Teaching Scouts Internet Survival Skills

By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin KUALA TERENGGANU (Terengganu, Malaysia), Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The Scout Movement helps develop young people physically, mentally and spiritually through outdoor activities and survival skills. The recent ASEAN Scouts Jamboree hosted by Malaysia for the first time reminded the scouts that they have to take cognizant of the challenges posed by the present digital world too. More than 10,134 scouts from nine nations gathered at Tengku Muhammad Ismail Scouts Camp at Kuala Nerus, Terengganu for the five-day jamboree from 15-20 Sept, 2016. The theme of the event was "Diversity of Culture and Heritage" and the foreign participants came from Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines and Vietnam. For scouts today, survival skills are no longer limited to the real world as the digital era also calls for scouts who act responsibly on the virtual world too. Hence, during the jamboree the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was entrusted with the task of enlightening the scouts on the responsible use of the Internet for their benefit. MCMC had carried out digital literacy programmes even during previous scout meets through the cooperation with the Malaysian Scouts Federation. Through the ASEAN Scouts Jamboree, MCMC's module on responsible behaviour while on the net has taken to the international stage. CLOSE COOPERATION MCMC's module Scout Digital Leadership (KDB) is one of the seven itineraries that the scouts have to attend to obtain the coveted scouts badge issued during jamborees. The other six include traditional games, handcraft and pioneering projects, traditional food, music and traditional arts, extreme sports and the ASEAN Assembly. "The emphasis on digital literacy among scouts is in line with MCMC's efforts to promote responsible use of the Internet in the society through self regulation and education," said Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin, MCMC's chief officer for network security and enforcement sector. Zulkarnain noted that as scouts came from different age groups, gender and all levels of the society, hence they could help spread the word on what they learnt from the KDB programme. The programme also goes to show that the Scouts Federation is moving along with times and is preparing its members with knowledge inline with the transformation and challenges brought about by the multimedia technology. LEARNING OF SELF RESTRAINT National Scouts Master Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh told Bernama, during the jamboree MCMC also enlightened the participants with its ‘click smart’ campaign. “The KDB is a new element that is yet to be seen in the jamborees in other countries. In Malaysia, we are the ones to introduce it,” explained Shafie. "It is a strategic and complementary cooperation between both parties," said Shafie. The Scouts Federation provided the venue and participants while MCMC provided valuable content for the benefit of the participants. Shafie noted that the cooperation also enabled the federation to get to know better of the requirements of the scouts today who were mostly from Gen Y and Z. DETAILED PREPARATION It is the first time that MCMC had handled such a big crowd who were equally eager to obtain the special badge of the jamboree. MCMC's Head of Department for Outreach Implementation K.Juslly Ellis noted that five activities were carried out under the KDB module conducted by MCMC, including the ‘KDB Talk’ to inculcate leadership values in using the digital technology responsibly. The three elements emphasised in all activities are safety over the internet, vigilance, and using the internet especially the social media responsibly. The other activities include the ‘explorace’ KDB Cyber Challenge, introduction to the robotic world and the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) element, KDB Innovation, exposure on the creative industry through KDB Creative and KDB Syok (online quiz). LONG TERM PLAN Speaking to Bernama, Zulkarnain noted that MCMC has made use of the opportunity in promoting the KDB module so that it could be used in other nations. “The abuse of Internet and social media transcends borders. We are ready to share our expertise on ‘digital literacy’ with any interested parties,” he explained. MCMC is also working out ways with the Scout Federation so that the KDB modules could be utilised for the scouts movement within the country. “We hope cooperation could be established between MCMC's district offices and the local scouting groups to implement the KDB modules at the respective places. This is our hope on the long term goal for KDB,” explained Zulkarnain. MCMC has 15 offices nationwide. -- BERNAMA