Teen combats cyberbullying in Bangladesh with award-winning mobile app

Bangladeshi teen Sadat Rahman was awarded the 2020 International Children’s Peace Prize for developing a mobile app that helps his fellow youth stand up against cyberbullies.

Rahman’s app, Cyber Teens, assists children and teens in confidentially reporting cases of online abuse in their country. A network of volunteer then dispatches the report to police or social networks who will track the suspect.

Rahman, 17, created it after learning about the news of a 15-year-old girl who took her own life because of cyberbullying.

According to BBC, over 60 complaints have been resolved through the app and eight cybercriminals—including adults who sexually harassed children online—have been arrested.

Aside from its incident reporting feature, the Cyber Teens app educates its users on how to stay safe online, as well as the country’s anti-cyberbullying laws, like the Digital Security Aid of Bangladesh.

Rahman was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize on November 13 in The Hague, Netherlands. He expressed his commitment to eradicating cyberbullying in their country in his acceptance speech. "The fight against cyberbullying is like a war, and in this war, I am a warrior,” he said. "If everybody keeps supporting me, then together we will win this battle against cyberbullying.”

The International Children’s Peace Prize is an annual award given by Netherlands-based KidsRights foundation to teenagers who create remarkable solutions in fighting the problems faced by their generation worldwide.

The award comes with a study and care grant and a project fund of €100,000 to be invested by  KidsRights on projects that are related to the winner’s work.

Rahman plans to use the money to further improve his app “and add the facility to provide psycho-social support through psychologists,” KidsRights said. 

Additionally, he hopes that it would “serve as a model for the rest of the world,” he added in his acceptance speech.