AFRICA FORWARD SUMMIT 2026: BUILDING SAFER DIGITAL SPACES FOR CHILDREN IN AFRICA IN AN AI-DRIVEN WORLD
PRESS RELEASE: Tuesday, 12th May 2026, Nairobi, Kenya.
First Lady of the Republic of Kenya to Lead High-Level Dialogue on Child Online Safety in an AI-Driven World at Africa Forward Summit
Her Excellency Rachel Ruto, First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, will host a high-level side event on child online safety on the margins of the Africa Forward Summit, convening African and global leaders to advance collective action on protecting children in rapidly evolving digital and AI-driven environments.
Held under the theme, “Building Safer Digital Spaces for Children in Africa in an AI-Driven World: Policy, Partnership, and Action,” the event is organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and World Vision International, alongside regional and global partners.
As Africa experiences rapid digital expansion and increased AI integration across education, communication, and social platforms, children are entering online spaces faster than laws, institutions, and protection systems can adapt.
Online harms — including technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, AI-generated deception, and cross-border digital threats — are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to regulate, while protection systems remain fragmented and under-resourced.
“This convening reflects Africa’s commitment to ensuring that digital transformation and AI innovation advance children’s safety, dignity, and development,” the organisers noted. “Child online safety is emerging as one of the defining governance responsibilities of the digital age.”
From Dialogue to Action
Designed as a structured high-level roundtable rather than a traditional panel discussion, the dialogue will focus on four key pillars: From Frontier Risk to Everyday Harm; Education, Digital Literacy, and Reality Sovereignty; Red Lines with Reach: Enforcement, Accountability, and Financing and Families, Schools, and Communities
Children’s voices will both open and close the session, reinforcing the principle that children are not only subjects of protection, but also rights-holders and active contributors to the digital future they will inherit.
Participation has been designed in line with safeguarding standards to ensure meaningful, structured, and age-appropriate engagement.
The session will conclude with a concise Communique capturing African priorities, children’s recommendations, and practical expectations for governments, technology companies, regulators, and development partners.
Sustainable Financing to End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
A central focus of the dialogue will be the urgent need for sustainable financing to prevent and respond to online sexual exploitation and abuse of children, alongside other technology-facilitated harms.
While policy commitments and regulatory conversations have advanced globally, child online protection systems across many African countries remain severely underfunded.
Participants will examine sustainable and practical financing approaches to strengthen survivor‑centred responses, including psychosocial support and referral systems; trusted reporting, takedown, and helpline mechanisms; regulatory and law‑enforcement capacity, including cross‑border cooperation; digital literacy, prevention, and community‑based child protection systems; and local‑language moderation, safety tools, and research on emerging AI‑driven risks, ensuring that protections are adequately resourced, effective, and responsive to children’s realities.
The discussion will emphasize that protections without reach do not protect, and that sustainable financing must be embedded within implementation, enforcement and long-term accountability systems.
A Call for Shared Responsibility
Participants will include First Ladies, senior government officials, ambassadors, representatives from the African Union and United Nations, technology companies, mobile network operators, civil society organisations, faith leaders, educators, parents, and youth representatives.
The organisers underscore that protecting children online requires shared responsibility and sustained investment from governments, industry, development partners, philanthropic actors, and communities alike.
“This is about moving beyond commitments to implementation,” the organisers stated. “Africa is not only responding to global digital challenges — it is helping shape solutions that protect children in an AI-driven world.”
Media Contacts
Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya
(Media Desk)
Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs
Edward Githaiga
Email: egithaiga999@gmail.com
World Vision International
Samuel Norgah
Email: samuel_norgah@wvi.org