<div dir="ltr">FYI - I will forward the guidelines tomorrow or day after.<br><br>Best regards,<br><br>Brian<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br>---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <<a href="mailto:pressinfo.mailb@itu.int">pressinfo.mailb@itu.int</a>><br>
To: <<a href="mailto:cristina.bueti@itu.int">cristina.bueti@itu.int</a>><br>Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 12:19:52 +0200<br>Subject: Guidelines proposed for Child Online Protection (COP) initiative - Focus on children, parents, teachers, policy-makers and industry<br>
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<td style="width: 100%; background-color: rgb(0, 75, 150); color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 5pt; padding-right: 10pt; white-space: nowrap;">Press Release<br>For Immediate Release<br>
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<h2 style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding-bottom: 2pt;">
Guidelines proposed for Child Online Protection (COP) initiative<br>
</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0pt;">Focus on children, parents,
teachers, policy-makers and industry<br>
</h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">
<p>Geneva, 20 May 2009 - </p></font></b><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">
Guidelines for the protection of children in cyberspace were presented as drafts
for discussion on Monday, 18 May in connection with the theme for the 2009 World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The draft </font></span>
<font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">guidelines will be reviewed at the Strategic
Dialogue on Safer internet Environment for Children in Tokyo, 2−3 June.
<p>The final Guidelines on Child Online Protection will be issued at ITU T</p></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="1">ELECOM</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">
W</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="1">ORLD</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">,
5-9 October 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. Comments will be accepted until 30 June
2009.
<p>ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré asserted that "we must do everything in
our power to create a healthy online environment for our children". He said he
was confident that "a secure cyberspace for our children will not remain an
ideal but will become a reality". Dr Touré recognized the importance of the
draft guidelines prepared in close collaboration with numerous UN agencies and
other organizations, including UNICRI, INTERPOL, and the European Commission.</p>
<p>"In choosing 'Protecting Children in Cyberspace' as the theme of this year's
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, ITU and its Members hope
that the many activities that accompany this event around the world will mark
the start of a year-long 'Call for Action' of awareness-building which targets
policy makers, industry, educators, parents and children, as well as helping
garner further high-level international support," said Mr Sami Al Basheer,
Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau.</p>
<span lang="EN-GB">
<p>The Guidelines on Child Online Protection (COP) are aimed at establishing a
safe and secure cyberworld for future generations. The set of four guidelines
advocate empowering children and young people through education and awareness;
providing information, advice and safety tips for parents, guardians and
educators; and providing key information to policy makers as well as to industry
in order to formulate national and international strategies.</p>
<b>
<h4><font size="3">Empowering children</font></h4>
</b>
<p>As children and young people become digital citizens in an online world that
has no borders or frontiers, it is critical that threats to their well being
must be addressed by all stakeholders, including children themselves. They are
urged to learn to use their computers and online devices safely, including the
installation of firewalls and anti-virus software and how to spot unusual
communications.</p>
<p>The draft guidelines examine children's online rights, harmful and illegal
content, cyber bullying, privacy and online commerce. Presenting the Guidelines
for Children, Mr Dieter Carstensen, Project Manager of Save the Children Fund
pointed out that the best form of defence in protecting children is to make them
aware of what can happen online and provide options and solutions.</p>
<p>For children, a set of <b>SMART</b> rules have been spelled out with regard
to:</p>
</span></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3"><b>
<blockquote>
<p style="word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px;">S</p></blockquote></b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">etting
limits
</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3"><b>
<p style="word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px;">M</p></b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">eeting
online friends offline
</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3"><b>
<p style="word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px;">A</p></b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">ccepting
invitations/friendships
</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3"><b>
<p style="word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px;">R</p></b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">eacting
</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3"><b>
<p style="word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px;">T</p></b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">elling
someone about their concerns
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<h4><font size="3">Guidelines for parents and educators</font></h4>
</b></span>
<p>Ms Isabella Santa, an expert with the European Network & Information Security
Agency (ENISA) pointed out that parents and educators must work together and
become familiar with the Internet sites that are accessed by children and decide
what is appropriate and safe online. ENISA is promoting awareness among parents
to enhance the safety of children using virtual worlds and the Internet. ENISA
believes that knowledge of what children can do online and parental involvement
are crucial. Parents must be educated, empowered and engaged to ensure truly
positive and valuable experiences for their children, while reinforcing safety
online habits in the process.</p>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<h4><font size="3">Guidelines for Policy-Makers</font></h4>
</b></span>
<p>Mr John Carr, Secretary, Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS)
presented the draft Guidelines for Policy-makers. Noting that the Internet has
become a tremendously enriching and empowering technology with children and
young people among its major beneficiaries, the Guideline suggests that national
governments have an obligation to provide for the protection of legal minors in
both the "real" and "virtual" worlds. Governments and policy makers have a major
responsibility to set up a sustainable framework within which an appropriate
national and multinational response can be developed. In doing so, the Internet
industry and its stakeholders will have important roles to play, not least
because the speed with which the technology can change means that many of the
traditional methods of law or policy making no longer fit this purpose.</p>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<h4><font size="3">Guidelines for industry</font></h4>
</b></span>
<p>Ms Natasha Jackson, Head of Content Policy, GSMA presented the draft
Guidelines for Industry. In many countries around the world, industry is taking
a lead and adopting voluntary and self-regulatory approaches that demonstrate
commitment to developing a responsible approach to children's use of online ICT
and communications. It is very much in the industry's interests to take action,
to get ahead of the curve, not only because it is the right thing to do from a
moral perspective, but also because, in the longer run, it will help develop
public confidence in the Internet as a medium.</p>
<p>In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) welcomed the launch of
the Child Online Protection Initiative and the creation of common Guidelines for
Industry in a converged digital world. Broadcasters are ready to jointly
identify solutions - based on self-regulation or co-regulation - that can
improve the situation for children on all platforms. This can succeed if it
embraces all actors along the chain: from children themselves to governments and
regulators, the media and international institutions. Only a multi-stakeholder
approach can achieve success on such a complex issue.</p>
<p>According to the draft Guidelines for Industry, collaborating with local
broadcasters should be very helpful in terms of developing such an
understanding. It is also important to understand how the local legislation
perceives the 'location' of content and determines the 'place' at which a
service is delivered or received.</p>
<p>"The EBU strongly believes that widespread media literacy is the best and
ultimate protection for children," said Jean Réveillon, Director General of the
European Broadcasting Union. "EBU Members have large experience in this field
and we look forward to sharing our know-how with all of you in the common work
to come."</p>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<h4><font size="3">Child helplines</font></h4>
</b></span>
<p>International Child Helpline Day marked in tandem with World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May, focused attention on
the use of communication tools to help children access the information and
resources required when needed. "Through our partnership with Child Helpline, an
international NGO, we are currently lobbying telecommunication administrations
around the world to consider allocating a common global number that would
provide direct access to helplines run by organizations dedicated to child
protection and welfare," Mr Al Basheer said.</p>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<p>For more information, please visit </p></b></span></font><span lang="EN-GB">
<font size="2"><a href="http://www.itu.int/osg/csd/cybersecurity/gca/cop/" target="_blank">
www.itu.int/osg/csd/cybersecurity/gca/cop/</a> </font>
<font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2"><b>or contact:
</b></font></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Sanjay Acharya<br>
</b>Chief, Media Relations and Public Information</span><span lang="FR"><br>
ITU<br>
Tel: +41 22 730 5046<br>
Mobile: +41 79 249 4861<br>
E-mail: </span></font><span lang="FR">
<a href="mailto:sanjay.acharya@itu.int" target="_blank">sanjay.acharya@itu.int</a>
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<font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2"><u><span lang="EN-GB"><b>
<p><a href="http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/About_COP.html" target="_blank">About
Child Online Protection (COP)</a></p></b></span></u></font></td>
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<br></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Brian Munyao Longwe<br>e-mail: <a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com">blongwe@gmail.com</a><br>cell: + 254 722 518 744<br>blog : <a href="http://zinjlog.blogspot.com">http://zinjlog.blogspot.com</a><br>
meta-blog: <a href="http://mashilingi.blogspot.com">http://mashilingi.blogspot.com</a><br>
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