Teenager takes a lead on digital rights
TAYNUILT teenager Rowan Watkins is to join a new 30-strong Young Scot 5Rights leadership group to champion young people’s digital rights.
5Rights is a UK-wide initiative based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, supported by the Scottish Government and partnered with Young Scot.
It aims to promote the five fundamental digital rights of children and young people: the right to remove, the right to know, the right to safety and support, the right to informed and conscious use, and the right to digital literacy.
As part of the campaign, Rowan, 17, will raise young people’s awareness of the 5Rights framework in Argyll and Bute and across the country.
The Young Scot 5Rights group will also recruit and train other young people as digital rights champions for a pilot programme to run in five Scottish schools.
Amy Chalmers, a 5Rights youth leader, said: ‘It’s essential young people understand their rights in the digital world and how to use them. Everyone has the right to know what information is being held about them, to be secure and safe and to make informed decisions.
‘If something isn’t acceptable offline, then it shouldn’t be okay online. That’s what we’re working to achieve.’
Rowan and the rest of the group also hope to establish an award for businesses that respect young people’s online rights and investigate how young people can review and manage their digital footprint.