MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
Adeline Hulin, Chief of Unit for Media and Information Literacy at UNESCO, delivered a powerful message during her session titled “Safe Digital Spaces and Powering Youth’s Rise in Global Media” at the BRIDGE Summit, focusing on the urgent need to protect young people online and equip them with the skills to navigate today’s complex digital world.
Hulin highlighted that online harassment, hate speech and misinformation are among the biggest threats facing young people today.
“One of the major issues young people face online is harassment and hate speech,” she said, pointing to global data showing how widespread the problem has become.
Referencing UNESCO’s global study “Behind the Screens”, conducted with an American university, Hulin revealed alarming findings about the experiences of young content creators.
“More than 30% of young content creators across over 50 countries reported experiencing online harassment and hate speech,” she noted.
She also addressed gender issues in digital spaces, particularly the challenges faced by young women.
“One in three women online faces violent or abusive harassment, and this is especially visible among young female creators,” she said.
Misinformation was another key concern raised during the session. Hulin explained that many young people rely heavily on social media to access information, often without verification.
“We found that many young people judge the credibility of information by the number of likes and shares, and 62% said they do not fact-check before sharing content,” she warned.
On the question of responsibility, Hulin stressed that creating safer digital environments must be a unified effort.
“This cannot be the responsibility of users alone. It must be a whole-of-society approach,” she said, emphasising the role of governments, educators, platforms and families.
She highlighted a major global milestone achieved through the United Nations.
“By 2030, all UN member states have committed to integrating media and information literacy into school curricula, and this is a real game changer,” Hulin added.
While acknowledging recent policy moves such as age-based social media restrictions, she cautioned against seeing them as a complete solution.
“Bans alone will not solve misinformation. Young people still need to be trained to understand the information ecosystem,” she said.
Hulin concluded by stressing the often-overlooked role of parents in shaping children’s digital habits.
“Parents are a missing link. They are expected to guide their children, but many are not digital natives,” she said, calling for stronger family-level digital education.
Her session positioned youth not only as users of media, but as future leaders of global digital culture – if given the right tools, knowledge and protection.