IGF 2025 Open Forum #40 Building a Child-Rights Respecting & Inclusive Digital Future

In an increasingly digital world, the safety and rights of children online have become paramount concerns. This has also been reflected at the IGF, with an increasing number of stakeholders and sessions focused on children. However, with rapid technological development and broader socio-political shifts, the question arises whether traditional approaches are achieving their objectives.

There are also growing concerns about the widening gap between those who benefit from technology and those who don’t. The needs of diverse groups of people are not considered, and licensing and business models exclude a vast network of innovators that can adapt them to benefit disadvantaged and marginalised groups. This adds to the great divide between the need to improve the health and wellness, as well as empowerment, inclusion and other outcomes for women and girls, and systemic barriers that prevent accelerating local FemTech innovation.  

This will be a dynamic two-part session, bringing together a diverse range of perspectives to critically examine (i) multi-sectoral action for child rights and safety; and (ii) preventing digital divides and ensuring a fair distribution of technological benefits. 

Part 1 will include investors, companies that develop or deploy digital technologies, regulators, civil society, and international organizations to examine the unique roles and leverage points of these stakeholders for creating a safer digital environment for children, from early childhood to adolescence.

Part 2 will explore how building open source FemTech products, including FemTech Digital Public Goods, can provide a service layer to national and regional Digital Public Infrastructure that improves outcomes for women and girls. At present, 31% of women worldwide are not in education, employment, or training; 740 million in developing economies remain unbanked; and over 21 million adolescent girls in LMI countries become pregnant each year.  All the while, 75% of fem tech companies are currently based in the US or Europe; in 2023 women-founded startups accounted for 2% or less of VC funding; the funding for innovation for emerging markets has plummeted by over 40% since 2023; and existing solutions are often inaccessible to those most in need due to traditional licensing and business models.
Participants will gain insights into the complexities of digital governance and the collective efforts required to ensure a child-rights respecting and inclusive digital future. This session promises to be a thought-provoking and action-oriented discussion, fostering a deeper understanding of how we can build a safer and more inclusive digital future.