Children's and young people's rights in the digital age

  • Awareness
  • 02/08/2016
  • London School of Economics (LSE

The London School of Economics (LSE) recently hosted a conference on children's and young people's rights in the digital age. Read on to find out more.
Lots of questions arise in relation to this important topic, including:
  • Exactly how is the digital impacting on children's rights today?
  • What are the challenges to children's rights presented by the digital?
  • How might we seize the opportunities for children's online participation to promote children's rights in the contemporary world?
At LSE on 26-27 July 2016, we held a lively conference bringing together a highly multidisciplinary, multistakeholder and international group of experts – some 80 or more, from over 20 countries – to discuss these questions and present new findings and arguments. 
 
It seems that a new grouping of scholars interested in children and young people, rights and the digital is now emerging, and this was a unique opportunity to join them in conversation with each other and with key stakeholders concerned with children's rights in digital environments.
 
Understanding children's rights in relation to the digital must be a cross-national endeavor, for the digital is an increasingly global phenomenon. But that makes the conversation sometimes fraught, sometimes serendipitous, often exciting.
 
The full programme, plenary speakers, abstracts for all papers, and PowerPoint slides for some presentations can be found on the LSE website.
 
We also took the opportunity to update on the progress of Global Kids Online. This international research project has been launched by the London School of Economics (LSE), UNICEF Office of Research and EU Kids Online to develop a global research toolkit, building on the one developed by EU Kids Online, as a flexible new resource for researchers around the world in gathering evidence on children's online risks, opportunities and rights. The results of this project will be formally launched in October. For now, register your interest at www.globalkidsonline.net.

Related news

European Commission welcomes cooperation for a better internet for minors on SID 2017

Today, millions of people in 120 countries are participating in Safer Internet Day. The 2017 motto is "Be the change: unite for a better internet". 

New workers, New consumers: New families?

  • News
  • 07/11/2016
  • COFACE

Digitalisation has been the new buzzword of the past two years with a number of key stakeholders looking at its impact. The tremendous progress of technology over the last 20 years -especially thanks to the Internet-, has already brought about deep transformations in our society; a trend which is bound to continue in the future as a number of relatively "new" developments such as Big Data or Artificial Intelligence will settle in, profoundly affecting 21stcentury families.

Latest roundup from Parenting for a Digital Future

Over the summer, the team from Parenting for a Digital Future at the LSE released a policy brief about ‘screen time', arguing that many parents' fears of digital devices are based on out-dated advice. Together with the Media Policy Project, they held an invite-only event, which brought together researchers, policy-makers, advocates and content and platform providers to discuss what new advice to families about ‘screen time' should look like. An event summary is here, and on YouTube.

Digital rights and citizenship

  • News
  • 02/06/2016
  • João Pedro, Youth ambassador, Portugal

Youth participation is an important aspect of the Better Internet for Kids strategy, and we regularly work with youth panellists and youth ambassadors from across the European network of Safer Internet Centres to gain their views on online trends and issues surrounding internet governance. Here, João Pedro, a youth ambassador from Portugal, shares his views on digital rights.