COMMUNITY

OPTUS DIGITAL THUMBPRINT PROGRAMME

In Australia, our Optus Digital Thumbprint programme uses face-to-face workshops to teach high school students to be savvy, responsible and proactive members of the online community. Since the programme was launched in 2013, we have reached more than 54,000 students through 1,800 workshops in NSW and Victoria. In 2014, our programme was recognised with a Communications Alliance and Communications Day ACOMMS award and also a finalist in the Melbourne Community Awards.

Our partnership with Kids Helpline provides much needed intervention for children who have difficulty in coping with challenges in their daily lives. Increasingly, the issues raised and addressed through the helpline are related to cyber bullying and staying safe online. In June 2013, we jointly developed Kids Helpline@School, focusing on education and prevention, particularly in relation to digital citizenship issues, for primary school children. Sessions are conducted using a range of digital technologies such as Skype as well as connected classrooms. We have reached more than 11,000 students in 408 sessions across 146 schools mainly in NSW and Victoria.