 Nurturing Digital Responsible Parenting marked the inaugural installment of a seminar series aimed at enlightening and empowering parents and guardians of students attending District 3's 4 secondary schools, namely Bocache, Entrepôt, Leonhurst Comprehensive, and the St. Joseph's Convent Secondary Schools. This event's primary objective was to furnish parents with actionable insights, constructive strategies, and practical advice for effective digital parenting in an ever-evolving, tech-centric world. In a rapidly shifting digital landscape, those tools are intended to help parents strike a harmonious balance in guiding their children's digital experience. Sister Rufina Donato is the principal of the St. Joseph's Convent, disclosed at the seminar commenced by engaging first- and second-year secondary students from District 3 in structured dialogues and hands-on activities meant to cultivate a shared set of values, promoting responsible digital technology usage. Parents who are active participants in this transformative experience, joining interactive discussions with the Zoom platform. Many of them just look at the apps, the social media apps, but we want to say to them that it is more than that. It is not the virtual reality. There is augmented learning, and these are the things that can enhance their understanding, the curriculum, so we want to present that to them, so that they go beyond what they do. We also open for all the students to how they see themselves as individuals and not just go about posting videos or posting nude photos about themselves. One of the facilitators, Jacqueline Holden-Hunt, says each of the four secondary schools were presented with reliable topics such as being safe online and using digital tools for academic success. The Parenting Seminar Series is premised on a community-based approach, the goal of which is to initiate joint responsibility in building resilient digital citizenship. It's very important for the parents to be digitally knowledgeable. The kids will always be more knowledgeable than us because that's the environment that's what they grew up in and that's what they've always been exposed to, so they're going to be more knowledgeable. But it's to allow the parents, it's to guide the parents and tell them to go and learn, find out about things, put protection mechanisms in for young kids. When they get older, it's a waste of time because the kids are going to find ways of getting around the protection mechanisms you put in place. But to get the parents away of what is out there, the threats and how to speak to your children and guide them, so it's not about restricting your children, it's about educating them. Principal of the Antripo Secondary School, Arthur Scord, is of the view that although instruction within the classroom is increasingly utilizing technology, he says there should be a measure of caution whilst leveraging those new technologies. Technology is just part of our world and we have to embrace it. We have to encourage our children to use it but to use it discreetly. We know that there are challenges with a lot of our parents in terms of how they're able to manage and discipline their kids but we want to know that we can partner with them in looking at what are the best practices and so I welcome this initiative. The planning and implementation of the event was beheaded primarily by the Board of Management of the St. Joseph's Convent. The inaugural Parenting Seminar Series culminated over the weekend with a face-to-face breakfast event for parents of the St. Joseph's Convent Secondary School. Organizers are also looking closely at at-risk students in primary schools within District 3 and hopes the initiative can be replicated in the various education districts on the island. From the Communications Unit of the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training, I am Chris Satney reporting.