NerdzFactory Company in partnership with Meta brought together parents guardians for the SafeOnline Engagement.
It was designed to equip parents and guardians with practical knowledge and tools to better understand and support their children’s digital experiences.
The session strengthened parents’ understanding of Artificial Intelligence online risks and practical ways to support young people at home with discussions covering emerging digital risks responsible technology use and practical approaches to digital supervision.
Held under the theme ‘Building Safe Healthy and AI-Aware Digital Communities’ the session focused on the role of AI in young people’s digital lives common online risks and the importance of creating safer and healthier digital experiences.
The engagement forms part of SafeOnline which focuses on strengthening digital safety awareness and practical digital literacy and AI literacy knowledge while promoting safer and healthier digital experiences for young people.
The Parents and Guardians Engagement Session specifically recognises the home environment as an important part of sustaining safe digital behaviours equipping parents and guardians to provide informed guidance and support as young people navigate an increasingly digital world. The session combined experts’ remarks an integrated learning session practical demonstrations and interactive discussions.
Participants explored how young people interact with AI and digital platforms common online risks such as misinformation AI-generated content privacy concerns and unsafe online interactions as well as practical ways to encourage responsible technology use at home.
A key component of the engagement was a practical session on parental controls and digital supervision facilitated by Solomon Ijishakin. Parents and guardians were guided through practical approaches to supervising children’s digital experiences and understanding the tools available to support safer online engagement.
The session also explored how artificial intelligence works and how it is increasingly embedded in everyday digital experiences.
Participants were shown practical ways to identify AI-generated text video and audio while also learning about online scams and steps they can take to protect themselves and their children from financial and other digital risks.
The discussions reinforced the importance of parents having open and supportive conversations with young people about technology rather than relying solely on restrictions or controls.
The engagement brought together representatives from Meta NerdzFactory Company the Lagos State Ministry of Education the Office of Education Quality Assurance and Lagos Mainland Local Government.
Representing the education authorities was Mrs. Oluwatayo O.A. Director Monitoring and Investigation Department representing the Director General of the Office of Education Quality Assurance.
Other officials from the Office of Education Quality Assurance also participated in the session.
The Executive Chairman of Lagos Mainland Local Government Dr. Jubril Kolawole Emilagba also participated in the engagement and highlighted the importance of conversations that help parents and communities recognise misinformation and other risks in the digital environment.
The Chairman also expressed support for extending similar digital safety conversations to government-owned schools within the Lagos Mainland Local Government Area highlighting the importance of reaching young people directly alongside the parents and educators who support them.
Speaking during the session Sade Dada Head of Public Policy Anglophone West Africa at Meta discussed Meta’s work to promote safer digital experiences for young people including Teen Accounts and the importance of giving parents and guardians greater visibility and support as teenagers navigate digital platforms.
‘As young people continue to spend more time in digital spaces parents and guardians need practical knowledge and tools to understand the experiences their children are having online. Building safer digital environments requires shared responsibility and initiatives like SafeOnline create an opportunity to equip the adults around young people with the knowledge and resources to support them.’
For NerdzFactory Company the engagement reflects the organisation’s focus on strengthening the wider support system around young people.
Omozele Umoren Programme Lead NerdzFactory Company said: ‘Keeping young people safe online cannot be the responsibility of young people alone. Parents and guardians need to understand the digital environments their children are navigating recognise emerging risks and feel confident having open conversations about technology. SafeOnline provides a practical platform for building that knowledge and strengthening the home environment as part of the wider digital safety ecosystem.’
The Parents and Guardian Engagement Session is part of the broader SafeOnline 2026 approach to building awareness and practical capacity around online safety artificial intelligence responsible technology use and digital wellbeing.
The interest expressed by Lagos Mainland Local Government in extending these conversations to schools provides an opportunity to take the learning beyond the home and into the wider community creating stronger connections between parents educators government and young people.