Over 20 million university students across Africa are targeted to benefit from a newly-launched gamified learning initiative on digital rights and inclusion by Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a leading pan-African digital rights non-profit.
The Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE), a custom-designed board game, was unveiled by PIN on Wednesday in Lagos, as part of a bold push to engage young Africans in discussions and training around digital rights and online inclusion through a fun, interactive format, the non-profit says in a statement made available to Technology Times.
Developed with support from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the DRIBLE game seeks to enhance digital literacy, foster online safety awareness, and introduce youth to PIN’s digital advocacy tools.
PIN says the pilot rollout has commenced in three universities across Africa—University of Lagos (Nigeria), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi (Kenya), and Dakar American University of Science and Technology (DAUST) in Senegal.
Speaking during the unveiling held at the University of Lagos, Mr. ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, says the DRIBLE project is a strategic addition to PIN’s mission to connect young Africans with digital opportunities and protect their online freedoms.
“PIN’s vision is to reach 20 million people through our Digital Inclusion and Digital Rights interventions,” Sesan says. “From Lagos to Dakar to Nairobi… we will use the vehicle of our new Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE), which entails using gamification, training, multimedia materials, tools and other interventions to connect African youth with digital opportunities and protect their digital rights.”
During his keynote address themed “Digital Inclusion at PIN: Our Past, Present and Future,” Sesan traced the journey of Paradigm Initiative from its modest beginnings in a cybercafé in Ajegunle, Lagos, to becoming a pan-African force for digital inclusion and rights.
Ms. Nnenna Paul-Ugochukwu, Chief Operating Officer of PIN, notes that DRIBLE would serve as a catalytic tool to deepen awareness among African students and empower them to advocate for digital rights in their local communities.
“We’re creating not just a game, but a movement,” the PIN COO says. “The learning experience aims to build capacity, drive awareness, and ultimately seed a generation of young digital rights champions across Africa.”
Also lending support to the initiative, Professor Olunifesi Adekunle Suraj commends PIN’s innovative approach, calling the initiative timely in preparing African students to navigate a digital future marked by opportunities and challenges.
The DRIBLE launch also kicks off a Campus Tour by PIN teams to the three pilot universities, which began July 15. The tour is aimed at onboarding students into the interactive learning experience while exposing them to PIN’s broader toolkit of digital rights resources.
Since its founding in 2007, PIN has become a continental leader in advancing the rights of digitally-excluded communities. With operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the organisation says it has impacted over 150,000 young people across Africa.
PIN’s ecosystem of tools includes:
- Ripoti, a digital platform for reporting violations of digital rights;
- Ayeta, a digital safety resource hub for activists, journalists and other at-risk groups;
- and Whispers in the Wires, a short film exploring real-world digital rights threats.
With DRIBLE, the organisation hopes to further its mission of building a rights-respecting, digitally inclusive Africa, starting with the continent’s youth.
Home
