Navigating disinformation in Asia and the Pacific

The course was key to the mission of UN Women to improve digital literacy and cyber awareness which are considered crucial in preventing conflict and violence in the region. Ridgeway worked in partnership with Girl Security.

The course needed to engage girls, women and gender minorities aged 16 to 24 in six countries and nine languages:

• Bangladesh, (language: Bangla)

• Indonesia, (Bahasa)

• Philippines, (Tagalog and Cebuano)

• Sri Lanka, (Sinhala and Tamil)

• Thailand (Thai)

• Timor-Leste (Tetum)

• English

We established three key principles to underpin the course and ensure we met our client’s objectives.

The content needed to:

• build digital literacy skills to amplify participant voices online;

• educate in identifying and minimising the impact and distribution of hate speech and misinformation, and;

• empower participants to spread positive online content and challenge hate speech and misinformation.

Our team drew on expertise from professionals in educational programming, adolescent and women’s mental health, as well as 18 local cultural and language experts in all six countries. This was complemented by the Ridgeway team’s specialist knowledge of hate speech, fake news and misinformation.

As the course needed to serve participants in six countries, Ridgeway’s cultural insight and linguistic capabilities proved crucial in ensuring the content was focused and inclusive.

A critical consideration was handling and inclusion of culturally sensitive concepts, including exploitation of nude imagery and human trafficking. Within conservative countries, education on these topics was essential but also highly charged. Ridgeway’s thorough consultation process, drawing on recommendations from our expert team, enabled us to devise and apply effective approaches to important learning material.

Our linguists identified nuanced points around translation and cultural idioms within course content. This included appropriate personal pronouns and inclusive language across the nine languages, ensuring culturally-relevant content.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The client, participants and key stakeholders have commended the course’s clarity, translation and gamification of new and evolving concepts.