The Kingdom of the Netherlands aligns itself with the EU statement.

In this digital age, we must ensure that individuals can meaningfully engage in diverse online spaces, so that they can fully enjoy their right to freedom of opinion and expression. Digital, media and information literacy plays a pivotal role in this regard, as it is an essential tool to counter disinformation, to bridge digital divides, including the gender digital divide, and to allow for greater inclusivity.

DMIL helps ensure that we can all benefit from being connected in an equal manner to enjoy our human rights and fundamental freedoms, both online and offline.

Here, we want to stress the particular  importance of education in promoting digital, media and information literacy, especially when it comes to children and young people.  Younger generations, who are growing up as digital natives, make extensive use of digital media, and do this at an increasingly younger age. Therefore, it is important to equip children already from a young age with the necessary knowledge and skills to discover, access, critically evaluate and disseminate information and communicate their views in various media, thereby promoting digital user safety and  fostering digital inclusion.

We would like to ask the panelist if they could reflect on effective ways in which children and young people can be taught to foster a critical attitude towards digital technologies and media content, as well as about their rights to freedom of opinion and expression?  

Thank you.