Thirty-seven student advocates wowed social media with their creative digital designs during the Digicel/NSSC Safer Internet Collage competition, from February 1-13.

Following two weeks of intense competition, student leaders Kristin Chambers, Ruth Henry, and Sydonya Miller were crowned the competition’s top designers.

Students from 33 schools responded to the challenge from Digicel and the National Secondary Students’ Council (NSSC) to become agents of change by submitting creative and informative digital designs that promote safe internet usage and best practices. All designs were showcased on the NSSC’s Instagram account for members of the public to vote for their favourites.

Manning’s School Student Council President, Kristin Chambers, emerged best in class as the first place winner of a new laptop from Digicel. For him, the win was all about being able to gift the laptop to help a fellow student in need of one for online classes. Kristin’s eye-catching design urged students to remain SMART (Stay private, Meeting is a no, Acceptance of files, Reliability, Talk up) when surfing the internet.

He noted, “Unfortunately, many students still don’t have devices to do online learning. When I saw the competition on the NSSC Instagram page, I was inspired to enter to help a fellow student. I am elated to win the first place prize. My win wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Manning’s School student body.” He added, “I want to commend Digicel and the NSSC for facilitating this competition. Promoting safe internet use for students is so important at this time when we spend the majority of our days online.”

The second-place prize of a Samsung tablet went to Hydel High prefect, Ruth Henry. She prompted her peers to focus on internet security in her creative design entitled ‘Secure your accounts!’ She recalled, “My sister sent me the competition link because she knew I needed a new device for online classes. After I submitted my design, I rallied all my friends and family to vote and prayed that I would be one of the finalists. I want to send a big thank you to Digicel and the NSSC for not only giving me a gift to help me with my studies, but also for engaging young people to discuss staying safe when browsing and using social media.”

Belmont Academy prefect, Dean’s Assistant, and Student Council member, Sydonya Miller was the lucky third-place winner of a Digicel DL3 Pro Plus smartphone. Her design promoted safe browsing by explaining some of the ways internet users are targeted by hackers. Sydonya noted that participating in the competition was a “no-brainer” for her, since she was already a student advocate for safe internet use.

Sydonya celebrated her win and stated, “I wanted to be a part of the competition because this is a topic I am passionate about. As an art student, I am proud that social media users enjoyed my design while also taking away some useful lessons. Thank you to Digicel and the NSSC for the opportunity to share this message with my peers. I am certain that my fellow students appreciate the effort you have made to help us stay safe online.”

In congratulating and encouraging the finalists and others who entered, CEO of Digicel Jamaica, Jabbor Kayumov, commented, “As a digital operator, it is our responsibility to ensure that we take the lead on educating internet users of all ages about how to protect themselves online.’ He added, “Digicel is happy to continue our partnership with NSSC to promote safe internet use, especially among students and young adults. I was impressed with the level of artistic skill displayed by participants and I’m happy to know that our students are deeply engaged in discussions around safer internet use.”