The Film and Publication Board (FPB) has appointed its first-ever South African Online Safety Youth Council (SAOSYC) at the Online Safety Youth Summit held in September in the Limpopo Province. The purpose of the summit was to explore young people’s insights on online safety; share their experiences and recommend measures that can be taken to decrease online abuse.


Insights from the youth will assist the FPB in developing regulatory and non-regulatory instruments for a safer online environment. The information will also guide the FPB to develop a draft Youth Engagement Strategy to be implemented by the SAOSYC as a structured way to give the youth a voice in the FPB’s expanded mandate.

The Youth Council provides a structured way for the FPB to engage the South African youth regarding online issues affecting them and use the Council to:

• Understand online safety abuse based on lived experiences of the South African youths
• Create a safe space for the youth to engage and have honest conversations without fear of rebuke or judgement by elders regarding the online environment
• Use the youths to engage their peers regarding Online Harms and safety, thereby assisting in the promotion of the FPB’s expanded mandate
• Create a safe environment for youths to engage in online issues as experienced by them
  
  

Currently, the Youth Council has 10 (ten) members, the youngest being 13 years old.