Pakistan has expanded its online safety awareness efforts, with 12,575 students, teachers and parents trained across 100 government schools through initiatives involving Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), TikTok and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).The programme is focused on helping children and young people understand common risks associated with internet use while providing parents and teachers with resources to support safer online experiences. The initiative follows a Memorandum of Understanding between PTA and TikTok aimed at promoting a safer online environment for young people. Under the programme, educational materials have been developed for different groups, including students, educators, parents and caregivers. Resources prepared for students include a Children’s Toolkit, Digital Hifazat Workbook and Comic Book, while additional guidance has been created to help parents understand online safety concerns and respond to potential risks. PTA has made these educational materials available through its website, allowing them to be accessed beyond the government schools directly involved in the training programme. The availability of the resources online also provides students, teachers, parents and other members of the public with an opportunity to access information about responsible and safer internet use.
The awareness programme also includes a series of five short videos covering different online safety issues. The videos address risks including online predators, cyberbullying, hacking, hate speech and misinformation and have been distributed through social media platforms. A separate guidebook titled “Safeguarding Your Child in the Digital Age” has also been developed for parents and caregivers through collaboration involving UNICEF, Telenor and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child. The guidebook is available through the PTA website as part of the broader set of educational resources. The programme also includes reporting mechanisms, with a nationwide toll-free Child Protection Hotline, 1121, allocated for reporting cases related to child abuse. Pakistan is additionally participating in UNICEF’s ongoing Disrupting Harm project, which focuses on addressing online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Together, these activities combine awareness materials, training, guidance for families and reporting channels to address different aspects of children’s online safety.
According to programme documents, the training began with the preparation of 15 master trainers. These trainers subsequently trained 210 facilitators, who conducted awareness activities reaching more than 8,000 participants. Additional training sessions were also organised for partner organisations and PTA officers to increase institutional awareness of online safety issues. The broader programme is intended to give children and young people information about digital risks while helping parents and teachers understand how they can support safer internet use. The involvement of schools, government institutions, technology platforms and international organisations has allowed the programme to extend beyond individual classroom sessions and include resources that can be accessed more widely.
The expansion comes as online platforms play a growing role in education, communication and social interaction among young people. The programme’s focus therefore extends beyond basic awareness by combining training with educational content and mechanisms for reporting concerns. PTA has made the relevant resources publicly accessible through its website, enabling students, parents, teachers and other members of the public to use the materials even if they are not part of the 100 government schools included in the training programme. With 12,575 students, teachers and parents already trained and the facilitator network developed through 15 master trainers and 210 facilitators, the initiative provides a structured approach to increasing awareness of online risks among children and the adults who support them.
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