20 November is an important anniversary as it marks the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959, and the adoption in 1989 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The observance is aimed at parents and carers, teachers and educators, nurses and doctors, policy makers and civil society activists, media professionals, as well as young people and children themselves to encourage them to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights, and translate the efforts into tangible actions to build a better world for children and young people.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “A better future for every child” and features a group of UNICEF Youth Advocates calling on adults to create a better future and highlighting the issues that matter to their generation the most through various means, including a TikTok challenge.
Here on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal, issues related to children's welfare and children's rights online are among our top priorities and objectives. We recommend reading the following:
- From May to October 2021, on behalf of the European Commission, we consulted children, young people, parents, carers and educators from across (and beyond) the European Union on the priorities they see to promote, protect, respect and fulfil children’s rights in a digital world and on their vision for a #DigitalDecade4YOUth. You can read the consultation report for an overview of the findings.
- We reflected on the opportunities and challenges provided for child empowerment and participation in the digital environment, as well as how they can exercise their rights in the digital world, in the focus article of the June 2021 edition of the BIK bulletin.
- Internet Sans Crainte, the awareness-raising node of the French Safer Internet Centre, has developed and adopted a strategy of producing resources on online safety which is based on children’s views of their digital lives. It has a positive approach, aiming to improve and foster dialogue within families on technology use and digital media consumption.
If you are interested in exploring the topic even further, you can find below just a handful of useful pedagogical resources focusing on children and young people’s digital rights, designed by the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) and freely accessible in the BIK resource gallery:
- The guide "We all have rights online" developed by the awareness centre Internet Sans Crainte, providing advice and tips to children on how to browse safely and illustrating rights and duties on the internet. Available in French.
- The Children & Media Handbook by the Finnish National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) is a useful tool to help discuss media content usage and habits of children and young people in their everyday life. Available in English, Finnish and Swedish.
- The infographic “Children and young people & their world of online pictures” from the Austrian Safer Internet Centre provides an interesting insight on how children and young people use pictures, videos and emojis for visual communication on the internet. Available in English.
For more information about World Children’s Day, visit the United Nations' website and follow the celebrations of the day on social media with the hashtag #WorldChildrensDay.