google found through our studies over the past couple of years in the GCC.鈥�
When asked about the possibility of hosting students to do internships at Google, he said: 鈥淲e want to focus on delivering this program. I think there are inspiring kids here, and we鈥檙e making efforts in localizing the content.
鈥淲e tried to make it 鈥楪oogley鈥� and give it a glimpse of some of Google鈥檚 culture, but long-term an aspiration I have is to help develop youth to鈥� one day apply for internships at places like Google.鈥�
Google has structured similar programs that were applied at schools in the US and UK.