IGF 2010, 14-17 September 2010, Vilnius (Lithuania)

Parents need to be empowered to promote critical thinking of children

[17.09.2010] Participants in the workshop stressed the need to empower parents in order to promote the media literacy of children and young people. They pointed out the importance of going beyond the idea that media literacy is technical proficiency. Parenting should not only involve filtering content to protect children and young people, but should also help them to develop their critical thinking.
The roles of various stakeholders was discussed. The private sector, some participants said, should contribute to the well being of Internet users by educating, empowering and protecting them, creating community guidelines and providing resources. Policy makers should promote and use research, carry out awareness campaigns aimed to teachers and parents, and share good practices.
Participants agreed on the need to move towards a resolution on media education at a global level, to be promoted by inter-governmental bodies such as the Council of Europe or/and UNESCO.
The workshop was organised by Internet Society Hong Kong, the Dynamic Coalition on media education and e-learning and the Council of Europe.