On the 20th anniversary of the Safer Internet Day, this Embassy hosted the event “New perspectives for a strategy on child dignity in the digital world” in the Salone della Loggia of Palazzo Borromeo. The meeting, held in the afternoon of February 7, falls within the initiatives promoted by Telefono Azzurro for the celebration of the Safer Internet Day, titled “Towards a Digital Agenda for Childhood and Adolescence”.
The purpose of this meeting has been to foster the debate among different institutional and social stakeholders, so as to promote a widespread culture of responsibility in the digital world and in the field of the protection of children’s rights online, in light of the domestic and European legal frameworks. During the event, the new frontiers of prevention and safeguard of children online were analysed, in order to ensure the implementation of further concrete actions for the full effectiveness of children’s rights. Moreover, the panelists underlined the crucial importance of a holistic approach towards the challenges of the digital world, creating a global alliance between institutions, education agencies, religious communities, NGOs, companies and digital platforms in the name of the common values of human dignity and children’s rights. The continuous commitment of the Italian Government for the protection of minors and for the promotion of a global culture of human dignity was also highlighted. Furthermore, the debate has shown the need to address in a strategic way the issue of the protection of minors online in the international fora and, in particular, in the occasion of the next G20.
The session was moderated by Emilio Puccio, Secretary General of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights, and was opened by the welcome remarks of Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto and the introduction of Prof. Ernesto Caffo, Founder and President of Telefono Azzurro, also member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
In his institutional greetings, Ambassador Di Nitto stressed the importance of the celebration of the Safer Internet Day (marking its twentieth edition this year), and highlighted the issue of the technological paradigm as a challenge for the 21st century communities.
Among the interventions, we report those of the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, and of the Minister for the Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella (the latter through video-message). Minister Urso highlighted the challenges posed by the multiplication of mass media and the digital transition, which provide several opportunities, but, at the same time, situations of risk and vulnerability, which require an approach based on a balanced combination of freedom and responsibility. The Minister has also announced the starting of discussions with digital-sector operators in order to find further concrete solutions for the protection of minors. Minister Roccella emphasized the need to promote a culture of responsibility and awareness in the digital world and called for the commitment of all educational agencies, also with regard to the specific themes of the fight against cyber-bullying and child pornography, reaffirming the Government’s full commitment to protecting children’s rights and tackling the challenge of the new “educational poverty”.
Various representatives of the institutional, social, economic, academic, and religious world also took part in the debate: Caterina Chinnici, Member of the European Parliament, Co-founder and Co-President of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights; Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, former Member of the European Parliament and current President of Missing Children Europe; Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi, Undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education; Adrien Taquet (remotely), former Minister for Children and Families of the French Republic; Jan Arne Björklund, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in Italy; Fabio Pompei, CEO of Deloitte Central Mediterranean; Agostino Ghiglia, member of the Italian Data Protection Authority; Allashukur Pashazadeh, Spiritual Leader of Muslims in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, and Member of the Muslim Council of Elders; Ernie Allen Obe (remotely), President of We PROTECT Global Alliance; Joanna Rubinstein (remotely), former President and CEO of Childhood USA and UN Broadband Commissioner Alumna; Maria Lucia Uribe Torres (remotely), Executive Director of Arigatou International Geneva; Michele Colajanni, Full Professor of Information Processing Systems (Computer Engineering) at the University of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum; David Miles (remotely), Head of Safety Policy at META.
From the Holy See, Prof. Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, affirmed the need to build a structural alliance among the different stakeholders for the protection of children’s dignity and called for a global legal framework for the risk prevention on the Internet. Professor Sciarrone Alibrandi also underlined the key relevance of culture and education as driving forces for raising awareness on human dignity as a universal value.
Thanks to the Safer Internet Day (conceived by the European Commission as an opportunity to make the public opinion more conscious and responsible in using the Internet) the panelists have confirmed the intention of all the involved stakeholders to continuously and fructuously cooperate in order to promote a digital agenda for childhood and adolescence, and to promote the enhancement of legal systems for the protection of minors.
For the complete program, please visit the website https://azzurro.it/7-febbraio-2023-verso-unagenda-digitale-per-linfanzia-e-ladolescenza/
