The Cyber Security Authority on Friday held a stakeholders’ engagement to discuss efficient measures to protect children with disabilities online.
The meeting assembled officials from the Ghana Education Service, the National Council on Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children, UNICEF and other disability organisations to discuss a structured approach to safeguarding children in the digital environment.
Participants at the workshop called for the inclusion of parents and caregivers of children with disabilities in the process to ensure that majority of children with disabilities were protected by the policy.
Related Stories
Mr Edwin Kweku Andoh, Executive Secretary at the National Council on Persons with Disabilities in a speech read on his behalf, said children with disabilities deserved a leap by developing of an inclusive child online protection framework which addressed their critical needs with the appropriate tools, strategies and policies.
” The National Council on Persons with Disability subscribes to developing an inclusive design that seeks to implement the National Online Protection Framework through intersectoral collaboration. It will help ensure that digital platforms and services are designed to benefit Children with Disabilities, with accessibility in mind,” he said
Mrs Mary Ama Bawa, Communications Lead at the Cyber Security Authority, said it was important that awareness and advocacy about child online protection was amplified.
There is also the need to empower and include parents and caregivers of children with disabilities in the process.
Mr Nelson Herald Darko, Senior Manager at the Child Online Protection Unit of the Cyber Security Authority, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Communications, constituted a steering committee to develop a National Child Online Protection Framework in August 2016, guided by a five-year implementation plan.
The plan sought to address child online protection on five pillars, which are: Legal measures, Technical and Procedural measures, Organization Structure, Capacity building, and International Cooperation.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) launched the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) in 2007 and the Child Online Protection (COP) initiative with UNICEF in 2008. The Child Online Protection initiative focuses on the cybersecurity of children and young people in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
GNA
