Welcome! The Blog on Technology, Children and War

Technology is transforming children’s world

Time to go to school”, Alexa tells our kids in the morning as they chuck down their breakfast and head to the bus stop, yet another reminder of the myriad ways technology has become a part of our everyday life. 

The advances technology has made - even in the last 5-10 years, never cease to amaze: a robot that looks, speaks and almost thinks like a person, an app that can live-translate conversations into almost any language (why did we even bother to learn French or Spanish in school?), and cars that do the driving for us. With all of this happening right here and now, you cannot help but wonder, what else will be possible in the future…

And yet, when it comes to protecting children in armed conflict, a cause we so deeply care about, very little has changed from when we first started our work 20 years ago. It’s like we’re still using the same operating system even though tons of updates are waiting to be downloaded. As a community of practitioners, all of us need to better understand what new technologies exist and how they can be used to harm or help children in situations of armed conflict. 

We’re writing this blog series on “Children, Peace and Security and Technology” not because we’re tech experts (we’re not!), but because protecting children in armed conflict in the 21st century demands keeping up with the complex, and rapidly evolving technological advancements.

We are excited for you to join us in this exploration and welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas below. 

Julia Freedson and Yvonne Kemper

Independent Consultants

November 30, 2022