"The online environment is central to our lives, and we need to do everything possible to help young people stay safe using the web. Be bold, be imaginative, be brilliant, we are listening."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a video message addressing the congress.

The very first International Youth Advisory Congress (IYAC) was held from July 17 until July 21 2008 at the ACS International School in Cobham, England. The Egyptian delegation attending the congress consisted of Ashraf Moussa, Unit manager at the Cyber Peace Initiative, and two Egyptian Youth Delegates, Ingy Helmy and Yasmin Fahim. They were joined by another 150 youth delegates, aged 14-17 and representing 19 countries from 5 continents.

The congress was organized by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP) in cooperation with the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT). CEOP aims to protect, enforce and educate through national and international channels. The center utilizes the main functions of intelligence, harm reduction, operations and support. CEOP consists of three faculties (Intelligence, Operations and Harm Reduction), all focusing on a main function and supported by teams covering governance, business development, communications, partnerships and corporate service. 

The VGT is a global partnership that brings together national law enforcement agencies to protect children from sexual exploitation. Current membership covers 5 jurisdictions and Interpol gives access to another 162 jurisdictions. The VGT has put in place systems and processes to share information and intelligence between countries, conduct cross-border investigations and ensure a fast time response to cases where children are believed to be at immediate risk.

The conference approach was to engage and empower children about their use of technology and provide a forum in which they can share ideas, build strategies and create an action plan for children and young people to be safe and remain safe online.

"I have been given a unique opportunity to engage young people such as myself with change makers and to speak out loud and work together to make a difference. Looking back, I can proudly say that I made a difference!"

Egyptian Youth Delegate Yasmin Fahim.

The conference consisted of sessions on themes such as media, government and law enforcement, industry and education. Within these sessions, experts shared their view on promoting the safety and security of young people online. The sessions were followed by a working group discussion among youth delegates.

This all resulted in the production of a document that will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly as a youth-generated contribution to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Both Egyptian youth delegates actively participated in contributing to the presentations of their working groups in the closing ceremony and one of them delivered the welcome remarks during the ceremony. Summarizing, the congress was a successful event in which the CPI had full opportunity to promote its objectives and achievements under the Internet Safety Track.

"We should educate children, parents and teachers on how to use the internet safely while allowing young people to develop themselves in a responsible manner through the use of innovative technologies."

Egyptian Youth Delegate Ingy Helmy. 

Read more about IYAC: www.iyac.net