Youth Mental Health, Human Development and Artificial Intelligence

High-Level Meeting – United Nations General Assembly Week

24 September 2026, 2:30-6:00 PM – 112 East 71st Street, New York, NY

During the week of the United Nations General Assembly, Fondazione Child, in collaboration with Fondazione S.O.S. Il Telefono Azzurro ETS, will convene a high-level meeting in New York on 24 September, bringing together representatives and experts from international institutions, academia, civil society and the technology sector to advance dialogue on the implications of Artificial Intelligence for children and young people.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the environments in which younger generations grow, learn, communicate and build relationships. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, understanding and addressing its implications for children’s rights, mental health, wellbeing and human development is an increasingly important shared responsibility.

The meeting will provide a space for dialogue on how technological innovation can contribute to the wellbeing and development of children and young people while safeguarding their rights, dignity and agency. Discussions will explore how AI can support, rather than replace, meaningful human relationships; strengthen young people’s digital literacy and capacity to participate; and be developed and governed through evidence-based approaches, shared responsibility and safety by design.

Bringing together perspectives from science, public policy, civil society and the technology sector, the meeting seeks to contribute to a common understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and to encourage cooperation towards a human-centred approach to technological development. At its core is a shared commitment to ensuring that children and young people remain at the centre of decisions concerning the technologies that are shaping their present and will influence their future.