Optus brings Digital Thumbprint Program to Wide Bay in time for Safer Internet Day

In the spirit of Safer Internet Day 2020, this week students across Wide Bay will be boost their online safety skills after participating in Optus’ Digital Thumbprint Program, a free in-school program that supports young people to be safe, responsible and positive online.

Over the course of the week, more than 800  students from schools across Wide Bay including Riverside Christian College, Urangan Point State School, Bundaberg State High School, St Luke’s Anglican College and One Mile State School will take part in Optus’ Digital Thumbprint program which aims to equip them with simple and effective tools for staying safe online.

Maurice McCarthy Optus’ VP of Retail and Channel Sales said he was thrilled to bring the Digital Thumbprint Program to students at these schools and support this year’s Safer Internet Day by starting simple conversations around some of the challenging topics related to the online world.

“As a leading provider of internet technology, we are passionate about Safer Internet Day’s movement towards creating a better internet for everyone and look forward to continuing raising awareness throughout the entire week. By bringing our program to five schools in Wide Bay, students are able to learn that they don’t have to be an expert at navigating the internet to practice safe habits.”

“Students are always online, whether it’s to complete schoolwork, stay in touch with their friends or game. The Digital Thumbprint program ensures students are able to take home some valuable skills when it comes to cybersecurity, verifying credible information and what to keep in mind to create a positive digital footprint.”

Mr McCarthy said the program has been designed to incorporate an interactive and original approach to educating students on key issues such as how to protect your identity and information online and building positive and respectful relationships online.

“Students learn how easily things can spread when shared on the internet so they are aware of how valuable taking precautions such as creating strong passwords and enabling privacy settings on social media can be to shape their future for the better.”

Julie Inman Grant eSafety Commissioner said, “It’s great to see Optus stepping up to help us spread the online safety message to millions of Australians on Safer Internet Day,”

“Far too many young Australians are having negative experiences online, including cyberbullying and other forms of abuse or disrespect.”

“These are among the core issues addressed in the Digital Thumbprint Program, which uses realistic scenarios to help young people boost their online safety skills in an interactive way.”

“The theme of Safer Internet Day 2020 is ‘start the chat’, and I know that many inspiring conversations will begin in these workshops in the participating schools across Wide Bay.”

Since 2013, the government accredited Optus Digital Thumbprint program has educated over 300,000 primary and secondary students across Australia on how to be safer and smarter online.

Optus Digital Thumbprint is completely free for schools and does not promote any Optus products or services.

Optus Territory General Manager for Wide Bay, Mungo O’Brien and students from Riverside Christian College participating in Optus’ Digital Thumbprint Program.

Media enquiries:

Kaylah Bulow

Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850
E: media@optus.com.au