Children’s mental health in the digital age in focus as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) hosts ‘The Children’s Festa’

[Financial News] A forum will be held to explore solutions to mental health problems, including loneliness and anxiety, that children experience in the digital environment. Children themselves, as well as experts, will take part in discussions on ways to create a safe digital environment.
According to the Korean Committee for UNICEF on the 11th, the 2026 Children’s Festa will take place on the 19th and 20th at the Blue Hole on the committee’s third floor in Mapo District, Seoul. The event commemorates World Children’s Day (November 20). Following last year’s focus on children’s mental health, this year’s event will focus on the digital environment.
November 20 marks the day the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989.
In its report ‘Childhood in a Digital World,’ published last June, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Institute recommended focusing on preventing online sexual abuse and bullying and on safe design, rather than limiting the time children spend using digital devices, to protect their mental health. It noted that blocking online access could also reduce opportunities for children to develop their digital skills. It also recommended that businesses increase investment in safety and that governments strengthen laws and systems.
The forum’s four main topics are safe design in the digital environment, healthy relationships, children’s agency in making choices, and society’s shared responsibility. Government, academia, businesses, and civil society will jointly consider measures to address these issues.
The keynote addresses will be delivered by Catherine Martinko, author of ‘Childhood Unplugged,’ and Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics (LSE). UNICEF child protection experts and representatives from businesses, government, and the education sector in Korea and abroad will also attend. The leadership of the Korea Children’s Assembly and UNICEF child and youth activists from Madagascar, among others, will share their experiences and views as people directly affected.
As a side event, around 10 works from ‘Removed,’ a series by American photographer Eric Pickersgill, will be exhibited on the committee’s first floor from the 16th to the 20th. The photographs show people after their digital devices have been physically removed. Five ‘Mental Health × Digital’ experience booths will operate on the seventh floor during the two days of the forum.
The forum will run from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on both days and will also be livestreamed online. A total of 400 in-person participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, with 200 places available each day. Admission is free, and attendees can register in advance on the event website.
Heo Geum-ju, secretary-general of the Korean Committee for UNICEF, said, “Because the loneliness and anxiety children experience in digital spaces are not readily visible, society must recognize them and respond together before it is too late.”

[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter