[Chapter-delegates] DC Webinar: IGF DC on Children's Rights in the Digital Environment: To ban or not to Ban?

[Alejandro Lengua]

Thank you for sharing the link to the webinar on children’s rights. I found
it highly relevant and very well grounded.

However, I would like to share a reflection that I believe is important
and, in my view, is currently missing from the discussion: the growing
scarcity of safe physical spaces where children and adolescents can play,
gather, and socialize.

During the debate, the need for a balanced approach was rightly
highlighted—one that protects minors without excluding them from digital
life. Nevertheless, this conversation can hardly be sustained without
acknowledging that, in many cities, public spaces for play and social
interaction have been drastically reduced for urban, economic, and social
reasons.

When parks are inaccessible, streets are considered unsafe, and families
have limited time and resources, the digital space becomes the only
territory that many children and adolescents can truly call their own.

Furthermore, it is not always possible to directly extrapolate policies and
approaches developed in the Global North to countries in the Global South,
where urban conditions, public infrastructure, economic realities, and
access to services may be fundamentally different. Any effective strategy
for protecting children’s rights should therefore be adapted to the
specific social and material contexts of each country and community.

Best regards,

Alejandro Lengua

On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 12:50 PM Judith Hellerstein via Chapter-delegates <
chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> HI Glenn,
>
> Thanks for publicizing this event done by the IGF Dynamic Coalition on
> Children's rights.  Just so that People know, i t happened about 2 weeks
> ago so is not live but still a good event
>
> Best,
>
> Judith
>
> _________________________________________________________________________
> Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO
> Hellerstein & Associates
> 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008
> Phone: (202) 362-5139  Skype ID: judithhellerstein
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> E-mail: Judith at jhellerstein.com   Website: www.jhellerstein.com
> Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/jhellerstein/
> Opening Telecom & Technology Opportunities Worldwide
>
> On 8/6/26 1:43 PM, Glenn McKnight via Chapter-delegates wrote:
>
> With the enforcement of a social media age ban for under 16s in Australia
> in December 2025 a global discussion started on the important topic how
> children and youth can participate safely in the digital environment and
> what measures are necessary to protect them meaningfully when being online.
> From Brasil to India, in the UK and the EU, in many parts of the world
> politicians, civil society, psychologists, and media researchers argue
> about strategies, legislation and accountabilities. These affect also digital
> services providers, educators and carers as well as parents and children.
> In this webinar we will hear from Amanda Third on the current situation in
> Australia and the learnings from a ban being in force for half a year now,
> get a child rights framing by Sonia Livingstone and get insights in the
> work of the EU Special Panel and hear from the recommendations of the
> German expert panel and the outcomes of a child participation process by
> Jutta Croll and Torsten Krause.
> Link
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6_9ucwxXME
> g
> Glenn McKnight, MA
> Virtual School of Internet Governance
> Chief Information Officer
> www.virtualsig.org
> *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION *
> *Mobile  437-237-4655*
>
>
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> As a Chapter Leader, you are automatically added to the Internet Society’s
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