It is my great pleasure to be a part of this symposium on Child Care and Protection.

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1 PRESENTATION BY NELLY MULUKA ON BUILDING SYNERGY IN MEDIA, ICT AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON CHILD CARE AND PROTECTION PRESENTED AT THE 1 ST NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM IN KENYA ON CHILD CARE AND PROTECTIONS HELD AT THE MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY Hon. Mrs. Nzavi Kivutha, First Lady Makueni Dr. Beatrice Kathungu Franc Mona Hon. Lady Justice Teresia Mumbua Matheka Jane N. Mukuha Dr. Mary Mogute Doreen Nyaga Massawa Charles Valentine Organisers of this event Distinguished guests All protocols observed Ladies and Gentlemen My name is Nelly Muluka, Corporate Communications Manager, Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB). I am here to represent Dr. Ezekiel Mutua, CEO, KFCB. It is my great pleasure to be a part of this symposium on Child Care and Protection. Just to highlight how KFCB is connected to child care and protection _ KFCB is a State Corporation under the Ministry of Sports and Heritage mandated by the Films and Stage Plays ActCap222 to regulate the creation, broadcast,

2 distribution, exhibition, and possession of film and broadcast content. The principle objective behind the regulating the film and broadcast content through examination, rating and classification is to protect children from exposure to harmful or adult content. For a fact, media is a double edged sword, one that either makes or destroys. It is thus incumbent on us to model conscientious content consumption. The effects of commercials on our buying habits, for instance, is evidence enough of how powerful media content is on our choices. Being in their formative years, children are bound to pick habits and allow the media they interact with to shape their character and being. In this regard, their vulnerability calls for care and protection in the content they consume. It is indeed our collective responsibility to capitalize on the good that the media offers for the benefit of our children. As stated earlier, the media is a powerful tool in especially socialization. It is mainly for this reason that the KFCB conducts a media literacy campaign dubbed You Are What You Consume campaign among all its stakeholders with the aim of creating awareness about the impact of consuming negative media content. Indeed, children tend to copy and paste content in their innocence not knowing the repercussions of the same. Being at their foundational level, the media offers the rare opportunity to impact them for a lifetime. Ladies and gentlemen, Technology is one the most defining impacts on contemporary development. With more reliable internet and that has faster speeds, we will be in a regulatory dilemma if our policies remain weak, our efforts ineffective and wanting. Whereas technological advancement is to be applauded, it comes coated with challenges.

3 Further, digital migration has brought with it new challenges leading to the proliferation of platforms that are readily available and unregulated. This makes children more vulnerable as content that is easily uploaded online exposing children to harm. This all-you-can-eat media buffet calls for urgent and deliberate caution that begins with you and me. To this effect, creation of awareness to children and guardians alike on the repercussions of exposure to such content is significantly important. It is a collective sacrosanct duty of all relevant parties including the media itself to ensure that what gets to children from diverse media platforms is most palatable and for their edification. The media has deliberately promoted vices such as laziness while glorifying shortcuts and quick fixes as a means to success at the expense of hard work. This has been promoted through repeated advertisement of gambling and how it can provide an easy way out for those looking to succeed in life. Children may not see the need to work hard in school and may waste a lot of time gambling. Some have ended up becoming petty thieves so as to get money to gamble. Collectively, we must be proactive in ensuring that commercials, cartoons, movies and other content are child-conscious. At this point in question, allow me to thank the public for the times they have raised the red flag over certain content and of course the Board has ensured that the same is removed from our platforms immediately. As a regulator, the KFCB acts as a gatekeeper of what children consume through providing age suitability for content viewership and consumption. The internet and availability of smartphones in the hands of children has proved to be a challenge not only for the Board but for all other organisations that are involved in the duty of protecting children against exposure to harmful content.

4 It is indeed in this regard that as a regulatory Board, KFCB is most grateful to the Executive arm of Government for the support accorded to us. Just two days ago, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to law the Cyber Security and Protection Bill. Without a doubt, this development revitalises the future of the children of Kenya especially online. The areas of child pornography, fake news, bullying online and others are well taken care of in this bill and the hefty penalties for offenders will go a long way in deterring the culprits. On the same breath, this shall be futile if we do not seek out our children. It is for this reason that fora such as this where we engage on building synergy must be embraced. Ladies and gentlemen, we should not and must not stop at the Executive milestones. Our everyday lives should show a concern over what the Kenyan children are consuming. As a fact, protecting children against exposure to harmful media content does not work in regulatory solitude but in partnerships for a common goal. KFCB on its part partners with content bodies such as Facebook, YouTube, Media houses, Watoto Watch and other key players in this sphere. It is our continued belief that if we fight as one, vicious content will have no room in our midst. We take note of the global efforts such as the World Safer Internet Day that seek to make technology harmless. I urge us to be proactive in this regard, sparing zero energies. The Board has not and shall not shy away from flagging down inappropriate content. Allow me to state that even as we allow adults the greater latitude in content consumption, the safety of the children remains primary to the Board. As our CEO Dr. Mutua is fond of saying, a nation rises or falls based on its

5 moral values. The young minds must not be swayed or disillusioned by misrepresentations and exaggerations in film and media content. Section 46 (1) of the Kenya Information and Communications Act mandates KFCB to impose age restrictions on films and TV programmes. This act of regulation is meant to guide consumers beforehand. In a survey we carried out last year, we are glad that most Kenyans can comfortably tell the ratings apart. We promise to continue working closely with other stakeholders in ensuring the law is king, and our children reap maximally from the film and broadcast content. As we continue to enjoy the support of stakeholders such as the Cohesion and Integration Commission in mitigating hate speech, faith based organizations as well as learning institutions in taking the message to students, we are alive to the fact that protecting children is a shared responsibility. Without a doubt, gathered here are ambassadors of the hope for our nation. And since You Are What You Consume, it is incumbent on you to pass on value and virtue to the children of Kenya. God bless you NELLY MULUKA CORPORATE COMMUNICATION MANAGER, KFCB