Participants gather at the University of The Bahamas, RBC Auditorium, Franklyn Wilson Graduate Centre 19-20 February 2025 for the CIRT-BS and ITU Child Online Protection Workshop
NASSAU, The Bahamas—Over 150 guidance counsellors were in attendance for the nation’s first “Train-the-Trainer” Child Online Protection (COP) Workshop, held in-person and online 19-20 February 2025, at the University of The Bahamas, RBC Auditorium, Franklyn Wilson Graduate Centre. The workshop, facilitated by the National Computer Incident Response Team of The Bahamas (CIRT-BS), was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Technical & Vocational Training, and supported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It marks a major milestone in strengthening child online safety and digital literacy nationwide.
“We are proud to have hosted The Bahamas’ first-ever Child Online Protection ‘Train-the-Trainer’ Workshop,” said Sametria McKinney, Director of CIRT-BS. “With over 150 guidance counsellors in attendance, this event was a crucial step in equipping educators with the tools to protect our children online.” In completing the workshop, participants will be on their way to becoming the first in the nation certified to train others in Child Online Protection (COP).
Empowering Educators to Understand the Growing Need for Child Online Protection
The two-day workshop featured expert-led sessions on child online safety, educator responsibilities, and best practices for training others in digital protection. Roxanne Williams, a guidance counsellor at C.C. Sweeting Senior High School with 20 years of experience, praised the workshop’s impact, sharing, “It’s been very informative, and it also brought to light many of the issues prevalent for young people on the internet. This workshop has provided a standardised process that we can integrate into our local context to respond effectively when students report concerning online situations.”
Fanny Rotino, Global Programme Officer for the ITU, highlighted the essential role of counsellors and social workers in online child protection, presenting on the importance of educator involvement and the role of digital safeguards. Rotino shared, “Counsellors and social workers are often the first ones to see if anything has happened to a child. They can report it. They have the background and the authority to safeguard the child. And often, they have much more knowledge than the parents and can help both parents and children alike.”
On the future of digital child protection, Rotino emphasised the need for a holistic and child-rights-based approach, stating, “This approach is essential for balancing both the opportunities and risks of the online environment for children. Striking this balance is difficult, but we are committed to overcoming these challenges.”
CIRT-BS is a component of the $30 million Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness project, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2019. This project falls under the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Digital Transformation Unit. For additional information on CIRT-BS or to report an incident, please visit www.cirt.bs. Connect with CIRT-BS on social media using the handle, cirt_bs.
