Technology is a valuable tool for education and connection, but without guidance and protective measures it can become harmful, Mirabela Gradinaru, life partner of President Nicusor Dan, said on Thursday in Chisinau, as she took part in the international conference 'Online Safety and the Digital Determinants of Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being of Children and Adolescents'.

The event was organised under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Moldova by the Ministry of Health and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and focused on the harmonious development of children and adolescents in a context shaped by fast technological change.

According to a post on the Facebook page 'Romania in the Spotlight', Mirabela Gradinaru was accompanied in Chisinau by presidential state advisers Diana Punga and Vlad Ionescu.

Gradinaru spoke during the high-level panel 'Digital Environments and Youth Mental Health', alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

'Technology is a valuable tool for education and connection, but without guidance and protective measures it can become harmful. For generations now, protecting a child meant building safe physical spaces around them - at home, at school, in the community. There were boundaries we could see and doors we could close. Today, the outside world no longer needs a door to enter our children's lives. It can reach them through a screen. From this emerges a guiding conclusion: there should be no difference between the protection we expect for children in the physical world and the protection we demand for them in the digital world. Children move naturally between these two environments, and it is our responsibility to protect them equally,' she said, according to the cited source.

The event brought together decision-makers, national and international experts, representatives of public institutions, academia, civil society and youth organisations.

Conference panels focused on the impact of digital environments on online safety, mental health and emotional well-being of children and adolescents, and will help identify shared priorities for coordinated, cross-sector national action, 'Romania in the Spotlight' noted. Special attention will be given to youth participation in designing and monitoring policies affecting them.

During her visit to Chisinau, the First Lady also held a one-on-one meeting with President Maia Sandu, as well as a bilateral discussion with Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director for Health Systems at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Andreea Rotaru; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)