Díli, February 17, 2025 – The Executive Director of TIC TIMOR I.P., Mr. Venâncio Pinto, became as speaker at the Talk Show on Child Protection and Online Safety in the Digital Age, organized by Child Fund and INDDICA.

In this program, the Executive Director of TIC TIMOR I.P., Mr. Venâncio Pinto, emphasized that the Protection of Children in the Digital Era is a matter of great importance, as the world continues to advance with technology, facilitating growing communication between individuals and generating both negative and positive impacts.

“Child protection in the digital age has become an increasingly vital concern, as our children, in today's world, are growing up in a time of cutting-edge and highly developed technology. They have easy access to the internet and regularly use digital platforms as a way of communication with others globally. Considering the various means of accessing the internet, which are accessible communication tools, there are also consequences and significant dangers that could adversely affect our children, both physically and emotionally," stressed the Executive Director.

The highest leader of the agency also outlined the government's crucial role in online child protection, trough INDDICA as a relevant state institution for educating and distributing information on Child Protection to the society.

“The essential role of the Government through INDDICA aims to enable education and promoting awareness in society, especially emphasizing Child Protection in the Digital Era. The Child Protection Institution, as the main actor, serves as a key player in disseminating healthy information, equipping resources, and conducting training related to Online Security in the digital environment. Below are some key aspects that the mentioned institution can implement”.

This scenario becomes an urgent necessity to ensure comprehensive protection for the vulnerable public, adequately safeguarding their fundamental interests as established in international statutes for children and adolescents. This issue is crucial to ensure that the cyberspace is a safe and healthy digital environment.

Aiming at fostering the development and well-being of child users, highlighting key aspects that the State should implement such as the creation of a specialized team for child protection in the Digital Era environment. This institution can form a group or team with its own responsibilities to lead civic education for society on Child Protection in the Digital Environment Era. This team can also engage the participation of Civil Society, so that they can formulate strategies, providing resources, and deliver training to society.

The superior also emphasized that training is a crucial point for parents to know how to monitor their children's internet usage. More or less, there are 6 challenges parents will encounter in the Digital Era environment, such as: online accessibility, free Wi-Fi, and low-cost internet packages, make it easier for children to access the internet.

Free access, due to the lack of laws and regulations that limit, leads to unrestricted access for children to the Internet. Frequently, our children are more capable than their parents in the Digital Native Generation, which allows children to easily master digital technology compared to their parents, however, this does not mean they have a deeper understanding.

The world of user-generated content online information can be originated from any one or anywhere. When accessing information, it is crucial to engage in careful consideration before making comments or posts on the internet. Children seek freedom, shaped by the information they obtain from the internet, and they desire unrestricted access to all kinds of information. They fail to fully grasp the consequences, in addition to the positive advantages in using internet, there are also disadvantage or risks, which our children do not yet fully understand.

However, one point that has become a fundamental key to ensuring the safety of Child Protection in the Digital Era is the need to effectively incorporate children's rights into corporate policies and management processes. Creating a safe and appropriate online environment, based on development according to the children's age. Establishing standard processes that address content involving sexual abuse against children. Providing adequate education for children, parents, and teachers on child safety related to the responsible use of ICT. Promoting digital technology as a means of public participation in the protection of children.

Upon concluding his presentation, the Executive Director seized the opportunity to share some important insights with the parents, urging them to continue adapting to the digital landscape, which is constantly evolving, based on the provided recommendations.

“Taking advantage of this excellent opportunity, I am pleased to convey a message to parents, that, parents should not only monitor, but also actively engage in the continuous flow of technological change in the digital world. When the 5 mentioned points are executed effectively and properly implemented correctly, and parents also make their full commitment and contribution to deeply understand the process of technological change that continues to develop, will help in protecting their children in the use of technology. Considering that children adjust more quickly to growth and adaptations, more than parents," stated the Executive Director of TIC TIMOR.

The speakers of this talk show consist of; President of INDDICA, Mrs. Dinorah Granadeiro, the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), Mr. Virgílio Guterres, and the Director General of Youth at the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture (MJDAK), Mr. David Tomás de Deus.

The activity of this talk show was held in relation to the launch of the Swipe Safe application, during the second conference of Safer Internet Day, with the aim of promoting a safer future, aligned with the policies and programs of the Government, for the protection of children regarding online safety issues in Timor-Leste.

(Média TIC)