MTN has established a partnership with MTV Base to address digital safety concerns affecting African youth through a comprehensive awareness campaign. The mobile network operator will collaborate with the entertainment platform to produce Room of Safety, a serialized program designed to educate young people about online risks. This initiative represents part of MTN's broader Help Children Be Children campaign that seeks to protect minors from digital harm. The partnership leverages MTV Base's established influence among African youth demographics to amplify safety messaging across the continent. Both organizations aim to create meaningful behavioral changes through targeted educational content.
The Room of Safety series will debut on July 20, 2025, featuring ten episodes distributed across MTV Base television programming and digital platforms. Craig Nobela from Paramount's Culture Squad will host the series alongside prominent African social media personalities. These influencers bring diverse perspectives from across the continent to address various aspects of online safety. The program will air on DStv channel 322 and stream through MTV Base's social media channels. Multi-platform distribution ensures widespread access to safety resources for young African audiences.
Recent research conducted by Ipsos reveals troubling patterns of online behavior among children aged 8 through 17 across three African countries. One in ten children from Nigeria and South Sudan reported experiencing online harassment while 20 percent of South Sudanese youth encountered cyberbullying. Nigerian adolescents spend significant time online with 79 percent accessing the internet for more than one hour each day. Between 30 and 40 percent of teenagers across all surveyed nations admit to adding unknown individuals to their messaging applications. Children in Juba who maintain extended online sessions face seventeen times higher risks of engaging in dangerous digital activities.
The Room of Safety series will debut on July 20, 2025, featuring ten episodes distributed across MTV Base television programming and digital platforms. Craig Nobela from Paramount's Culture Squad will host the series alongside prominent African social media personalities. These influencers bring diverse perspectives from across the continent to address various aspects of online safety. The program will air on DStv channel 322 and stream through MTV Base's social media channels. Multi-platform distribution ensures widespread access to safety resources for young African audiences.
Recent research conducted by Ipsos reveals troubling patterns of online behavior among children aged 8 through 17 across three African countries. One in ten children from Nigeria and South Sudan reported experiencing online harassment while 20 percent of South Sudanese youth encountered cyberbullying. Nigerian adolescents spend significant time online with 79 percent accessing the internet for more than one hour each day. Between 30 and 40 percent of teenagers across all surveyed nations admit to adding unknown individuals to their messaging applications. Children in Juba who maintain extended online sessions face seventeen times higher risks of engaging in dangerous digital activities.
