Smart, Safe, Strong: Youth Innovations for Online Child Protection

Date: Monday, Oct 13

Time: 11:30 - 12:30 (60 mins)

Session Types: Panel Discussion

This session will highlight the lived experiences, actions, and creative approaches of children and youth leaders in Southeast Asia and South Asia in tackling sexual exploitation of children (SEC), both online and offline. It will showcase how young people from the Down to Zero (DtZ) “Step Up the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation of Children” (SUFASEC) project are using interactive tools, peer education, community-based strategies, and youth-led advocacy to build safer digital and physical environments for themselves and their peers.
With increasing access to smartphones and the internet in the region, children are often online with limited adult supervision, exposing them to various risks including grooming, sextortion, misinformation, and sexual exploitation. The session will present how youth have responded to these challenges by developing peer-led learning tools, safe reporting platforms, and youth-friendly awareness campaigns.
Issues and Topics to Be Discussed:
1. Children’s Digital Access and Risk Exposure
2. Youth-Led Digital Literacy and Critical Thinking Tools
3. Designing Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Communication
4. Education on Reporting Mechanisms and Support Systems
5. Community-Based Protection and Peer Networks
Themes Covered:
• Online child protection and digital safety
• Peer-led and community-based reporting mechanisms
• Child and youth participation in combating SEC
• Social and behavior change through youth-designed communication
• Strengthening local child protection systems through youth collaboration
This session will demonstrate how children and youth, when meaningfully engaged, can lead powerful, creative, and culturally relevant solutions to tackle sexual exploitation and promote online safety. Through games, campaigns, digital tools, and peer education, these young leaders are proving that protection efforts are strongest when children are not just protected—but are also empowered as protectors of themselves.

Moderators/Speakers: Dasmariñas Youth Facilitator (Maxenne Anne Delos Reyes)-Plan International, Dtz Indonesia Youth Voice for Change Network, Gazipur Bangladesh Youth Group, Itsaraporn Daoram, Thailand CRC Youth Voice for Change Coalition, Youth Voices for Change Philippines