Zoom Supports Expansion Of Digital Champions Programme

Zoom Video Communications has announced that it will be supporting the expansion of the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) Digital Champions programme with an aim to advance digital safety on the Internet among young adults. Security and privacy have been the cornerstones for Zoom’s many initiatives and this collaboration highlights Zoom’s continued commitment to the safety of users on its platform and on the Internet. The programme will cover schools across 10 states in India and educate more than 50,000 students in grades eight and above on digital privacy and security.

Through this initiative, Zoom will support YLAC to expand its programme to institutes of more states in the country, particularly where students are first-generation learners and lack primary knowledge of safe and meaningful use of the digital space. Zoom will support translations of content on digital safety in several Indian languages starting with Hindi, the most widely spoken language in the country - thereby extending the reach of the programme to a larger population. 

The programme helps young adults become more conscious consumers of information, build digital resilience, foster a healthier and more meaningful relationship with technology by educating them about various aspects of online safety including risks and potential threats on the internet. In 2021, the programme was successfully piloted in 31 schools from nine states across the country, engaging with over 4500 students. The content of the programme, which is currently in the English language, is now being translated into Hindi and other Indian languages in an endeavour to take the program to schools across India via collaborations with state governments and private education institutes.  

The Digital Champions programme was supported by Omidyar Network India in its first year as a part of its digital Society Challenge.