21 July 2008
International Youth Advisory Congress: Key recommendations
The first International Youth Advisory Congress (IYAC) on online safety and security was launched in London on Thursday 17th July.
The Congress saw more than 140 delegates - aged between 14-17 years - from countries as diverse as the USA, Australia, Egypt, Argentina, India, Poland and Namibia, coming face-to-face and working with those responsible for internet safety and security: representatives from government, industry, law enforcement and the media. It gives young people - specially chosen to represent their countries - the chance to shape the internet and online environment for children and young adults across the world.
The initiative is being led by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre - the UK’s dedicated organisation for tackling the sexual abuse of children - and is supported by the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), an international alliance of law enforcement agencies focused on tackling child sexual exploitation.
On Monday 21st July, the young delegates presented the Congress outcomes to the sector representatives.
The presentations gave an early insight into the themes that will be taken forward for submission to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. They included the following points:
Media
- Media should use their influence to advertise existing internet safety films and data. Sensationalist reporting to attract public attention is justified as long as it is followed up with accurate and responsible information.
- At IYAC, many effective online safety films from across the world have been reviewed. It would be in the best interests of children and young people for broadcasters and advertisers to show these existing films on television, on the sides of buses, on billboards and in online pop-ups. This would reach a huge and relevant audience, who would otherwise remain unaware.
- The media should involve young people in reporting online safety: today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders.
Industry
- Delegates called for a mandatory and universal browser-based 'report abuse' button embedded on the toolbar of each browser and on all social networking sites. This should require only two clicks to report any problem, without even leaving the webpage. Additionally, an easy-to-access tutorial about internet safety should be built into browsers.
- Delegates asked that IP addresses should be shown with every message put on line (chat rooms, messenger etc) to provide greater accountability for online activities.
- Delegates called for the setting up of international online safety Industry Advisory Panels, made up of youth and industry leaders to represent current issues in their countries to government authorities.
- Competition can lead to better products but if the industry sector does not work collectively with education, young people, government, the media and others we will not be able to safeguard the future of young people.
Law Enforcement
Delegates looked at sex offender registration issues, comparing the systems in the US, UK and Australia and recommended that:
- All convicted sex offenders should be registered and required to report regularly to law enforcement
- Personal information about child sex offenders should not be released to the public unless they go missing and need to be relocated (the delegates felt that Megan’s Law in the US is ineffective, suggesting that it results in a greater number of child sex offenders going missing)
- For those convicted sex offenders that have failed to report, their personal information should be released
Virtual Global Taskforce:
- The delegates have called for a world-wide Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) with mandatory participation for all countries.
- At present the Virtual Global Taskforce participation (comprising the UK, USA, Italy, Canada, Australia and Interpol) is not enough. Delegates concluded that it doesn’t matter whether a child lives in Zimbabwe, or Afghanistan, or Italy, or New Zealand. The internet is available on an international scale and children and young people are entitled to online safety protection wherever they are.
- Minimum standards of training should be provided by the VGT for all law enforcement agencies globally so that every single young person, regardless of residence, has access to the same level of protection.
- Delegates condemned the fact that currently an online predator can be prosecuted in one country but ignored in another.
Government
- It should be mandatory for browsers and websites to carry the ‘Report Abuse’ button - small, unobtrusive, powerful (see above)
- Governments need to use their collective powers to put pressure on the media and on industry to promote online safety issues as part of their social responsibility programmes.
- Governments should implement trans-border agreements between nations to promote online safety
Education
- There should be a global homepage on browsers which carries internet safety guidelines. This would open every time someone logs onto the internet, meaning the online safety guidelines would be readily available to every child internet user worldwide.
- Young people might all speak different languages but they have one thing in common – they all use the internet. The internet is the future and young people want to ensure that it is a safe one for them and for future generations.
- As the internet is a worldwide resource, young people across the world should be given online safety education classes.
- Every child is entitled to an education and online safety education is vital in today’s society. We think that the UN needs to listen to our views and to value the importance of online safety education.
- Delegates want teachers, governments, parents and other adults to be confident in their understanding of online safety issues in a way that means they are able to pass on their wisdom to other adults and young people.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- Delegates called for the term 'child pornography' in the UNCRC to be replaced with 'child abuse images'.
- Delegates have suggested that Article 12 in the UNCRC should refer to both the online and offline world.
- Delegates recommended the launch of a global IYAC online forum accessible to registered users. This would be used to post ideas and report their individual views, opinions, and experiences. It would be a place for international citizens to bounce thoughts and theories off each other. This forum would reflect these thoughts and feelings and therefore should be taken seriously by media, government, industry and law enforcement worldwide which is definitely in the best interests of children in a global community.
Notes to Editors
1. In addition to UK delegates, international delegates attended IYAC from the following countries:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Greece
- Iceland
- India
- Italy
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Poland
- Republic of Ireland
- Spain
- Sweden
- USA
- Zimbabwe
2. Visit www.iyac.net for more information or contact Miriam Rich, Vicky Gillings or Clive Michel at CEOP on 0870 000 3434.
3. The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) was set up in 2003 in order to build a global response to tackling the sexual exploitation of children. The UK, US, Australia, Canada and Interpol were all founding partners and were recently joined by Italy. Full details on the work of the VGT can be found at www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com.
4. The CEOP Centre - www.ceop.gov.uk - is the UK’s dedicated policing organisation focused on tackling the sexual abuse of children. It delivers a totally holistic approach combining specialists from across UK and international police forces as well as the wider child protection community such as the NSPCC and industry such as Microsoft, SERCO, VISA Europe, Ford, Vodafone, and PayPal.