Session
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: The room layout should facilitate engagement and interaction. The “roundtable” format will allow for ease of discussion, flow of information and feedback amongst participants. The session should span 60 minutes which allows for time for the organizers to present their thought topic and for participants to ask questions and provide their insights.
The challenges facing children in the digital world are escalating. As children increasingly start using web spaces from an early age, the need to safeguard their rights within these environments has become urgent to help maintain a social and prosperous society. This proposed roundtable session aims to address the critical issue of ensuring a ‘safe digital space for children’ worldwide. The session will bring together diverse relevant stakeholders to discuss and collaborate on strategies for safeguarding children's online experiences. Among other things, the discussion will especially focus on the need to develop holistic, forward-looking, and comprehensive national child online safety strategies, which include creating new, and streamlining existing policies, regulations, and enforcement/accountability mechanisms to ensure children’s online safety. This is a key recommendation of a recently developed Policy Paper by the DCO on Safe Digital Space for Children. The roundtable session aims to seek insights and experiences, and discuss ways to catalyze collaborative actions towards building the holistic child online safety strategies.
In the era of rapid technological advancements, the concern of children’s digital rights and protection is growing. To address this, the DCO has developed a policy paper that explores ways to create a Safe Digital Space for Children. This paper is based on extensive analysis, research, and discussions with experts that participated in a series of recent DCO’s Digital Space Accelerator (DSA) global roundtables. In this policy paper, the reasons that make children especially vulnerable users of new technologies are presented, the main challenges to be addressed are outlined, and the most relevant stakeholders are identified. Subsequently, some of the key initiatives carried out by various countries worldwide are analyzed, with a special focus on the DCO Member States. The policy paper culminates in presenting several actionable policy recommendations to address the most pressing challenges and risks facing children in the online world. The paper also identifies the that various stakeholders should play at national, regional, and global levels to ensure children’s online safety. The DCO will use this session to have meaningful discissions on what needs to be done for various stakeholders to enable safe online space for children, and especially how countries can develop holistic national strategies for child online safety to ensure a concerted effort towards the cause.
Digital Cooperation Organization
Alaa Abdulaal , Chief - Digital Economy Foresight (DEF), Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO); Ahmad Bhinder , Policy Innovation Director , DEF, DCO Observers, DCO Member States
1. A DCO General Secretariat team member. 2. Subject matter expert engaged by the DCO. 3. Representatives from DCO Member States (e.g., Pakistan, Kuwait, Oman) and Observers/ partners (e.g., UNITAR, Deloitte).
DCO General Secretariat Representative
DCO General Secretariat Representative
DCO General Secretariat Representative
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
Targets: This proposed session is in direct alignment with the previously mentioned UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For instance: SDG 4: Quality Education: Safe digital spaces are crucial for providing quality education to children. Access to safe online resources, digital literacy programs, and educational platforms can enhance learning opportunities while protecting children from harmful content. SDG 5: Gender Equality: Ensuring a safe digital space for all children, regardless of gender, contributes to promoting gender equality. This includes addressing online harassment, cyberbullying, and ensuring equal access to digital resources and opportunities. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Building safe digital infrastructure and promoting responsible innovation in technology are essential for creating a secure online environment for children. This includes developing age-appropriate content, privacy protections, and cybersecurity measures. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Creating a safe digital space involves promoting online safety, preventing cybercrimes against children, and ensuring legal frameworks and institutions are in place to address digital threats and protect children's rights. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: Collaboration among governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations is essential for ensuring a safe digital space for children. Partnerships can facilitate the sharing of best practices, resources, and expertise to address common challenges.