{"id":24227,"date":"2025-10-22T16:31:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T15:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=24227"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T15:31:41","slug":"unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Taskforce to Champion Child Safety and Rights in Africa\u2019s Rapidly Growing Digital Space<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

22 October 2025, Kigali:<\/strong> UNICEF and GSMA have launched the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection<\/strong> (COP), the first of its kind, to strengthen children\u2019s safety, rights and wellbeing in the digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched at MWC25 Kigali, the Taskforce will serve as a multi-stakeholder platform to lead, coordinate and advance child online protection efforts across Africa, while helping to build national and regional capacity to keep children safe online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch follows the GSMA\u2019s June 2025 whitepaper, Enhancing Child Online Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa<\/em><\/a>, developed in collaboration with UNICEF and regional partners. The whitepaper called for strengthened action from governments, industry, civil society, and youth to build safer digital environments for children, and directly recommended the establishment of this Taskforce as a mechanism to drive implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As more children across Africa come online \u2013 at one of the fastest rates globally \u2013 they face increasing risks ranging from cyberbullying and exploitation to misinformation and exposure to harmful content. Africa\u2019s mobile-first landscape, rapid technological change, and growing youth population present both opportunity and risk. With the continent\u2019s unique digital landscape, the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence and a growing youth population, the need for a homegrown, African-led approach to child online protection has never been more urgent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs Africa\u2019s children step boldly into the digital world, their safety must come first. The Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection is a uniquely African platform to ensure technology shields children from harm while opening doors to learning, play, and growth,\u201d<\/em> said UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Etleva Kadilli<\/strong>. \u201cBy uniting governments, partners, and young people, we can make safety the foundation of Africa\u2019s digital future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taskforce will bring together partners from across the mobile industry, technology sector, regulatory bodies, law enforcement and civil society to strengthen cooperation and drive the implementation of existing regional frameworks and policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Mbugua, Director of Public Policy at GSMA Africa,<\/strong> added: \u201cThe Taskforce marks an important step from strategy to action, turning the whitepaper\u2019s recommendations into tangible regional progress. By working alongside UNICEF, governments, industry, and youth representatives, we aim to embed safety into Africa\u2019s digital transformation journey and ensure children\u2019s voices shape the policies that define their future. Together, we will strengthen digital governance, promote safety by design, and ensure that children and young people\u2019s voices shape the policies that define Africa\u2019s digital future. By working in partnership, we can position Africa as a global leader in child-centred digital governance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection brings together a diverse coalition of partners, including Axian Telecom, Child Helpline International, INTERPOL, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), Internet Watch Foundation, MTN Group, MtotoNews, Orange, Paramount Africa, Safaricom, Youth Representatives from Nigeria and Rwanda, and Vodacom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people who contributed to the whitepaper\u2019s consultations \u2013 including youth advocates such as 19-year-old Jemima Kasongo \u2013 will continue to play an active role through the Taskforce, ensuring that the perspectives of Africa\u2019s next generation remain central to this work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-ENDS-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About UNICEF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNICEF works in some of the world\u2019s toughest places, to reach the world\u2019s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow UNICEF in Africa on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite you to find out more at gsma.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, please contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nidhi Joshi | UNICEF Rwanda | njoshi@unicef.org<\/a> | +234 803 535 1953<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSMA Press Office | pressoffice@gsma.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dheepa Pandian | UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa | dpandian@unicef.org<\/a> | +254 757 514 548<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Taskforce to Champion Child Safety and Rights in Africa\u2019s Rapidly Growing Digital Space 22 October 2025, Kigali: UNICEF and GSMA have launched the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection (COP), the first of its kind, to strengthen children\u2019s safety, rights and wellbeing in the digital world. Launched at MWC25 Kigali, the Taskforce will serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":24229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_state":[6602],"algolia_discover_topic":[],"algolia_discover_region":[],"algolia_discover_type":[],"algolia_discover_series":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nUNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Taskforce to Champion Child Safety and Rights in Africa\u2019s Rapidly Growing Digital Space 22 October 2025, Kigali: UNICEF and GSMA have launched the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection (COP), the first of its kind, to strengthen children\u2019s safety, rights and wellbeing in the digital world. Launched at MWC25 Kigali, the Taskforce will serve […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T15:31:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T15:31:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"lboulter@gsma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"lboulter@gsma.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age","og_description":"New Taskforce to Champion Child Safety and Rights in Africa\u2019s Rapidly Growing Digital Space 22 October 2025, Kigali: UNICEF and GSMA have launched the Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection (COP), the first of its kind, to strengthen children\u2019s safety, rights and wellbeing in the digital world. Launched at MWC25 Kigali, the Taskforce will serve […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","article_published_time":"2025-10-22T15:31:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-22T15:31:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"lboulter@gsma.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GSMA","twitter_site":"@GSMA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"lboulter@gsma.com","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/"},"author":{"name":"lboulter@gsma.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/a13efaeb834dd92974825e1183ab879a"},"headline":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age","datePublished":"2025-10-22T15:31:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-22T15:31:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/"},"wordCount":750,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","articleSection":["Press Release"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/","name":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age - Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","datePublished":"2025-10-22T15:31:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-22T15:31:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"A group of smiling children in school uniforms and headscarves take a cheerful selfie with a smartphone, joined by an adult who is waving. They are indoors, surrounded by books and a red chair, creating a joyful, lively scene."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/unicef-and-gsma-unite-with-partners-to-launch-africa-taskforce-on-child-online-protection-to-safeguard-children-in-the-digital-age\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UNICEF and GSMA Unite with Partners to Launch Africa Taskforce on Child Online Protection to Safeguard Children in the Digital Age"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"GSMA","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GSMA_logo_colour_web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GSMA_logo_colour_web.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"GSMA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GSMA","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gsmaonline\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/12380","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GSMAOnline"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/a13efaeb834dd92974825e1183ab879a","name":"lboulter@gsma.com"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GettyImages-1189484819-2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24228,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24227\/revisions\/24228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_state?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_topic?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_region?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_type?post=24227"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_series?post=24227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}