Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi resident is launching a non-profit organisation in the UAE that will push for policy reforms to have Internet security certified schools in the UAE, and help protect children from online abuse.
Mohammad Mustafa Saidalavi, an Indian business intelligence analyst with Adnoc, left his cushy job to establish the UAE chapter of the DISC Foundation that aims to Develop Internet Safe Communities, especially for children.
DISC is an NGO based in Delhi, India, since 2012. It is run by a group of IT experts and philanthropists based in the UAE and India.
“What we propose to do at DISC is to develop strategic programmes for online child protection, and help implement it through country-wide policy reforms at government level,” Saidalavi, 40, CEO and Founder of DISC Foundation, told XPRESS.
An IT security expert who has been working at the grass roots level with parents and social organisations to raise awareness about online child abuse, Saidalavi said he had a shocking experience in Abu Dhabi two years ago that prompted him to leave his job for a social cause.
“I was asked by a parent to clean up their teenage son’s computer and block access to adult content. What I found was more than shocking. The teenage boy was addicted to child pornography that had violent content,” said Saidalavi, who is married with four children.
Children accessing inappropriate content on the internet is a serious concern for parents. Saidalavi said his foundation aims to help channel international expertise into the region and help governments fight child pornography, child sex predators, promotion of anti-social behaviour, internet addiction, cyber bullying, etc.
International statistics show 42.1 per cent of kids admit they have seen online pornography.
One of the policy reforms to be proposed by DISC is to establish a certification programme for schools to become an Internet Safe School by implementing safer internet policies, helpdesk/reporting tool and safety framework. It also campaigns for teachers to be compulsorily certified C-COPS (Certified Child Online Protection Specialist). It also plans to help governments establish a hotline and reporting tool with which persons can anonymously report online child abuse sexual material.
