Commonwealth Bank has teamed up with the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police to run a special, first-of-its-kind cyber education session to help keep kids safe in Fairfield in Sydney.
Catering to the area’s cultural diversity, the ThinkUKnow cyber safety program presentation at Fairfield High School was conducted in both English and Arabic. It was presented to students, teachers and parents on the same day, marking the first time the program has presented to all three groups at the same time.
A Facebook Live stream of the event reached an incredible 25,000 views.
ThinkUKnow is a cyber safety education program, created in partnership with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and industry.
It provides free, evidence-based presentations to parents, carers, teachers, and students right across Australia. It covers the benefits of technology, the way young people interact online, and how to overcome challenges in the digital space.
The program is delivered by the AFP and Commonwealth Bank staff volunteers.
“We aim to provide parents and carers from a range of diverse backgrounds and who may not have much experience with technology, with the confidence and skills to begin talking to their children about online safety,” says Mark Hamilton from CBA’s Human Resources team.
“Fairfield High School is a great fit, with 140 dedicated teachers and over 1,100 students from many backgrounds. It’s also a school that caters specifically for new-arrival families.”
Deborah Elliott-Edwards, CEO Community Engagement at Fairfield High School, found the program valuable for her students.
“We are so thankful to the AFP and NSW police for attending this important event. But a special callout to CBA for their continued strong support of this school,” she says.
The sessions were also attended by some members of the CBA branch teams at Fairfield and Canley Heights, who took the opportunity to show their support for their community.
Since launching, ThinkUKnow has reached more than 1,500 parents across NSW, and it’s been supported by more than 100 CBA employee volunteers from Sydney and across our branch network with an increasing focus in regional areas.
In September, Tasmanian CommBank branch staff, along with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and Tasmania Police, toured ThinkUKnow through the region to increase awareness of online safety.
In just two weeks, the tour visited more than 20 schools, reaching over 2,500 school children and 400 parents, carers and teachers. Students were educated about being safe in their communities and the adults were encouraged to have open conversations with children about personal safety.
ThinkUKnow is continuing to have an impact, and we’re excited to see the number of CBA employee volunteers growing every week.
If you would like to learn more about ThinkUKnow or online safety, visit ThinkUKnow.org.au