Ankara: Milena Spajić spoke at a roundtable on child protection in the digital environment

Wife of the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, Milena Spajić, participated at the invitation of Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan in a women's program of the NATO Summit in Ankara, at a roundtable on the topic "Child protection in the digital environment," where she exchanged experiences and best practices with participants in the field of protecting children from challenges posed by the modern digital environment. Speaking about the increasing risks children face online, Milena Spajić emphasized that protecting children in the digital space is a shared responsibility of families, the education system, institutions, civil society, and tech companies. She warned that the rapid development of digital technologies increasingly captures the attention of children and youth, "consuming more of their time daily, while algorithms often exploit their emotional and developmental vulnerabilities, encouraging excessive use of digital content and behavioral patterns that can lead to addiction." During her presentation, Spajić highlighted the importance of strengthening digital literacy, encouraging open communication between parents and children, developing critical thinking among the youngest, and improving mechanisms for prevention and reporting of digital violence and abuse. Citing data that show a significant number of children remain unsupported because they do not report violence and harassment in the digital environment, Spajić stated that building trust with children is equally important so they know they are not alone and can always seek help. Participants at the roundtable agreed that protecting children in the digital environment requires stronger international cooperation and coordinated action among all relevant stakeholders to make the digital space a safer place for future generations to grow up.