Youth Forum on Online Safety held in Dublin

As part of his priority to strengthen online safety for children and young people, on a national level and under the Irish Presidency of the EU, Mr O’Donovan wants to include the voice of children and young people in discussions on the future of online safety.

The Youth Forum was held in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and involved approximately 100 participants aged between 10 and 17 years from across Ireland. The participants discussed key aspects of online safety across five themes:

• Children’s and young people’s right to be heard, and their lived experiences online
• Defining online safety through a child right’s lens
• Children and young people as partners in designing safer digital spaces
• Access, restrictions and the best interests of the child and young person
• Equality, inclusion and diverse digital experiences

Mr O’Donovan said: “Strengthening the online safety of children and young people is my foremost priority. We are working on this at national level, but it is also vital that we work with our colleagues across the EU to protect children and young people in the online world. This will be my focus under Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.

“As part of my work, I want to listen to children and young people on their views of the online world – the positive and the negative – and thoughts and ideas they may have on how to make the online world safer and more inclusive for everyone. I also want to hear their views on restrictions to accessing specific parts of the online world.”

A report on the findings from the Youth Forum will be submitted to the Minister over the summer.