Left out and misunderstood: children in digital inclusion policies

Digital transformation and digital inclusion policies are shaping the lives of millions of children worldwide - yet children remain largely invisible within these strategies. Despite the profound impact these policies have on children’s rights, opportunities, and well-being, there has been surprisingly little investigation into whether children are mentioned at all, or how they are portrayed when they are.

Watch the launch of three major reports that reveal how children are framed in digital transformation agendas - and what this means for their rights, their agency, and their digital futures.

Drawing on analyses of over 300 policies from 35 countries and organisations, many from under-researched regions, this work uncovers striking diversity as well as consistent global patterns in whether, where, and how children appear in digital policy.

Speakers: Ellen Helsper and Shivani Rao (LSE). Respondent: Steven Vosloo (UNICEF Innocenti)

Reports launched
• Left Out and Misunderstood: Children in digital policies – a global review, https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/130444/
A comprehensive overview of how children are represented across intergovernmental, regional and national-level policies. This report outlines the methodology, synthesises global patterns, highlights best practices, and presents recommendations for more child-aware digital policymaking.

• Left Out and Misunderstood: Children in global, regional and national digital policies, https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/130445/
A deeper dive into individual governing bodies and countries, showcasing distinctive policy features, regional variations, and promising examples of practice.

• Digital Policy Analysis: A methodological toolkit, https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/130446/
A practical guide detailing the analytical framework and method behind the research. Developed for policymakers, researchers and advocates, this toolkit supports robust evaluation, design and accountability in digital policy development.

Ellen Helsper is Professor of Digital Inequalities in the Department of Media and Communications and the International Inequalities Institute at LSE. Her current research interests include the links between social and digital inequalities; mediated interpersonal communication; participatory immersive digital spaces (VR, ER); and quantitative and qualitative methodological developments in media and communications research.

Shivani Rao is a PhD researcher in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), whose work investigates how ableism and disablism are reproduced through smart‐city technologies and their implications for citizenship and belonging. Previously, she has worked on digital safety, internet policy, and child rights across UK and international organisations.

Steven Vosloo is a technology, policy and innovation specialist at UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight. He works at the intersection of children, emerging tech, foresight and policy, covering issues such as children and AI, digital disinformation, the metaverse, neurotechnology and digital equality. With over 20 years’ experience in innovating digital technologies for social good, he has been head of mobile in the Innovation Lab, Pearson South Africa, led the mobile learning programme at UNESCO, held the prestigious fellowship for 21st Century Learning at the Shuttleworth Foundation, and is a research fellow alum at Stanford University.