Putrajaya, 21 November 2018 – Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia YB Tuan Eddin Syazlee bin Shith opened today the 2018 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Research Symposium attended by approximately 300 participants. The Reseach Symposium showcased 11 research collaborations between MCMC and local universities. The 2018 MCMC research symposium was a collaboration between MCMC and UNICEF Malaysia with the aim to explore new ways to protect children when engaging online and promote responsible digital citizenship. The collaboration leveraged on both parties’ ongoing efforts to ensure; safe and productive interaction with communications technology and the internet; and research activities into the implication of technology on society.
The theme for this year’s symposium was “Maximising individual and societal participation in the Digital Economy through digital inclusion,” and presented discussions and presentations of key issues related to societal opportunities, challenges and gaps in the digital age pertaining to the promotion and fulfilment of a digital civil society. During the symposium panel discussions focused on the areas of: Children and the Digital Age; Cyber Wellness and Digital Citizenship; and Digital Inclusion for All.
In addressing the theme of inclusion for all levels of society, YB Eddin highlighted the requirement to use research to understand and explore how we can leverage on the various communications technologies in helping to address the disparities in our society. Two keynote sessions were presented during the Symposium. The first keynote entitled “A Consideration of Cyber Wellness, Digital Citizenship and Digital Inclusion” was delivered by Prof. Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria of UKM. The second keynote entitled “Children and the Digital Age” was presented by Dr. Daniel Kardefelt-Winter of UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Italy. A closed one-day workshop will be held as part of the collaboration on Thursday, 22 November 2018 led by international subject matter experts from UNICEF and local researchers from Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and expected to be attended by 50 participants from academia, civil society and government.
Organised in conjunction with World Children’s Day, the workshop aims to increase research capacity on children’s use of the internet and introduce UNICEF’s Global Kids Online (GKO) research framework to local researchers. The GKO is an international research framework and network which allows participating countries to benchmark children’s participation of the internet in relation to their: access and opportunities; online practices; and digital skills and literacies.
At the end of the workshop, participants delivered group presentations on the framework, the measurement areas, and identifying the local context of issues requiring consideration for Malaysia’s participation in the GKO research framework.
It is envisaged that participation in this framework will create opportunities for Malaysian children to be mapped internationally and to contribute to the national and international policy and legislation related to digital technologies.