A Global Call to Empower Families
UNESCO’s new global initiative places parents and families at the heart of one of today’s most urgent challenges: how to guide children safely, confidently and creatively through the digital world.
On 25 September, more than 400 participants — parents, educators, policymakers, media professionals and youth — gathered at UNESCO Headquarters to confront a reality we all feel: children are growing up in an online environment that is faster, louder and more complex than ever before.
What stood out in the discussions is simple but powerful: parents don’t need to be digital experts — they need support, tools and a space for honest dialogue.
UNESCO and CLEMI are now co‑developing the Family Guide to the Digital World, a practical resource designed to help families:
- Understand online risks and opportunities
- Build healthy digital habits together
- Strengthen communication with children about their online lives
- Navigate social media, algorithms and digital platforms with confidence
As UNESCO Director‑General Audrey Azoulay emphasized, families are the “missing link we must now strengthen.” And strengthening them means empowering them — not with fear, but with knowledge, trust and shared responsibility.
In a world where digital platforms shape how young people learn, connect and imagine their future, this initiative arrives at exactly the right moment.
Because supporting parents means supporting children. And supporting children means shaping a safer, more human‑centered digital age for all.
