On March 9, 2020 @NGRSenate Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters committee hosted a public hearing for Nigeria's notorious "Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill". While we await the committee report, here's a thread on why you should #SayNoToSocialMediaBill We have a few questions: Who decides what is a "false statement"? Only the government and its agents will decide what statement is false disagreement with official figures? Who is afraid of criticism? Will innocent errors, that are corrected, be punished? #SayNoToSocialMediaBill

Tijjani Hassan was working in his brother's phone accessories shop. "We didn't have many customers... I learnt about PIN's LIFE program through their in-person publicity and my brother. My father agreed to let me attend and my brother allowed me to spend time away from the shop!" "I joined the program to gain knowledge about computers and acquire some skills in operating it. The only difficulty I had when attending the program was that I had to stay away from my workplace. I found it very easy to learn," Tijjani told us. #EchoesFromLIFE

Chinwengozi disclosed his passion for computers and was enrolled in a "computer school" but he never got to touch a computer. "I was attracted because of the 'Computer' in the school's name... [but] there was no functional computer there so we only learnt theory." #EchoesFromLIFE As he completed secondary school, he was disappointed he didn't get a chance to use a computer. His teacher had told him that "to acquire digital skills is very expensive" but he met a friend who told him about our LIFE program! He struggled to believe the program could be free!

"The training exceeded my expectations. I started the program with little knowledge of how to use a computer and I graduated as an expert at using computers". These are the words of 20 year-old Anita Atulobi after graduating from Paradigm Initiative's LIFE program #EchoesFromLIFE Before the training, Anita was a primary school teacher whose income could not sustain her monthly expenses. While working as a teacher, she yearned to learn new skills that could help her get a better job in order to improve her "financial situation".

For Sakinat Mukhtar Yusuf, it was her teacher, Tahir Abdullahi, who told her about PIN's training program and paid for her application form while she was writing her secondary school exit exams. "He made it clear to me that as soon as I finish my exams, I should join the program" "I felt very excited because of my interest in learning about computers and other skills that could help me. I started attending the program immediately after I finished my secondary school exit (SSCE) exams," said Sakinat. #EchoesFromLIFE

One evening, immediately Iroebulam Onyenaturuchi's mum got home from church, she told the story of a church member whose daughter was attending "a free training where they teach a lot of things." The next day, Iroebulam met that daughter, who was kind enough to tell her about PIN "I picked the registration form and got invited to an interview. After the interview, I didn't receive any message so I complained to my new friend but she said, 'relax'. A few days later, I received a call inviting me and my mum for the orientation program. I was so happy..."

"The impact of PIN's LIFE program on my elder brother was enough motivation for me to join the training. He came back home a better person each day and after the program, he was able to use the skills he received from the training to get a job" - @HonRaphael #EchoesFromLIFE Before joining our 10-week LIFE training program, Raphael said he was a "regular kid who just graduated from secondary school and tried to carve a niche for myself". He had started learning how to repair mobile phones but "my experience at the PIN training helped me gain clarity"

Nous, les organisations soussignées, sommes préoccupées par les perturbations d’Internet en Guinée. En effet, le 24 octobre 2020, les réseaux de télécommunications en Guinée ont subi de graves perturbations. paradigmhq.org/perturbations-… "Internet est essentiel pour la protection des droits de l’homme. Il fournit une plate-forme pour accéder à l’information, permet de jouir de la liberté d’expression, de réunion et d’association, entre autres droits." - paradigmhq.org/perturbations-…