TikTok launches global report into the impact of potentially harmful challenges and hoaxes

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  • 31% of teens exposed to these hoaxes had experienced a negative impact and, of those, 63% said the negative impact was on their mental health.
  • As a result, TikTok strengthens protection efforts by removing warning videos on self-harm hoaxes.
  • The report is designed to help the community stay safe while having fun on TikTok.

Pakistan (NUT DESK)  TikTok, the world’s leading video platform, is designed to advance joy, connection and inspiration to millions around the world. Fostering an environment where creative expression thrives requires that the platform also prioritizes safety for the online community, and especially younger community members. In this vein, TikTok shares the interests of parents and caregivers in this mission, and is committed to listening and working with external experts to inform its efforts.

Consequently, the video platform has launched a global report to better understand young people’s engagement with potentially harmful challenges and hoaxes. While not unique to any one platform, the effects and concerns are felt by all, which is why TikTok set about to learn how it might develop even more effective responses as it works to better support teens, parents, and educators. It also hopes to contribute to a wider understanding of this area.

Through this first step and the encouragement of discourse on the subject, TikTok aims to use this work with world-leading experts to make a thoughtful contribution to safety and safeguarding of families online. TikTok will continue to explore and implement additional measures on behalf of the community.

In addition to this, TikTok launched social media awareness campaigns like #AapSafeTohAppSafe to promote safety on the platform and recently also launched its online Safety Center in Urdu which provides resources, guidelines and policies to educate users on safety, security and privacy. TikTok has also held public webinars with leading publications in Pakistan to promote safety and continues to make efforts to make the platform a safe place for its users.

The study surveyed more than 10,000 people (including teens, parents, and teachers from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Mexico, UK, US, and Vietnam) and consulted experts from around the world. It commissioned Praesidio Safeguarding, an independent safeguarding agency, to write a report to capture key findings and recommendations.

The report was written by Dr. Zoe Hilton, Director and Founder of Praesidio Safeguarding. The study convened a panel of 12 leading youth safety experts from around the world to review and provide input into Dr. Hilton’s report. It partnered with Dr. Richard Graham, a clinical child psychiatrist specializing in healthy adolescent development, and Dr. Gretchen Brion-Meisels, a behavioral scientist specializing in risk prevention in adolescence to guide and advise us.

Key learnings about how online challenges and hoaxes are experienced:

  • Online challenges: Online challenges or dares typically involve people recording themselves doing something difficult, which they share online to encourage others to repeat. The majority are fun and safe, such as the Ice Bucket Challenge or #BlindingLightsChallenge, but some promote harmful behaviors including the risk of serious injury.
    • When asked to describe a recent online challenge, 48% of teens said recent challenges they had seen were safe, categorizing them as fun or light-hearted, 32% included some risk but were still safe, 14% were described as risky and dangerous, while 3% of online challenges were described as very dangerous. Just 3% of teens said they had taken part in a challenge they categorized as really dangerous.
    • Teens use a range of methods to understand the risks that may be involved in online challenges before they participate, such as watching videos of others taking part in challenges, reading comments, and speaking to friends – 46% said they want “good information on risks more widely” and “information on what is too far.”
  • Suicide and self-harm hoaxes: Some challenges are hoaxes. A hoax is a lie intentionally planted to trick people into believing something that isn’t true. The purpose of a malicious hoax is to spread fear and panic.
    • 31% of teens have felt a negative impact of internet hoaxes and, of those, 63% said the negative impact was on their mental health.
    • 56% of parents said they wouldn’t mention a hoax unless a teen had mentioned it first, and 37% of parents felt hoaxes are difficult to talk about without prompting interest in them.

 What TikTok is doing to build on existing safeguards:

  • Strengthening protection efforts
    • Removing warning videos: The research showed how warnings about self-harm hoaxes – even if shared with the best of intentions – can impact the well-being of teens since they often treat the hoax as real. While TikTok already removes and takes action to limit the spread of hoaxes, to further protect the community the platform will start to remove alarmist warnings. TikTok will continue to allow conversations to take place that seek to dispel panic and promote accurate information.
    • Expanding enforcement measures: Having strong policies is an important part of TikTok’s work to protect its community, and it’s essential that these policies are coupled with strong detection and enforcement measures. The platform has created technology that alerts safety teams to sudden increases in violating content linked to hashtags, and has now expanded this to also capture potentially dangerous behavior.
  • Offering new resources to support the community
    • Building on the Safety Center: TikTok has developed a new resource for the Safety Center dedicated to online challenges and hoaxes. This includes advice for caregivers that aim to address the uncertainty they expressed about discussing this topic with their teens.
    • Improving warning labels and PSAs: Should community members attempt to search the platform for content related to harmful challenges or hoaxes, a new prompt will encourage community members to visit the TikTok Safety Center to learn more. And should people search for hoaxes linked to suicide or self-harm, TikTok will now display additional resources in search.

To read the full report, visit here.

 

Shahzad Nawaz Secures Prestigious Position

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Shahzad Nawaz Secures Prestigious Position of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Culture, Arts and Related Communications

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan in terms of rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business 1973 awarded the position of Special Assistant on Culture, Arts and Related Communications to Mr. Shahzad Nawaz. With an illustrious career spanning over two decades, Mr. Nawaz and his interdisciplinary expertise has enabled the amalgamation and fusion of technology, arts, design, and execution for various private sector entities across the country. He has received one of the highest number of international ‘creative excellence’ awards and citations conferred to a Pakistani making him an ideal candidate for the role.

Pakistan’s media and entertainment landscape has been diversifying rapidly. Shahzad Nawaz is amongst the most highly accredited and acclaimed specialized Media consultants in the country. He was responsible for launching Pakistan’s first private TV channel and has served in senior executive roles with various publications and media houses subsequently. He has also remained an advisor to various public sector institutions and served as DVF for one of the most premier educational institutes in the country. Mr. Nawaz was also responsible for developing an extensive toolkit and information management system for use by the industry while also creating identity, brand look, music, programming, sets and communication as well as launching various private and public TV channels. Mr. Shahzad Nawaz was also the pioneering force behind Ad Asia 2019 which was held in Pakistan after hiatus of 30 years and is Asia’s biggest Advertising Congress.

Mr. Nawaz has degrees in commerce, design and advertising from the University of Karachi and Memphis College of Arts.

 

Mondelēz Pakistan bags award for Gender Diversity at Workplace

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) At the prestigious occasion of the 18th Annual Excellence Awards by CFA Society Pakistan, Mondelēz Pakistan received The Gender Diversity at Workplace Award 2021. The award recognises leading organisations for the efforts made in different domains of their business operations and management styles in relation to enhancing their gender diversity representations within the organisation.

As a global company, our diversity is a strength that drives innovation and growth. At Mondelēz, we put huge commitment on supporting gender diversity at the workplace and support women in leadership. Our female representation at Mondelēz Pakistan equates to 50% females in our leadership team.

Mondelēz Pakistan takes lead in gender diversity initiatives. Some highlights of this year’s initiatives included International Women’s Day, fully flexible working from home policies, enabling highly engaged culture for females to thrive in and a major milestone is the launch of our first-ever Female Sales Trainee Programme.

Narmeen Khan, Managing Director, Mondelēz Pakistan commented “Our ambition is to build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable world –socially and economically. We believe that we are stronger through our diverse, inclusive and connected community; And we chose to act by doing what’s right, treat everyone with integrity and fairness, and create a culture that fosters a true sense of belonging”. “We are happy with this award as it’s not only proving our commitment towards diversity, equity and inclusion, but adds on our responsibility and passion to contribute more”, added Narmeen.

Picture shows Ms. Ayesha Tallat, People Lead – Mondelēz Pakistan receiving the award from Chief Guest, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue.

 

TO CURB RISING DENGUE Cases In Pakistan, MORTEIN Partners With The Directorate Of Malaria Control

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) To raise awareness against vector borne diseases like Dengue & Malaria, Pakistan’s No.1 choice, Mortein, joins hands with the Directorate of Malaria Control (DMC), a body of Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, Government of Pakistan. With an estimated 1 million* cases annually of Malaria and over 15,000* cases of dengue already this year, the two entities look to bring realization to the problem and are working towards preparedness before the mosquito season.

The event to announce the partnership and put it into effect took place at the Directorate of Malaria Control (DMC), a body of Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, Government of Pakistan.  In attendance at the event were the Director of DMC, Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, and the Director of Marketing at Reckitt Pakistan, Humayun Farooq.

Over the past few years, Pakistan has suffered from more than 60,000* cases of Dengue, a deadly disease that has the potential to impact the lives of millions in Pakistan and has no vaccine. Protection and prevention is the best possible cure and with the changing weather and onset of rainfall; all Pakistanis are urged to take all possible precautions.

Commenting on the partnership, Director Marketing at Reckitt Pakistan, Humayun Farooq said, “By partnering with an entity that has so diligently worked for the prevention and awareness of dengue & malaria such as DMC, we believe we can truly make a change in the way people deal with and view this life-threatening disease.” Reckitt, makers of Mortein have been leading awareness drives as well as helping equip Pakistan to fight various fatal ailments like Dengue through its campaign namely, #DengueAbNahi over the past years.

Addressing the importance of such collaborations, the Director of DMC, Dr. Mukhtar said, “Mortein has always been at the front line when it comes to vector borne diseases like dengue and malaria awareness and prevention used at home level. We are proud to partner with Reckitt Pakistan to ensure that we can get the best messaging of prevention to our communities and country.”

PAKISTAN CABLES Awarded The Prestgious 36TH MAP Corporate Excellence Award 2021

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Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan Cables won the prestigious Corporate Excellent Award 2021 in the Cables and Electrical Goods category at the Management Association of Pakistan’s (MAP) 36th Corporate Excellence award ceremony held at a local hotel in Karachi. Mr. Fahd K. Chinoy, CEO Pakistan Cables Limited was presented the award by Mr. Shabbar Zaidi, former Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), who was the Chief Guest at the ceremony.

The Corporate Excellence Awards was instituted by MAP in 1982 to recognize and honour companies in Pakistan that demonstrate outstanding performance, progress and enlightened management practices consistently. 

IBA CEIF, Mettis Global ink MOU for research, data sharing:

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Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) To strengthen the link between industry and academia in the field of Islamic Finance & Economics, the IBA Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance (IBA CEIF), a platform for discovery and dissemination of knowledge in the field of Islamic Finance and Mettis Global Pvt. Ltd, a leading financial data provider have agreed to join hands.

In this connection, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Director IBA CEIF and Faisal Abdullah, Director-Mettis Global Pvt. Ltd on November 10, 2021 at the IBA City Campus, Karachi.

Mettis Global is very keen to partner with IBA CEIF through establishing “Islamic Window Portal” with the right dataset to cater the needs of research pertaining to Islamic finance, Faisal Abdullah, Director-Mettis Global said. 

“We believe that student and IBA faculty will immensely benefit from Mettis data to execute the research objectives,” he added.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP’s) strategic plan 2025, the Islamic Banking is one of the evolving fields, having a share of 18% and expected to cover 30% of the industry by the end of 2025. This robust development in the Islamic Banking and Finance requires effective mechanism between industry and academia.

As per the MoU, Mettis Global will develop an Islamic window and IBA CEIF would be the best knowledge partner for the development of the said window. Meanwhile, Mettis Global will provide free access to faculty members and students of IBA to its financial portal viz “MG Link”.

In addition, Mettis would also offer internships to the IBA Students to let them gain the experience of the financial sector under a thriving atmosphere.

The MoU signing ceremony was attended by Muhammad Noman, Head of Sales, Mettis Global, Urooj Farooq, Assistant Manager Digital Marketing, Mettis Global, and Zia Khalid, Senior Program Manager, IBA CEIF.

 

In Light, There is Power: The Story of A Woman Who Revitalized Her Life While Protecting the Planet

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(Muhammad Yasir)

Kaneez Mai embodies not just the spirit of resilience and perseverance but the courage to break cultural norms and stand out as a champion of change in the community. In the small village of Kot Addu, Muzaffargarh, renewable energy is hardly something its population is concerned about. The people of this humble community are absorbed in the daily grind to put food on the table and earn a comfortable living. In these circumstances, it takes real initiative and drive to search for and understand the short-term and long-term significance of solar power as a key source to bolster agricultural production. Kaneez used what resources she had to learn all that she could about solar power.

Per a recent study conducted by World Bank, Pakistan has immense potential for solar power and by utilizing merely 0.071% of the area that can be used to generate it, the entire country’s demand for electricity can effectively be met. The prolonged and intense summers in the country make solar power a truly viable alternative energy source to meet the growing electrical disparities among various socio-economic strata. Having experienced most of these firsthand in the form of regular load-shedding and power outages, Kaneez Mai was more motivated than ever to design a long-term, cost-effective and sustainable agricultural model to earn her livelihood.

Pakistan’s economy relies significantly on its well-integrated agriculture sector which contributes approximately 25% to the overall GDP. A major portion of the population is employed in the agrarian segment, the current gender distribution being 30% and 67% for males and females respectively. With the digital revolution encapsulating all of the developing world, our agricultural practices are undergoing a steady digitalization as well. Innovative technological solutions are paving the way for more and more involvement and employment in this vastly essential industry. Not only that but technology is also seamlessly penetrating previously unserved markets through optimized solutions for vendor management, raw material acquisition, digital loans and payment services.

This is where MMBL comes in. As one of the leading digital financial institutions in the country, MMBL has an established and well-oiled operational mandate for promoting financial inclusion through digitally optimal solutions that are strategically catered to serve the underserved. Kaneez Mai, driven by her dream to earn a sustainable livelihood, came across the seamless nature of MMBL’s loan facilities and approached the bank for some capital to expand her agricultural venture. She owned 3 acres of land which could not be cultivated due to limited agriculture resources. Through the digitally powered services that require minimal paperwork, Kaneez was able to receive her loaned amount, PKR 700,000, in no time.

With the loaned amount in her hands, Kaneez intelligently opted for a solar-powered pump which eventually helped increase her future savings and aided her loan repayment since she was able to cut significant costs by not paying regularly for fossil fuel-powered electricity generators and extensive electrical bills. Through her smart use of the loan, Kaneez Mai is now able to support her 5 children, 4 daughters and 1 son, and provide a comfortable life for them with her renewed income.

It is estimated that 90% of all Pakistani farmers are classified as subsistence farmers, signifying their limited to no access to sufficient financing which leads to an overall lessened investment in agricultural technology designed to aid their operations and enhance their produce. MMBL has been a champion of the underserved segments of the Pakistani population for well over 9 years and Kaneez Mai’s adoption of our customer-centric services is among many similar stories that have resulted in dreams being realized and lives being transformed for the better.

Since its inception, MMBL has devoted its policies, services and products to address the sustainable development goals of 2030 and promote digitization, innovation and financial inclusion for a nationwide socio-economic uplift that is driven by the desire to serve the underserved.

On a mission to empower women to adopt bold ideas and strive for their dreams, MMBL, under its flagship Women Inspirational Network (WIN) program, has a wide majority of female borrowers just like Kaneez Mai, who have utilized their entrepreneurial prowess to inch closer to their dreams.

Ramsha Khan set to play ‘Pariwesh Jamal’ from Balochistan in ‘Sinf e Aahan’

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  After her award winning performance in Ghisi Piti Mohabbat earlier this year, the talented Ramsha Khan is coming back with a power-packed performance in the highly anticipated serial ‘Sinf e Aahan’, representing Baluchistan in her role as  ‘Pariwesh Jamal’.

Pariwesh, Khan’s character, is a small town girl from Baluchistan who is shown to be fearless as she fights all odds to achieve her dream to join the army. She breaks all stereotypes and goes against the norms of her society to do her nation proud.

Her character teaser was released by ARY Digital today, giving the audience a sneak into Pariwesh’s character and journey to become an army cadet, and includes a personalised OST sung in Brahvi (the ethnic language from Baloch region) crooned by the talented vocalist Zeb Bangash.

From the reveal of the first announcement of the serial, ‘Sinf e Aahan’ has captured the audiences’ hearts where each of the female lead namely Sajal Aly, Syra Yousuf, Yumna Ziadi, Kubra Khan and Sri Lankan star Yehali Tashiya will be playing military cadets alongside Ramsha Khan. Each character hails from a different background and yet they all achieve their dreams despite all odds to join the army and serve the nation. Even though they are different from one another, one thing each woman has in common in the trailer is that “she doesn’t need a hero, she was raised to be one.”

The much anticipated project has been produced by Samina Humayun Saeed and Sana Shahnawaz of Next Level Entertainment along with Humayun Saeed and Shahzad Nasib of Six Sigma Plus in association with ISPR. The series has been directed by Nadeem Baig and written by the renowned playwright Umera Ahmed.

Sinf e Aahan is slated to go on-air on ARY Digital in a few weeks.

Teaser – https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWV1JFFIQwW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Karandaaz announces funding for Six Green Transitional Projects

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Karandaaz Pakistan, a non-profit entity implementing Enterprise and Asset Growth Programme funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has announced its plans to fund six green transitional projects as part of its annual Innovation Challenge. With support from FCDO, this year Karandaaz invited innovative projects seeking financing to implement plastic waste management and efficient water management solutions. After due diligence, Suftech Innovations, Davaam Life, a consortium of 8th Loop and Open Door Design, National Rural Support Program (NRSP), Linked Things, and National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) have been selected as winners to receive funding from Karandaaz. The qualifying entities were awarded certificates of selection by Ms Annabel Gerry, Development Director at FCDO UK, Mr Waqas ul Hasan, CEO Karandaaz and Mr Jaffer Askari, Sr Private Sector Development Adviser, FCDO.

Speaking at the event, Ms Gerry said, “The private sector is crucial to fighting climate change. I congratulate these six companies on winning funding to take forward projects on plastic waste and water management. The UK and Pakistan are Ek Saath against climate change. At the COP26 climate change conference last week the UK pledged over £55 million to help Pakistan fight climate change, promote efficient water usage and unlock climate investment.”

In a video message to mark the event, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson Karandaaz said, “Lack of access to finance and poor investor interest explains the lack of private sector engagement in plastic waste management and efficient water management and conservation. Financial support is missing for the refinement and customization of products and solutions according to the requirements of specific sectors. Transitioning towards green practices requires a holistic approach; introducing an innovative solution, unlocking financing for the implementation, and scaling up, ultimately creating a demonstration effect. According to a study by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, about 95% of Pakistan’s water is used in agriculture, where current practices disregard its conservation and efficient use. As a result almost 60% of water is lost during conveyance and application in the field. Untreated disposal of industrial waste also continues to be a common practice for a number of industries in Pakistan. Similarly, according to the Government of Pakistan, 87,000 tons of solid waste is generated per day, mostly from major metropolitan areas. Plastic production and waste management continue to make significant contributions to greenhouse emissions. Factors such as these will have grave implications for the macroeconomy, the burden of disease, food security, livelihoods, and climate. This year, Karandaaz Innovation Challenge Fund will not only help set up six such solutions but demonstrate for other private sector players and the financial sector at large that investing in climate-smart green solutions is not only crucial for sustainable development but also makes commercial sense.”

Climate change is a high priority area for Karandaaz. It has already invested in solar companies. Through this round, Karandaaz will be committing another PKR 200 m and it plans to enhance its green portfolio to support both adaptation and mitigation measures to address the climate change concerns in Pakistan.

*Skilled youth vital for prosperity, socio-economic development: Provincial Minister Aslam Iqbal*

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Highlighting the importance of producing skilled youth towards socio-economic development, Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal has said that experts in skills training can contribute a lot in not only saving the planet but also offering skilled manpower to both public as well as private sectors.
The provincial government’s efforts are to have best vocational and technical training system that conforms the international standards. Today while seeing all these graduates having choice of the employment search as per the same demand-driven aspects of industry is the real showcasing of what we had aimed for, the minister remarked this while addressing the fresh graduates at the Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021 in Lahore.
The Hunar Rozgar Mela was organized by Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Punjab, the donor funded TVET Sector Support Programme (SSP) implemented by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Programme Migration for Development (PME). Purpose of the Mela was aimed at providing a platform to the job seeking TVET graduates, undergraduate and returnees from EU and GCC countries.
These institutes have received assistance from the TVET SSP. Aside from the 62.5 million Euro work in the TVET sector, the TVET SSP has recently launched a 5 million Euro reintegration of returnees in Pakistan initiative to support returning migrants and local populations in their socioeconomic reintegration through skills, career counselling, and business start-ups measures.
Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal, MNA Andleeb Abbas and Chief Advisor TEVTA, Skills Policy Punjab, Usman Khan, were also present on the occasion. 
Through this event, the TEVTA Punjab successfully showcased the skills of training institutes in the province that are implementing competency-based training in industry priority economic sectors. 
As many as 1,100 graduates of TVET SSP from 21 different institutes visited recruitment kiosks of 30 national and multinational enterprises for exploring employment opportunity against 1,400 jobs while testing their interview skills in front of more than 60 recruiters in various leading economic sectors of Pakistan.
Speaking at the occasion, Chairperson TEVTA Ali Salman Siddique said, the Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021 is a great initiative and served as a platform to connect hundreds of young jobseekers trained in vocational and technical trades with recruiters and HR professionals from leading enterprises.
In his remarks, Olaf Handloegten, GIZ Cluster Coordinator (Training and Sustainable Growth for Decent Jobs) said that the event showcases the potential of public-private partnership in the TVET sector of Pakistan, with both a wide-range visibility of the Government of Pakistan’s commitment towards employment promotion and skills delivery, as well as of Business and Industry Associations working in the TVET sector.
MNA Andleeb Abbas also said the participation of private sector in the TVET SSP is critical for gaining access to quality skills development, on-the-job training opportunities, and establishing a conducive climate for employment.
Chief Advisor TEVTA, Skills Policy Punjab, Usman Khan, speaking at the occasion said that they are encouraged to see the results of TVET SSP and efforts of TEVTA Punjab especially in the area of industry-linkages. We aspire and anticipate stronger cooperation and collaboration between TEVTA and the commercial sector in improving training quality and employment possibilities for our alumni.
Panel discussion on the topic ‘Employment for Economic Sustainability and the Role of the Private Sector in TVET in post-COVID Scenario’ was also conducted. All the panelists put forward their expert opinions on the training and human resource development aspects.
The Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021 was concluded with the insights from the leading representatives of industry involved in TVET delivery like Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Professor of Economics and Director, Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Lahore School of Economics, Dr Rashid Amjad, CEO Depilex Group, Musarrat Misbah, Nouman Kabir, President Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Ali Salman Siddique, Chairperson TEVTA and Rep of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation.