On August 21 and 22, 2025, at the Canossa Spirituality Centre in Arusha, JamiiAfrica held an engagement session with around 168 Catholic novices (youth preparing for religious life) from various congregations. The participants came from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The session aimed to equip novices with the skills to navigate religious life in society while adapting to the challenges of today’s rapidly changing digital world. Many of them have spent years in formation without personal digital devices, making this training especially relevant.
Discussions covered key topics, including online fraud and scams, strategies for staying safe while using the Internet, and best practices for social media and messaging applications such as WhatsApp. The program also explored the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on Generative AI.
This initiative is part of JamiiAfrica’s mission under its Strengthening Digital Resilience, Literacy, and Inclusion program, which seeks to build a digitally empowered society where individuals and communities are resilient, informed, protected, and inclusively engaged. Collaborating with partners in initiatives like this contributes to achieving that vision.
The novices, together with their formators (mentors), expressed great appreciation for the engagement. They committed to applying the knowledge gained once they return to their communities and pledged to share these lessons with others to help reduce online misuse and cybercrime.
