Our grantees

Since July 2017, the Fund has supported ChildFund Australia’s Swipe Safe program in Vietnam, which aims to help young people navigate the Internet safely by educating them on potential risks, such as cyber scams, bullying or sexual abuse, and offering them strategies to protect themselves. ChildFund Australia designed, created and tested a training program to promote online safety – and ever since, the curriculum has been adapted by non-governmental organisations not just in Vietnam, but in Laos and Myanmar as well. Swipe Safe mobilizes parents, youth, schools and the private sector to play an active role in children’s online safety.

The program is providing training for parents and Internet café owners and managers to identify and address risks that might happen to children, from online to offline and vice versa. It also supports schools to develop child-friendly policies and guidance on online safety. Swipe Safe is active in advocating to the national government with lessons learned to inform national policy and response, and linking such legislation with the strengthening of existing structures. A key innovation of the program is that it engages young volunteers in local communities with extensive knowledge on technology to train young people and others, as these trainers can more directly relate to their peers’ experiences and help keep the curriculum up-to-date.