C-Sema represents ACOSA at the Global Digital Forum in Moscow

The visit brought C-Sema into an international conversation on protecting children online and marked its participation in the emerging Global Alliance to Protect Children in the Digital Environment.

Moscow, Russia | 8–10 October 2026

C-Sema participated in the II Global Digital Forum (GDF 2026), held in Moscow, Russia, from 8 to 10 October 2026, following an invitation from Nina Fedorova, Head of International Affairs at the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment.

For C-Sema, a Tanzanian non-profit organisation working to advance children’s rights, the Forum provided an opportunity to engage with international stakeholders on a challenge that increasingly cuts across national borders: how to ensure that children can benefit from digital technologies while being protected from harm.

Child online safety needs a collective response. C-Sema’s participation in the Global Digital Forum also reflects its engagement with the wider African child online safety community through the Africa Child Online Safety Alliance (ACOSA), of which C-Sema is a member.

ACOSA provides a continental platform through which organisations working on child online safety can share knowledge, strengthen capacity, contribute to policy advocacy and build collective responses to emerging risks. Through its membership, C-Sema is connected to a wider network of African organisations working to ensure that children can benefit from digital technologies while being protected from harm.

Another important connection is Child Online Africa (COA), a Ghana-based, pan-African child-rights research and advocacy organisation led by Executive Director Awo Aidam Amenyah. Awo’s referral helped connect C-Sema with the invitation to participate in the Moscow Forum, illustrating the value of relationships among organisations working towards a common goal.

Although ACOSA and COA have distinct organisational identities and roles, both form part of the wider African effort to advance children's rights and safety in the digital environment. Their work reflects the importance of collaboration across organisations, countries and networks in responding to a challenge that does not stop at national borders.

These risks cannot be addressed by families, schools or individual organisations working in isolation. They require cooperation among governments, technology companies, civil society organisations, academic institutions and international partners.

The II Global Digital Forum brought together participants from around the world to discuss digital transformation and international cooperation. Within the Forum, the session titled Digital Childhood Without Borders: Best International Practices for Protecting Child Safety Online addressed issues including age restrictions, personal data protection, digital literacy, fraud prevention and the emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence.

The discussion reinforced an important principle: children need both access to the opportunities offered by the digital world and the knowledge, safeguards and support necessary to navigate it safely.

C-Sema signs the Global Alliance pact on child online safety. A key milestone of C-Sema’s participation in the II Global Digital Forum was the signing ceremony for the Global Alliance to Protect Children in the Digital Environment. C-Sema took part in the ceremony and signed the pact, formally joining an international initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation to protect children online.

Signing the pact provides an opportunity for C-Sema to contribute its child-protection experience in Tanzania to a wider international effort. The Alliance seeks to promote collaboration among governments, civil society, academia, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders to share good practices, identify emerging risks and develop practical approaches to child online safety.

Following the signing ceremony, C-Sema attended the first-ever meeting of the Global Alliance, where members began the next phase of engagement. During the meeting, the Secretariat confirmed Nina Fedorova as the Alliance’s first Global Chair.

The establishment of the Alliance provides a platform for continued dialogue and cooperation on issues including children's digital literacy, online exploitation and abuse, protection of personal data, harmful content and the risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence.

This signing the pact is an opportunity to contribute its experience in child protection in Tanzania to a wider international effort. It also creates a basis for learning from other members, exchanging approaches and exploring practical areas of cooperation.

The significance of this milestone will ultimately be measured not only by the organisations that have joined, but by the collective action that follows: stronger collaboration, more effective protection measures and a digital environment in which children can participate, learn and develop safely.

Connecting international dialogue with experience in Tanzania. C-Sema's work in child protection includes the National Child Helpline (116), which provides a channel through which children and communities can seek assistance and report protection concerns.

Experience from child-protection work demonstrates the importance of accessible reporting channels, trusted support systems, effective referral mechanisms and collaboration among institutions responsible for protecting children.

As children's lives become increasingly connected to digital spaces, these principles remain relevant. Online safety cannot be separated entirely from the broader child-protection systems that respond when children experience harm.

International cooperation can help organisations exchange knowledge, identify emerging threats and learn from approaches tested in different contexts. It can also create opportunities to strengthen the connection between policy discussions, technological solutions and the realities experienced by children and families.

For Tanzania, engagement in international conversations on digital safety offers an opportunity to ensure that local experiences and perspectives contribute to wider discussions about how children should be protected in an increasingly connected world.

Looking ahead. C-Sema's participation in the II Global Digital Forum and the Global Alliance reflects its commitment to engaging with partners and initiatives that advance children's rights and safety.

The next step is to turn participation into meaningful engagement: sharing knowledge, learning from other members, identifying practical areas of cooperation and contributing to approaches that respond to children's needs.

Protecting children online is a shared responsibility. It requires not only policies and technology, but also informed families, digitally literate children, accountable service providers, responsive institutions and civil society organisations that can help connect children to protection and support.

Children’s safety must remain central as the digital world evolves. Through continued collaboration at national, regional and international levels, we can work towards a digital environment in which children are able to learn, create and participate while enjoying their rights and being protected from harm.

Prepared by C-Sema's Communications Team.