Media Release
Mangaluru, Feb 22: To empower religious communities with the tools for a secure and ethical online presence, a specialised capacity-building session on cyber safety and digital integrity was held at the Fatima Retreat Centre, Jeppu, on February 22. The programme was organised by the Conference of Religious India (CRI) Mangaluru, in association with the Commission for Social Communication and the Canara Communication Centre (CCC).
The training sessions were led by a specialised resource team from the Commission for Social Communication, comprising experts in the field of media and communication. Fr Anil Ivan Fernandes, director of CCC and secretary of the Commission, headed the team.
The primary trainers included Sr Grace Bennis Bethany (Vamanjoor), joint secretary of the Commission; Leo Victor (Modankap), cyber security expert; Ashwin D’Souza, (Urwa), IT expert; and Wilson Pereira, (Belvai), assistant professor at St Aloysius (Deemed to be University).
The workshop was highly interactive and activity-based, moving away from traditional lectures. The resource team provided live demonstrations of cyber security protocols and offered real-time assistance to participants, helping them navigate privacy settings, identify digital threats, and practice ethical media engagement on their own devices.
Around 110 religious priests and sisters participated in the session. In their feedback, the participants expressed high levels of satisfaction, noting that the practical approach gave them the confidence to navigate the digital world and handle their "media life" more effectively and securely.
The programme commenced with a prayer and welcome address by Fr Dominic Vas, president of CRI Mangaluru. Fr Anisio Mota SDB, secretary of CRI, and the executive members of CRI were present on the occasion.
In his remarks, Fr Dominic emphasised the necessity of digital literacy, announcing that more such training programmes will be organised in the future in collaboration with the Commission for Social Communication and CCC Mangaluru. Sr Sunitha Mary AC proposed the vote of thanks, acknowledging the expertise and effort of the trainers in demystifying the digital world.