He was previously the Head of the Children and Technology Unit at NCH. The focus of much of John's work is on the "digital divide", seeking to ensure all children and young people can benefit from the wonderful opportunities presented by the new technologies. He has given particular attention to the requirements of children with special needs.

John was formerly the Internet columnist for Prospect magazine and has written about the internet for The Observer, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and many newspapers and periodicals, both in the UK and overseas. In May, 2006, John was named by the New Statesman as one of 50 "Modern Heroes". The New Statesman citation related to his work making the internet safer for children. In 2003 John was named by New Media Age as one of the UK's 50 most influential people in the new media industries. Along the way John was also a founding trustee of DEMOS, one of the UK's leading, independent Think Tanks.

John is a Director of Horsesmouth Ltd. a charity which runs an online career and life mentoring scheme. He is also a pro bono Technology Adviser to Breakthrough Breast Cancer He was formerly a member of Microsoft's Advisory Board for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. John is a consultant to a number of commercial concerns in the technology space.

29 September, Tuesday, 9.15 – 10.00   

In many countries the internet and its associated technologies are still thought of as being "new". Levels of usage and penetration may only now be starting to reach a substantial proportion of the population and therefore are only just starting to register in an important way on wider public life.

The internet industry has been the major driver pushing the development of technology in Europe. That is of course how it should be in many respects, but there also needs to be a robust, countervailing balance to speak up for what is sometimes the wider public interest. The policy-making community still has some catching up to do.

It is particularly important for those concerned with child welfare and child protection to engage in those key processes which shape, and in the end determine, public policy. The task is to influence the direction of public policy and the policy of the internet industry. Enlightened and progressive elements within the internet industry fully understand this and are keen to engage. They understand the benefit to them and their businesses of being able to learn from the expertise of professionals who work with children and young people.

No two countries are alike. Each country has its own way of doing things, its own political institutions and personalities, its own political parties, different media outlets and so on. Everyone has to find their own path. In the UK, as another General Election approaches, the Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS) has produced its "Digital Manifesto". This is the third such document we have produced. The first appeared before the election in 2001, the second before the election in 2005. These documents have become both milestones and important reference points by which we can judge the success of our overall campaigning and lobbying efforts.

30 September, Wednesday, 12.00 – 12.30   

Society faces major challenges in relation to how we manage the roll out of a range of new technologies which are capable of collecting, storing and transmitting substantial amounts of information about the physical whereabouts of individuals or objects that are closely associated with individuals.

The major growth of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags was originally driven by industry’s search for improved systems for tracking and controlling stock levels e.g. in shops and warehouses. Now there are several “contactless” systems which can hold and transmit personal information about the carrier.

In the UK a number of companies started to market child location services using information supplied by the mobile phone networks. Broadly-speaking the idea they promoted was that you knew where a child was by knowing where their mobile phone handset was.

In fact the data that was generated by these early systems could sometimes be quite inaccurate, or rather the information you would be given would cover a very wide area and perhaps not be all that useful. However, with the introduction of GPS (satellite based) modules into mobile phones and other devices it is possible to pinpoint devices, and therefore the children or other persons carrying them, to within a matter of metres.

Hence there is a concern that unless sufficiently stringent security checks are put in place an unauthorized person with bad intentions could locate and track a child. Alternatively in situations where, for example, a couple had broken up following instances of domestic violence, the violent partner might be able to discover where their partner and children have sought refuge.

With a new breed of internet based location services coming on stream, the security and civil liberty challenges, the child protection challenges, have stepped up considerably.