{"id":5274,"date":"2021-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/?p=5274"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:34:55","slug":"press-release-new-research-opportunity-for-children-to-influence-and-have-their-say-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-new-research-opportunity-for-children-to-influence-and-have-their-say-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: New Research: Opportunity for children to influence and have their say online"},"content":{"rendered":"\nNew Research: Opportunity for children to influence and have their say online <\/strong>\n\nTU Dublin and the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office<\/strong>\n\nDigital Voices: Progressing children\u2019s right to be heard through social and digital media is <\/em>new research carried out by the Technological University Dublin for the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO). Digital Voices<\/em> investigates opportunities to mobilise social and digital media to diversify how children can be heard by public policy makers, decision-makers and service providers.\n\nTo date, the OCO\u2019s work on children\u2019s rights in the digital environment has largely focused on children\u2019s safety and protection \u2013 a vitally important issue. However, as the significance of the digital environment for children continues to grow, we wanted to examine how children\u2019s right to be heard can be progressed through social and digital media, especially in the context of public decision-making.\n\nLike so many other organisations, the OCO has relied heavily on digital technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The past year has solidified the importance of digital and social media to communicate, entertain, stay informed, and to educate.\u00a0 Digital Voices<\/em> looks at the barriers to mobilising social and digital media to advance children\u2019s right to be heard in decision-making, and at how these barriers can be overcome. It highlights good practice and makes recommendations on core actions to advance the use of social and digital media as ways for children to express their views and be heard by public bodies in Ireland.\n\nDigital Voices<\/em> involved a consultation with 155 young people aged 8 to 17, as well interviews with civil and public servants, youth workers, NGO representatives, educators and industry specialists.\n\nChildren who took part talked about the wide range of benefits that social and digital media bring. In particular, they highlighted \u201cCommunication and being in touch\u201d and \u201cThe internet as an Information Space\u201d. They recognise the barriers and challenges in the digital environment, including cyberbullying and unwanted communications. Overall however, they are confident about their ability to express themselves online and believe the internet is a good place for young people\u2019s voices to be heard.\n\n\u201cYoung people don\u2019t see an offline and online world that perhaps adults might. It\u2019s just one world for young people so it\u2019s where young people are at and it\u2019s vital then for the youth sector and the youth workers to meet young people where they\u2019re at.\u201d(Youth Organisation).\n\nProfessor Brian O\u2019Neill who led the TU Dublin research team said:\n\n\u201cWe were delighted to have the opportunity to work with the OCO on this very important initiative.\u00a0 Digital Voices<\/em> is about bringing a new perspective to children and young people\u2019s involvement in public decision-making.\u00a0 The young people and the many professionals we consulted were convinced that there is a huge opportunity for us here to mobilise youth voices in a very positive way through their digital participation. \u201d\n\nValeria Setti, European Commission Coordinator for the Rights of the Child and keynote speaker for the Digital Voices<\/em> webinar continued:\n\n\u201cDigital Voices<\/em> confirms what the 10,000 children who contributed to the new EU Strategy on the rights of the child told us: that they are active citizens and that social and digital platforms can be a key instrument to achieve greater participation.\n\n\u201cThere is a political momentum for bringing the participation of children in democratic and political life to the next level. In 2022, the European Commission will launch a new EU Children\u2019s Participation Platform, and the outcome of the Digital Voices<\/em> research will certainly help inform our decisions\u201d.\n\nDigital Voices<\/em> suggests a number of action points to mobilise social and digital media:\n