Social Media Policy

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office – Social Media Policy

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is an independent office and human rights institution. We have two main roles; to deal with complaints made by or for children and young people about the actions of public organisations, and to promote the rights and welfare of children and young people under 18 living in Ireland.

We promote children’s rights and welfare by finding out what children and young people are concerned about and highlighting their opinions to people who make decisions that affect them. We help people, especially young people, to find out about children’s rights and how those rights can be respected and made real. We advise Government and others to help make sure laws and plans respect children’s rights. We encourage public organisations to promote children’s rights in the work that they do. We also carry research to get a better understanding of issues that are important in children and young people’s lives.

The OCO recognises the importance of social media in shaping public thought about our organisation. The OCO is committed to supporting honest, transparent, and knowledgeable dialogue on the Internet through social media. The aim of the OCO’s social media is to increase awareness and community growth, through increased reach and engagement and the optimisation of our social media channels. We also aim to promote the work of the office including publications, reports, research and events attended by OCO staff. The OCO’s online communications output must be consistent with our traditional communication output and follow the same guidelines when producing content.

 

How we use social media at the OCO

Objectives of Social Media

• To promote and develop positive online discussion of the OCO
• To protect the reputation of the OCO online.
• To ensure the OCO provides an official voice in this area.
• Be consistent in promoting key OCO messages.
• Create a networked community around OCO activities;
• Engage with relevant stakeholders
• Respond and engage in an efficient, appropriate and timely manner.

 

Twitter – @OCO_Ireland

Twitter is the main social media tool used by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office. The account is managed by the communications unit at the OCO.

Facebook – facebook.com/OCOIreland

The OCO Facebook account is managed by the communications unit at the OCO.

Instagram – @ombudsmanforchildren

The OCO Instagram account is managed by the communications unit at the OCO.

Threads – @ombudsmanforchildren

The OCO Threads account is managed by the communications unit at the OCO.

LinkedIn – The Ombudsman for Children’s Office

The OCO LinkedIn account is managed by the communications unit at the OCO.

 

What we post

If you follow any of the OCO accounts, you can expect to see photos, videos, posts and updates on any or all of the following:

• OCO publications and reports
• OCO events
• OCO workshops and interactions with young people
• OCO statements
• Engagement with stakeholders

Retweets and shares

Retweets and shares are not endorsements of an opinion or comment. The OCO will retweet and share information from various departments, NGOs or stakeholders. Other organisations content may be retweeted or shared where we feel the information is relevant to our followers. This will be determined by the communications unit on a case by case basis.

Replied and direct messages

We cannot provide replies or feedback to all direct messages and comments. If you have a complaint you can contact ococomplaint@oco.ie or send any general queries to oco@oco.ie.

Reporting/ Blocking

The OCO reserves the right to report the following to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and block the relevant account:

• accounts that impersonate the Ombudsman for Children’s Office in any way
• spam and abusive tweets, posts, shares or comments will not be tolerated and will be reported and removed/ hidden

The OCO reserves the right to limit comments, replies, quote tweets and interactions on any OCO social media content.

Availability

All OCO social accounts are managed within office hours from Monday to Friday, but may also operate outside these hours when required.

Please note we cannot respond to complaints made via our social media accounts. For more information on how to make a complaint and the types of complaints you can make, please visit https://www.oco.ie/complaints/

Staff

OCO staff members may create their own social media accounts for personal use. Any communication intended for the OCO should be made via our official social media channels and email addresses. OCO staff members should not enter into any discussions on OCO issues via personal accounts and should direct enquiries to the OCO. Staff reserve the right to report and/or block any spam, abusive comments or persistent messages that relate to the OCO made to their personal accounts.

• Meitheamh 2022