Indonesia's Digital Literacy Latest Celebrity-endorsed Campaign Advances Critical Thinking in Digital Age

JAKARTA,Indonesia,Oct. 13,2021 -- The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika)through the National Digital Literacy Movement (GNLD) Siberkreasi encourages Indonesian netizens to practice critical thinking to fight hoaxes and online bullying on social media at its latest digital literacy program.

Indonesia’s Digital Literacy Latest Celebrity-endorsed Campaign Advances Critical Thinking in Digital Age

The event,which was held online via Zoom on October 8,2021,featuring Indonesian celebrity and social media influencer,Nikita Mirzani. This event managed to bring in over 1,400 participants online.

Indonesia has been ramping up its digital literacy campaign lately,hosting hundreds of free on and off-screen workshops,webinars,training sessions,and discussion series for the Indonesian public on the subject. The campaign was set to respond to the country's need for foundational digital literacy skills. While having one of the highest internet user numbers in the world,the Indonesian digital sphere is rampant with misinformation,cyberbullying,and fake news.

Countering hoaxes and cyberbullying

According to the 2020 Digital Civility Index,Indonesian netizens came last among other Southeast Asian countries in terms of online manners. Over 47% of Indonesians surveyed experienced cyberbullying,while 19% claimed to be victims of online harassment.

Speaking via Zoom last Friday,Indonesian celebrity and social media influencer with 8 million followers on Instagram,Nikita Mirzani,shared her experience with countering hoaxes and fake news,as well as cyberbullying on social media.

"Critical thinking should be the heart of every interaction in the digital age," said Nikita Mirzani. "This essentially means having the necessary skills to filter out misinformation online. We need to understand how to identify trusted sources and what makes something trustworthy. Eventually,this will keep us from getting provoked by unreliable news."

She added,"Empathy also matters. Learning to understand others with different perspectives and experiences allows us to live a healthy and responsible interaction on social media."

Critical thinking across the board

Critical thinking is also a part of main topic explored during the digital literacy program by the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Informatics and GNLD Siberkreasi. One of which is an online public speaking training program,targeting teachers and educators. Titled "Public Speaking for Educators",the two-hour session was held on Thursday,October 7,involving Indonesian actress and presenter,Nadia Mulya as the speaker. The training program highlighted the importance of information processing and evidence evaluation in public speaking to a large audience,particularly for online learning.

The training,which involved 3,000 online participants,addressed the remote teaching challenges faced by education personnel in Indonesia. As is known,since March 2020,teachers in Indonesia have been making an abrupt shift to online learning using various digital platforms.

"Therefore,the government has taken steps to assist this transition,including digital literacy training programs for teachers to deliver more innovative and interactive online learning," said Samuel A. Pangerapan,Directorate General of Informatics Applications.

Access Siberkreasi's webinars throughhttp://info.literasidigital.idand follow@siberkreasion social media for upcoming events.

About The Ministry of Communications and Informatics of Indonesia

The Ministry of Communications and Informatics of Indonesia through Ditjen Aptika has the primary function of spreading and developing the national digital infrastructure to accelerate Indonesia's digital transformation.

The Ministry is working with National Digital Literacy Movement Siberkreasi as its partner to provide education on digital literacy to the broader public through various forms of media. This movement is focused on using digital literacy as a way to elevate the national capability and to further the Indonesian people.