With only five high level sessions at the United Nations’ Internet Governance Forum this year in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia we are excited children’s rights are featuring prominently under the theme “Advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age” for the first time ever.

On Dec, 17th, a high level line-up of speakers was discussing how to protect children’s rights in the digital world.

With a superb line-up of high-level speakers the 19th Internet Governance taking place in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia was opened on Tuesday Dec. 16th, 2024.

Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Divide were the two issues addressed in the opening speeches as the most important action points in the months and years to come. Here comes the Global Digital Compact (GDC) into play, since it’s implementation lays out the road map for our digital future which was described as the Intelligence Age by the Saudi-Arabian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha.

Final preparations were still underway yesterday at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to ensure that the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024 can take place effortlessly. Participants from the fields of politics, government, science, academia, business and civil society will gather in the idyllic setting until 19 December to discuss the most pressing issues related to the organisation and regulation of the digital environment.

The 19th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will take place this year from 15 to 19 December 2024 in a hybrid format in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Under the theme “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future”, representatives from business, academia and civil society will meet with high-ranking government representatives from all over the world to address the opportunities and challenges of our evolving digital future.

This November 20, it's International Child Rights Day! On this day, we celebrate the adoption of two landmark documents by the United Nations General Assembly: the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (also known as the CRC) - both important milestones in the recognition of children's rights.

The Working Group of German Family Organisations (AGF) has discussed the European Commission's proposal for a regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. As a result of the exchange, the family organisations express their concern about the threat of sexual violence in the digital environment and call for these threats to be taken seriously. The organisations consider it crucial to bring the actual core of the objectives back into the focus of the debate and to objectify the polarisation between data protection and child protection in the interests of children and their families.

The European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) will once again provide a platform for discussion and networking between representatives and stakeholders from politics, private sector, civil society and academia from 12 to 14 May 2025 in Strasbourg, France. In preparation for the conference, there is still an opportunity to submit proposals for the thematic organisation of the programme until 31 December 2024.

The Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science, call for evidence on the impact of UNCRC General comment No. 25 on the Rights of the Child’s General comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment

The Digital Future for Children (DFC) Center supports an evidence base for child rights-based advocacy, and promotes dialogue between science and policy while empowering children's voices. The research report provides an insight into the debate on smartphone policies in schools and the associated children's rights.

From 14 to 25 October, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, will visit Germany to assess the current situation and progress in relation to preventing, combating and raising awareness of sexualised violence against children.