Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 1: William Bird, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Maria Góes de Mello, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 3: Hazel Bitaña, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Maria Góes de Mello, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 3: Hazel Bitaña, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Format
Theater
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The theater format is best suited for this session, as it aims to foster exchange between global regions. This session seeks to highlight best practices from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas – and to do so a dynamic and participative format is essential. The session should last 90 minutes to ensure each region’s perspective is adequately represented and that due consideration is afforded to the diverse perspectives. Each speaker will take the floor to deliver their initial remarks, in which they will outline their region’s approach to AI governance and children’s rights and highlight best practices. The session will then open up into a moderated discussion between speakers, as well as with the audience. Children’s voices will be at the heart of this discussion, serving as a powerful reminder that AI directly impacts their lives, rights, and futures.
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The theater format is best suited for this session, as it aims to foster exchange between global regions. This session seeks to highlight best practices from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas – and to do so a dynamic and participative format is essential. The session should last 90 minutes to ensure each region’s perspective is adequately represented and that due consideration is afforded to the diverse perspectives. Each speaker will take the floor to deliver their initial remarks, in which they will outline their region’s approach to AI governance and children’s rights and highlight best practices. The session will then open up into a moderated discussion between speakers, as well as with the audience. Children’s voices will be at the heart of this discussion, serving as a powerful reminder that AI directly impacts their lives, rights, and futures.
Policy Question(s)
1. What are the common expectations children from every region of the world have for policymakers and tech companies ?
2. How can we establish global minimum standards for AI systems that impact children while ensuring effective implementation across continents and jurisdictions ?
3. How can companies design and deploy AI in a way that upholds children's rights and ensures AI serves humanity responsibly ?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will engage with perspectives from across regions, including children’s voices, and will gain a deeper understanding of concrete corporate responsibility practices that effectively protect children's rights in AI design, development, and deployment.
They will acquire knowledge into the emerging global consensus on minimum standards for rights-respecting AI systems, and how these can converge towards a coherent approach across jurisdictions.
Finally, participants will also gain insight into a path forward grounded in existing frameworks—such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its accompanying General comment No. 25— demonstrating that responsible innovation and child protection are not mutually exclusive.
Description:
AI is reshaping childhood at an unprecedented pace. From medical breakthroughs that save lives to educational tools that break down barriers, AI holds extraordinary promise that children themselves recognise. Yet, it also exposes children to serious risks—recommender systems that push them toward harmful content, chatbots that foster unhealthy emotional attachment, and profiling that deepens discrimination. This panel will bring together leading children’s rights organisations from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to tackle one of the defining challenges of our time: ensuring AI serves children, rather than exploits them. The session will move beyond abstract debates and focus on practical solutions, examining how AI systems can be designed and deployed with children’s rights at their core. By convening global experts and amplifying children’s voices, we will not only expose the urgent risks posed by AI but also highlight the solutions already within reach. AI is moving fast, but children’s rights cannot be left behind. Building on children’s input, this panel will chart a path toward AI governance that ensures all children—wherever they are—are protected, empowered, and able to thrive in a digital world that respects the full range of their rights.
AI is reshaping childhood at an unprecedented pace. From medical breakthroughs that save lives to educational tools that break down barriers, AI holds extraordinary promise that children themselves recognise. Yet, it also exposes children to serious risks—recommender systems that push them toward harmful content, chatbots that foster unhealthy emotional attachment, and profiling that deepens discrimination. This panel will bring together leading children’s rights organisations from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to tackle one of the defining challenges of our time: ensuring AI serves children, rather than exploits them. The session will move beyond abstract debates and focus on practical solutions, examining how AI systems can be designed and deployed with children’s rights at their core. By convening global experts and amplifying children’s voices, we will not only expose the urgent risks posed by AI but also highlight the solutions already within reach. AI is moving fast, but children’s rights cannot be left behind. Building on children’s input, this panel will chart a path toward AI governance that ensures all children—wherever they are—are protected, empowered, and able to thrive in a digital world that respects the full range of their rights.
Expected Outcomes
By highlighting best practices from around the world and children’s demands, this session will equip participants with actionable insights to contribute to global, regional, and national AI governance efforts grounded in children’s rights. These insights will be valuable for and tailored to governments, policymakers, intergovernmental bodies, regulators, and industry stakeholders.
Hybrid Format: As our session showcases global perspectives, it is vital to us that it is accessible to all interested participants – which requires both online and onsite engagement strategies.
We seek to include online and onsite participants equally, including by alternating between speakers and providing equal opportunities for participants to intervene.
We will establish efficient internal communications to ensure the online and onsite moderators can coordinate and give due representation to the voices in the room and online.
We also intend to use online tools to foster participation, such as polls and surveys.