pluralism

Session “Minorities and immigration”, 16/07/2022

This is the abstract of my paper.

“Children and digital rights effectiveness. Considerations on the right to internet access”

This paper intends to focus on children and the recognition of their right to Internet access: namely, the presentation aims to follow the digital divide discussion up with the pandemic crisis in relation with children. States have an obligation to remove social inequalities and to promote inclusiveness. A way to achieve these objectives is by guaranteeing a safe and universal access to the Internet, above all for new generations, who were born in the digital age. The lack of access to the Internet is nowadays perceived as a risk for social exclusion. Young people and children, who are not connected at all, cannot exercise their rights to develop their education and participate to the social and democratic life. The physical isolation during the last three months has been overcome also thanks to the access to a useful connection to the Internet and to the digital environment, making the importance of digitalisation of the EU more essential than ever. According to what has been said by the European Commission about the digital recovery in a communication of may 2020, “New technologies have kept our businesses and public services running, and made sure that trade could continue flowing. They have helped us all to stay connected, to work remotely and to support our children’s learning”. Forty years after the MacBride Report what is the role of the UNESCO in promoting the use of the Internet in education and culture? What is the current situation concerning the access and the use of the Internet for children in the EU? What are the possible developments in this field?