Pathway Forward: Building a Safer Digital Environment for Children

Summary

As children and adolescents spend an increasing part of their lives online, child protection systems must evolve to address risks that extend beyond the physical world. Pathway Forward: Protecting Children from Online Risks and Harms was developed to help Armenia respond to this emerging challenge through a comprehensive and coordinated approach. Co-funded by the Izmirlian Charitable Foundation and UNICEF and implemented by UNICEF Armenia in cooperation with the Government of Armenia and other stakeholders, the initiative works across policy, education, awareness and response systems to create a safer digital environment for children and young people. The project supports the strengthening of Armenia’s legal and policy framework for child online safety, while also helping children, parents, caregivers and educators better understand digital risks and adopt safer online practices. It promotes responsible use of digital platforms in schools and communities and strengthens access to trusted hotline and helpline services where children and families can seek guidance, report concerns and receive support. Complementing these efforts, the Izmirlian Foundation has financed the Armenian translation of Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, making an important international contribution to the debate on childhood, smartphones and social media accessible to Armenian parents, educators, policymakers and the wider public. The initiative is intended to encourage informed discussion on the impact of the digital environment on children and to strengthen awareness of the shared responsibility of families, schools, government and society in promoting healthier digital habits.

The Izmirlian Foundation supported the translation and printing of Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation to make evidence and practical guidance on children’s mental health, social media risks and healthier childhood development accessible to Armenian readers. The book focuses on the effects of phone-based childhood and proposes measures such as delaying smartphone and social-media access, phone-free schools and more real-world play.