The ITU Annual Regional Capacity Building Workshop on Child Online Protection for sub-Saharan African Countries was held at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 18 - 20 July 2016. The event will run back to back with the annual general meeting of the Association of Information and Communication Service Regulators of East and Southern Africa (ARICEA).
The theme of the workshop is “Ensuring Child Online Safety (COS) in a digital world: building human capacity in COS policy formulation and implementation.” The theme focuses on child online safety, in an African context where several initiatives and measures are being taken to bridge the digital gap and reach social and economic development through the use of ICT.
The workshop is organized by ITU in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is hosting the event.
The main objective of this workshop is to provide a platform to African countries to share experiences, strengthen their knowledge and raise awareness on Child Online Saftey thrrough a multi-stakeholders approach involving governments, educators, ICT/telecoms regulators and companies, the civil society, NGOs and other organizations dealing with children and youth. The workshop will help participants to develop, adapt and implement strategies, mechanisms and guidelines as well as national Child Online Protection plans in all layers of the society to make a real difference.