Hope on many fronts: looking back at January 2017.

January 2017 has been characterised by divisive rhetoric ​​and political acrimony but​ the silver lining is that ​people are coming together​ en masse​​, ​expressing their views​ and exercising their rights in our democracy. It’s been a riveting month for sure but our important work of protecting vulnerable people from abuse, exploitation and harm online continues at pace. I am pleased that looking back at this month, there is much progress to report. I wanted to share a few key highlights, and my gratitude for the dedicated and talented people I work with on this ever-more important agenda. I hope you will find it heartening too. This month I opened the Global Counter Terrorism Forum in London. The UK along with our Swiss and UAE partners brought together a united global community working to develop real steps and cooperation to fight online extremism and radicalisation. Working in partnership over three days, we were able to improve our understanding of the complexity of the challenge we face and drive forward a collective agenda to develop communications and co-governance approaches that tackle the exploitation and manipulation of the open internet by terrorists and violent extremists. The Child Dignity Conference Advisory Meeting in Rome was a testament to the boundless passion and commitment of world religious and government leaders towards eradicating the heinous crime of child sexual exploitation and abuse. We are now looking forward to the Child Dignity Conference this October where we will see the further solidification of this work. The Evening Standards’ Young Progress Maker’s event at the Roundhouse in London emanated a great sense of hope in our youth. So many engaged and passionate young people were involved, searching for ways to harness technology for good and to create a future where technology can be used to enhance rather than harm or consume lives. The participants’ desire to empower themselves in meaningful ways was inspirational. There is hope on many fronts and I think as long as we strive to remain inclusive and openminded, change for the better is possible.