Kigumi Delivers Pro Bono Data Privacy Training to Anti-Human Trafficking NGO

We had a lovely time yesterday delivering our Kigumi Group pro bono training “What’s My Digital Footprint?” to a group of 30 pre-teens and teens from DEPDC/GMS (Anti-Human Trafficking NGO) as part of their exchange programme with Panyaden International School in Chiang Mai.

With the help of 2 translators (we were working across 4-5 different languages and dialects) we learned about:

👣 the concept of a digital footprint
💰💰 what entities benefit from gathering and dealing in personal data online (and to what end)
🖐 🗣️ 🏦 types of common data gathered (legal/financial, socio-behavioral, biomedical, etc.)
💪 and most importantly, how to actively manage your digital footprint

Some quotes from DEPDC students:
- “I didn't know the meaning of the word data until this training"
- "I really liked this training because it made me learn how to protect my privacy"
- "I liked this training because it gave me a new experience and knowledge I can share with others"

A handwritten response sheet from the training from a teen student from DEPDC

Why we chose DEPDC as a pro bono partner

Since DEPDC serves formerly trafficked and vulnerable-to-exploitation children and women in the Mekong region, including stateless children, providing these 13-19 year olds as early as possible with an understanding of their online personas and what data is gathered by various actors - including government actors and organized cybercrime entities - is literally a vital skill to staying physically safe.

It was also wonderful to hear from Khun Sampop, Founder of DEPDC, that he thought the new format we’ve introduced for all our trainings of 5-min microlesson edutainment videos (in this case, enhanced by an in person facilitator) worked better than other trainings the students had gotten in the past, because “the children like watching things and it makes it easier to learn”.

Kigumi’s Social Enterprise Model

Partnering with credible, on-the-ground NGOs who have been serving their beneficiaries for more than 3 decades, like DEPDC, is a critical part of Kigumi Group's impact mandate and allows us to pursue greater impact for our trainings and programmes across Asia. We use a “sell-1-donate-1” social enterprise model where for each training or service Kigumi sells to a international school or education partner, we donate the same (or similar) training or service to a vetted NGO partner. DEPDC is the third Thailand-based NGO we have partnered with in the last 12 months to receive donated trainings - you can see more about our partnerships with Baan Dek Foundation and Starfish Education on LinkedIn and IG.

Stay tuned for more Kigumi partnerships with DEPDC and similar NGOs in the upcoming period.