One in three internet users is a child, yet the digital world was not designed with children in mind. As we witness an acceleration of the development of technologies like generative AI—rapidly transforming children’s lives, tech regulation often prioritises speed over human and children’s rights. Yet the technology-related challenges children face and will face in coming years differ greatly worldwide. What can we learn from engaging children from around the world in imagining what children’s digital lives might look like in the future and what changes are needed to ensure child rights respecting digital environments and tech regulation?
This event will showcase a project led by the Digital Futures for Children centre and co-designed with 5Rights Global Youth Ambassadors (ages 13–17) from 11 countries worldwide. Using speculative futures methodology, the project explores how children imagine a sustainable digital world over the next 25 years—one that ensures safety, empowerment, and equity regardless of background. Their explorations of future developments highlight shifts in labour, human and human-technology relationships, and points to significant global digital divides.
In this event, we bring together children's voices from around the world to identify possible futures where children’s rights are upheld and technology serves humanity sustainably, identifying pathways and recommendations toward equitable and rights-respecting digital futures designed with children.
More about this event
This event is part of the LSE Festival: Visions for the Future running from Monday 16 to Saturday 21 June 2025, with a series of events exploring the threats and opportunities of the near and distant future, and what a better world could look like. Booking for all Festival events will open on Monday 19 May.
The Department of Media and Communications is a world-leading centre for education and research in communication and media studies at the heart of LSE’s academic community in central London.
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