First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto has called for stronger safeguards and collective action to protect children online.

While acknowledging the benefits of technology in transforming how children learn and connect, she warned that digital progress must never outpace child protection.

Mama Rachel was speaking when she joined child-protection leaders, technology experts and civil society representatives at the Invisible Architecture Forum on building safer digital systems for children.

“Protecting children in the digital age is a shared responsibility,” she said at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) is taking place.

“No country can meet this challenge alone. Governments, technology companies, parents, teachers and international partners must act together to ensure every child can learn, explore and thrive online without surrendering their safety. Progress must never outpace protection”, she added.

The First Lady reminded the gathering that a child can be in the safest room at home and still encounter danger online, one tap at a time.

“Kenya’s growing digital opportunity must therefore be matched by an equally strong commitment to child safety, dignity and privacy,” she urged.

Through the Voice of Children Initiative, Kenya is advancing the principles of Provision, Protection and Participation by ensuring children have access to digital opportunities, are protected from online harm and have a meaningful voice in decisions that shape their digital lives.