Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin received the Chairmen of the Chambers of Internet Cafe Operators from İstanbul, Ankara and Diyarbakır.
Şahin said Internet cafes would be improved, and a system would take effect to label Internet cafes. She said it would include a certification and bar code system in which games would be matched particularly according to age groups.
Şahin said all the borders were removed in the information and technology era, and noted that it was the responsibility of everybody to prepare children and youngsters to the future in the new world order.
Şahin said the individuals, the society and the state should fulfill their duty in every area in order to prepare the children and youngsters for the future. She said studies which should reduce the harms of information and technology era to the minimum should be carried out .
Şahin referred to the importance of inclusion of every segment of the society in the studies, and stressed that family friendly systems protecting high interests of the child should be improved.
Şahin: There are 22 thousand Internet cafes
Minister Şahin said there were 22 thousand Internet cafes operating in Turkey, adding that the number of daily users of the Internet cafes was at least 5 million. She said physical conditions and services of Internet cafes would be standardized, and a new era would begin.
Şahin said her ministry prepared an action plan pertaining to the Internet cafes, adding that managing directors and officials of the 22 thousand Internet cafes were particularly included in this plan. Şahin said the managing directors and the officials would be trained immediately in cooperation with the academic world and non-governmental organizations.
Şahin: We have initiated family training in 23 modules
Şahin said her ministry initiated family training programs in 23 modules, and noted that efforts in this respect took place within the body of Family and Society Services Directorate General. “We add the section, which we call ‘digital literacy’ to this. We have initiated a study with the National Education Ministry in which digital literacy would be specialized in media literacy lessons, and instruction and education would be updated according to this curriculum.”
“As we boost digital literacy, research and development are the most important things we have. Family and Social Policies Ministry will carry out a survey to assess the profiles of the consumers, the demands and the purposes of impact analysis.”
Şahin said Internet cafes would be improved, and a system would take effect to label Internet cafes. She said it would include a certification and bar code system in which games would be matched particularly according to age groups. “We attach great importance to this. We are working with the academic world to prepare an infrastructure to assess a system to prevent games which are sexually explicit and which include violence for children. When we conclude the classification, the families will no more have concerns about what their children are watching when they go to an Internet cafe”
Şahin said the essential assignment of her ministry was to raise awareness in public, and added public spots would be prepared pertaining to Internet cafes. Şahin said conflicts of generations were directly proportionate with technological disintegration, noting rate of those over the age of 45 and below the age of 45 who use Internet was very different.
Önder Kaplan, chairmen of the Ankara Chamber of Internet Cafe Operators, said, “what we want to do is to prevent the harmful and give the useful. We want to form the correct Internet cafe model on the way to become an information society. The child and the Internet cafes are inseparable. Internet cafe means the children. We want to send our children to Internet cafes where they will get useful information. PCs in the houses are more dangerous than the computers in the Internet cafes.
Kaynak : 