Journal articles on the topic 'Singapore mediation convention'

Thank you to all of you for having me here. I am in very distinguished company today. What I would like to do is to provide an outline of the genesis of the Singapore Convention on Mediation (Convention), how we got here, and more importantly, how we see ourselves moving forward. It is important that, having achieved this significant milestone, we do not rest on our laurels. We need to take steps to ensure that mediation will be adopted and become mainstream in dispute resolution.

China has signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, namely the Singapore Convention on Mediation, on August 7, 2019, making it possible for China’s domestic courts to resolve international commercial disputes by implementing settlement agreements resulting from international commercial mediation. Relying on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), numerous commercial mediation organizations have successively established and integrated mediation into the international commercial dispute resolution mechanism in making effort for the internationalization of China’s commercial mediation system under the background of improving diversified dispute resolution mechanisms. Based on the status quo of commercial mediation in China, this article focuses on the connection and convergence between China’s practice and the principle of the Convention, as well as discusses the rationality for its ratification.

This paper explores the purpose and efficacy of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (‘Singapore Convention’ or ‘Convention’). The Convention’s genesis was premised on the notion of alleviating the enforceability issues that are annexed to settlement agreements arising from cross-border mediation (IMSA). While such enforceability issues are not entirely unfounded, the way in which the Convention has been drafted to address such issues has been the subject of criticism. In view of such criticisms, this paper explores the empirical research upon which the Convention’s introduction is based and queries whether the structure of the instrument heralds an unnecessary juridification of the mediation process. In particular, a close review of the research highlights the unintended consequences that can flow from the Convention’s uptake, suggesting that the introduction of the Convention may lead to an increase in issues pertaining to IMSA enforcement. It is in this context in which this paper submits that the Convention may be regarded as a solution in search of a problem.

AbstractOn 26 June 2018, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law [UNCITRAL] approved, largely without modification, the final drafts of the Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention) and amendments to the Model Law on International Commercial Mediation prepared by Working Group II. These instruments aim to promote the enforceability of international commercial settlement agreements reached through mediation in the same way that the New York Convention facilitates the recognition and enforcement of international arbitration awards. This paper provides a critical analysis of the Singapore Convention, and some commentary from an Asian perspective.

This paper offers an analysis of the key provisions of the recently concluded Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention). A special attention is given to a particularly innovative element of the Convention - the so-called functional recognition of the settlement agreements. This concept is crucial for the overall understanding of the new mechanism that the Singapore Convention seeks to introduce. Although it may be assumed that the adherence to the functional recognition approach is likely to decrease the costs and reduce the time necessary for resolution of international commercial disputes, it is also prone to inducing many problems susceptible of jeopardizing the long-term sustainability of the system that the Singapore Convention aspires to establish. In order to avoid those problems, national and international sources of law applicable to commercial mediation should be fundamentally revisited and reformed.

Abstract The Singapore Convention seeks to establish a universal standard for the recognition and enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation. Assuming it finds wide acceptance, the Convention could harmonize existing enforcement mechanisms, the effect of which typically does not extend to foreign jurisdictions. Ideally, this could leverage mediation in a similar way as the New York Convention helped establish arbitration as the prime means of dispute settlement on the international plane. After contextualizing the Singapore Convention in light of the increasing diversification of dispute resolution methods, this article concludes that this aspiration is unlikely to turn into reality anytime soon. To this end, it considers traditional approaches to the enforcement of settlement agreements as well as the genesis and cornerstones of the Singapore Convention and briefly examines its interplay with arbitral proceedings and domestic legal systems.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation debuted about a year ago, gaining great success and recognition in a very short time. The past year also presented a major challenge to the international community in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is finding ways to successfully meet the challenges. This was evidenced by the ASIL online annual meeting, featuring a panel on the Singapore Convention with diverse speakers from around the globe, speaking in their own time zone and from their own office or home. I had the honor to represent Israel on this panel.

[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian] Upon the recent finalization of the Singapore Mediation Convention, a comparative analysis is conducted in the article between the newly prepared instrument and two other international enforcement mechanisms of mediated agreements offered by the EU Mediation Directive and SIAC-SIMC Arb-Med-Arb protocol, both currently in force.

On 26th of June, 2018, at its 51th session, the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) announced the completion of two important documents — a draft United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, as well as the draft amendments to the UNCITRAL Model L aw on International Commercial Conciliation (2002) that, to a large extent, repeats the provisions of the draft Convention. It is expected that after its approval by the UN General Assembly on August 1, 2019, the Convention will be open for signature and, if ratified by a significant number of States, will play an important role in increasing the attractiveness of this method of dispute settlement to the international business community, allowing it to compete with international commercial arbitration.In this regard, the article attempts to analyze the main provisions of this Convention and to assess the feasibility of accession to it of the Russian Federation, taking into account the fact that currently in Russia this method of settlement of cross-border commercial disputes is not widespread. According to the results of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the adoption of this Convention will create a basis for the enforcement of international agreements reached as a result of mediation and acceptable for States with different legal, social and economic conditions, while maintaining the inherent flexibility of this method of dispute resolution. This, in turn, will reduce the likelihood of parties to cross-border commercial disputes going to court or international commercial arbitration after mediation and, accordingly, will increase the attractiveness of this method of dispute resolution for the parties.

The impact of the Singapore Convention might affect both state and companies’ behaviors even more than encouraging mediation. We have had for a long time the phrase “bargaining in the shadow of the law,” and then more recently, in particular when we look at international investment, it is bargaining in the shadow of international arbitration. We know that a dispute could end up in arbitration and therefore impact behaviors before that. I want us to think about what bargaining might look like in the shadow of mediation.

The authors explore regulatory innovations in financial services consumer protection in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. It was revealed that: (1) the priority of such an alternative way of regulating financial demand with the participation of consumers as mediation is ensured by the activities of the FDRC Center in Hong Kong, and in Singapore – by the new law on mediation in 2017; (2) the creation of a unified mediation model, which is mandatory for all member states – the Singapore Convention on Mediation 2019 – will allow mediation to become the most widely used alternative way to resolve cross-border, including financial, disputes; (3) a positive result of the application of arbitration in the field of settlement of financial disputes with the participation of large banks can be achieved by creating certain conditions, including by attracting highly professional arbitrators with extensive practical experience, as, for example, was done by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC); (4) on the example of the US experience, one can also identify another way to improve the mechanisms for resolving financial disputes, the goals and objectives of which are shifted from the vector of propaganda and updating alternative methods of resolving financial disputes to improving the mechanism for providing financial services; (5) the inclusion of a clause on the mandatory resolution of possible disputes in arbitration, as a mandatory part of the contract itself with consumers, indicates the deprivation of the right to choose the method of resolving the dispute by the consumer, and also deprives them of the right to file collective claims.

Abstract The recently-concluded Singapore Mediation Convention and Hague Judgements Convention have aimed to facilitate the cross-border enforcement of mediated settlement agreements and court judgements in the same way that the New York Convention has facilitated the cross-border enforcement of arbitral awards. This shift in the international dispute resolution landscape is analysed on three levels: normative, strategic and operational. Drawing from theories of private international law, international political economy and comparative public policy, this article asserts that convergent public and private interests likely championed the elaboration of international conventions as a means of promoting harmonization in international dispute settlement. It demonstrates that while the conversion of court judgements and mediated settlement agreements into arbitral awards could also have facilitated their cross-border enforcement, the further development of new mechanisms that respond directly to commercial parties’ needs remains necessary to complement the evolving treaty framework.

Abstract Mediation is an important means of resolving international commercial disputes. The mediators whom the parties appoint can help to avoid contentious, dilatory and costly conflicts, including by resort to arbitration and/or litigation. The problem is the recognition and enforcement of mediated agreements often diverges from one state to the next. This makes it difficult to predict whether a mediated agreement will be enforced in a particular jurisdiction. The draft 2018 Singapore Mediation Convention [SMC] seeks to address this problem by providing uniform rules to govern the recognition and enforcement of mediated agreements. The obstacle faced by the SMC is that leading commercial states, notably in the EU, have resisted signing onto the SMC. They argue that mediation is, and ought to be, regulated domestically; and that the SMC is likely to marginalize domestic conceptions of mediation. This article evaluates the significance of mediation in resolving international commercial disputes. It stresses the growing importance of mediation in international commercial dealings, how the SMC can assist to fill a void in regulating such mediation, and how it can prevent commercial disputes from regressing into protracted arbitration with ensuing enforcement complications. Focusing on the SMC's rules governing the enforcement of mediation agreements, it examines how those rules are likely to operate in law, and their perceived strengths and limitations in practice.

The authors investigate an issue of the appearance of new trends in developing alternative ways to resolve financial disputes. It has been found that: 1) selection of an arbitration forum for dispute resolution in the field of international finance instead of national courts of London and New York became an obvious reality that should be taken into account by politicians and entrepreneurs; 2) advantages and disadvantages of arbitration resolution of financial disputes are also obvious, so special attention should be paid to the new forms of dispute resolution clauses – hybrid dispute resolution clauses that authorize counterparties to select between the national judicial proceeding and the international arbitration, allowing the parties to select the most appropriate proceeding jurisdiction as following from the specific dispute based on advantages of both forums; 3) in connection with the popularization of alternative ways of dispute resolution in the field of financial relations it is prospective to use mediation for dispute resolution: the entry of Singapore Convention on Mediation 2019 into legal force and joining of global financial leading states to it can contribute to this; 4) in connection with the specifics of cross-boundary financial relations, and for dispute resolution, standard arbitration regulations are not always applicable, so now arbitration institutions tend to follow the way of including separate regulations with regard f the specifics of these disputes; the latest trend can be considered the creation of separate centres in the field of financial dispute resolution.

Abstract Following the recent accession of Qatar, the United Nation Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (Singapore Convention on Mediation) will come into force on 12 September 2020. As a Signatory State, Iran is assessing whether to ratify the Singapore Convention. This article illustrates and discusses the challenges and opportunities that Iran and Qatar may face in light of the Singapore Convention. The main focus of this article is on problems facing Iran in relation to the possible ratification of the Singapore Convention. Finally, it determines whether Iran would benefit from the possible implementation. It concludes that, while Qatar may benefit from joining the Singapore Convention, the possible ratification of the Convention in Iran will lead to more challenges than opportunities. For the purpose of developing international commercial mediation in Iran, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Mediation will be an appropriate alternative.

On 7 August 2019 the Singapore Convention on recognition and enforcement of international mediated settlement agreements (hereinafter, the Singapore Convention)1 became open for signature. This multilateral treaty was drafted by UNCITRAL after a labourious discussion that spanned several years and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2018. In order to mirror the provisions of the Singapore Convention, the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation of 2002 was amended and renamed as UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation.2 The purpose of this essay is to present an overview of the major contents of the Singapore Convention, a treaty aimed at providing uniform enforcement mechanisms for the mediated settlement agreements by which international commercial disputes are resolved. The hope is that the Convention will promote a wider use of cross-border mediation. Just as the New York Convention of 19583 has been a successful instrument of international arbitration, the Singapore Convention is expected to make mediation more appealing thanks to specific and harmonized rules that are intended to make enforcement of settlement agreements easier and quicker to obtain.

The article examines the institute of mediation in the People's Republic of China. The reasons for the widespread mediation procedure in China are outlined. The influence of Confucian ethics and Taoist practice on the mediation procedure in China is analyzed, its constituent elements are determined. The organizational and legal bases of functioning of mediation in the given country are investigated, the legal status of mediators in labor disputes, national conciliation commissions, national mediators is outlined. The main normative legal acts of the People's Republic of China regulating the mediation procedure are analyzed. Types of mediation in China are identified: mediation in labor disputes, public mediation, judicial mediation, administrative mediation, legal mediation, commercial mediation. The peculiarities of the mediation procedure, the defining principles of mediation, the rights and obligations of the parties, the role of the mediator in the dispute resolution procedure are described. The types of judicial mediation and the main ways of interaction of courts with mediation organizations are indicated. The main mediation organizations in China (Mediation Center of the China Council for International Trade Promotion, Hong Kong Mediation and Mediation Center) are considered. The peculiarities of concluding and executing agreements based on the results of mediation, the possibility of approving the agreement by the people's court are studied. The role of the Singapore Convention in the development of the institution of mediation in China is determined. The main online mediation platforms are analyzed, the current number of mediation organizations and mediators in China is determined. Prospective directions of improving the institution of mediation in China are proposed, in particular, reorientation of emphasis during the mediation procedure on the rights and interests of the parties, professionalization of mediation, facilitation of cooperation between courts and mediation organizations, improvement of mediation legislation, further active introduction of modern technologies.

ABSTRACT Despite the dominance of arbitration in the realm of investor-state disputes, the variety of proposals for reform suggest considerable stakeholder discontent with the current framework. One suggested reform is the introduction of investor–state mediation, which has been supported by the conclusion of the Singapore Convention on Mediation and the proposal by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of a set of mediation rules. This article examines the respective merits of arbitration and mediation to settle investment disputes related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Many of the principles underpinning the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative sit uncomfortably alongside an adversarial adjudicative mechanism, and access to arbitration is limited in some investment treaties. It is argued that, in some instances, mediation may be more attuned to the unique conditions of the Belt and Road Initiative. Stakeholders have done considerable work to enhance the legitimacy of mediation within the field of investor–state dispute settlement, but it remains dormant in practice and comparatively rare within investment treaties. While a mediated settlement will remain elusive in many instances, it can be encouraged by a series of reforms to treaty drafting, the internal organization of government departments, and the actions of foreign investors.

Introduction Children are beginning to use digital technologies at younger and younger ages. The emerging trend of very young children (babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers) using Internet connected devices, especially touch screen tablets and smartphones, has elicited polarising opinions from early childhood experts. At present there is little actual research about the risks or benefits of tablet and smartphone use by very young children. Current usage recommendations, based on research into passive television watching which claims that screen time is detrimental, is in conflict with advice from education experts and app developers who commend interactive screen time as engaging and educational. Guidelines from the health professions typically advise strict time limits on very young children’s screen-time. Based for the most part on policy developed by the American Academy of Paediatrics, it is usually recommended that children under two have no screen time at all (Brown), and children over this age have no more than two hours a day (Strasburger, et al.). On the other hand, early childhood education guidelines promote the development of digital literacy skills (Department of Education). Further, education-based research indicates that access to computers and the Internet in the preschool years is associated with overall educational achievement (Bittman et al.; Cavanaugh et al; Judge et al; Neumann). The US based National Association for Education of Young Children’s position statement on technology for zero to eight year-olds declares that “when used intentionally and appropriately, technology and interactive media are effective tools to support learning and development” (NAEYC). This article discusses the notion of Digitods—a name for those children born since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 who have ready access to touchscreen technologies since birth. It reports on the limited availability of evidence-based research about these children’s ICT use concluding that current research and recommendations are not grounded in the everyday life of very young children and their families. The article then reports on the beginnings of a research project funded by the Australian Research Council entitled Toddlers and Tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. This research project recognises that at this stage it is parents who “are the real experts in their toddlers’ use of screen technologies. Accordingly, the project’s methodological approach draws on parents, pre-schoolers and their families as communities of practice in the construction of social meaning around toddlers’ use of touch screen technology. Digitods In 2000 Bill Gates introduced the notion of Generation I to describe the first cohort of children raised with the Internet as a reality in their lives. They are those born after the 1990s and will, in most cases; have no memory of life without the Net. [...] Generation I will be able to conceive of the Internet’s possibilities far more profoundly than we can today. This new generation will become agents of change as the limits of the Internet expand to include educational, scientific, and business applications that we cannot even imagine. (Gates)Digitods, on the other hand, is a term that has been used in education literature (Leathers et al.) to describe those children born after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. These children often begin their lives with ready access to the Internet via easily usable touch screen devices, which could have been designed with toddlers’ touch and swipe movements in mind. Not only are they the youngest group of children to actively engage with the Internet they are the first group to grow up with a range of mobile Internet devices (Leathers et al.). The difference between Digitods and Gates’s Generation I is that Digitods are the first pre-verbal, non-ambulant infants to have ready access to digital technologies. Somewhere around the age of 10 months to fourteen months a baby learns to point with his or her forefinger. At this stage the child is ready to swipe and tap a touch screen (Leathers et al.). This is in contrast to laptops and PCs given that very young children often need assistance to use a mouse or keyboard. The mobility of touch screen devices allows very young children to play at the kitchen table, in the bedroom or on a car trip. These mobile devices have, of course, a myriad of mobile apps to go with them. These apps create an immediacy of access for infants and pre-schoolers who do not need to open a web browser to find their favourite sites. In the lives of these children it seems that it has always been possible to touch and swipe their way into games, books and creative and communicative experiences (Holloway et al. 149). The interactivity of most pre-school apps, as opposed to more passive screen activities such as watching television shows or videos (both offline or online), requires toddlers and pre-schoolers to pay careful attention, think about things and act purposefully (Leathers et al.). It is this interactivity which is the main point of difference, one which holds the potential to engage and educate our youngest children. It should be noted within this discussion about Digitods that, while the trope Digital Natives tends to homogenise an entire generation, the authors do not assume that all children born today are Digitods by default. Many children do not have the same privileged opportunities as others, or the (parental) cultural capital, to enable access, ease of use and digital skill development. In addition to this it is not implied that Digitods will be more tech savvy than their older siblings. The term is used more to describe and distinguish those children who have digital access almost since birth—in order to differentiate or tease out everyday family practices around these children’s ICT use and the possible risks and benefits this access affords babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. While the term Digital Native has also been criticised as being a white middle class phenomenon this is not necessarily the case with Digitods. In the Southeast Asia and the Pacific region developed countries like Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore have extremely high rates of touchscreen use by very young children (Child Sciences; Jie; Goh; Unantenne). Other countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia have moved to a high smart phone usage by very young children while at the same time have only nascent ICT access and instruction within their education systems (Unantenne). The Digitod Parent Parents of Digitods are usually experienced Internet users themselves, and many are comfortable with their children using these child-friendly touch screen devices (Findahl). Digital technologies are integral to their everyday lives, often making daily life easier and improving communication with family and friends, even during the high pressure parenting years of raising toddlers and pre-schoolers. Even though many parents and caregivers are enabling very young children’s use of touch screen technologies, they are also concerned about the changes they are making. This is because very young children’s use of touch screen devices “has become another area where they fear possible criticism and in which their parental practices risk negative evaluation by others” (Holloway et al). The tensions between expert advice regarding young children’s screen-time and parents’ and caregivers’ own judgments are also being played out online. Parenting blogs, online magazines and discussion groups are all joining in the debate: On the one hand, parents want their children to swim expertly in the digital stream that they will have to navigate all their lives; on the other hand, they fear that too much digital media, too early, will sink them. Parents end up treating tablets like precision surgical instruments, gadgets that might perform miracles for their child’s IQ and help him win some nifty robotics competition—but only if they are used just so. (Rosin)Thus, with over 80 000 children’s apps marketed as educational in the Apple App Store alone, parents can find it difficult to choose apps that are worth purchasing (Yelland). Nonetheless, recent research regarding Australian children shows that three to five year olds who access touch screen devices will typically have five or more specific apps to choose from (5.23 on average) (Neumann). With little credible evidence or considered debate, parents have been left to make their own choices about the pros and cons of their young children’s access to touch screens. Nonetheless, one immediate benefit that comes to mind is toddlers and pre-schoolers video chatting with dispersed family member—due to increased globalisation, guest worker arrangements, FIFO (fly-in fly-out) workforces and family separation or divorce. Such clear benefits around sociability and youngsters’ connection with significant others make previous screen-related guidelines out of date and no longer contextually relevant. Little Research Attention Family ownership of tablet devices as well as touch screen phones has risen dramatically in the last five years. With very young children being loaned these technologies by mum or dad, and a tendency in Australia to rely on market-orientated research regarding ownership and usage, there is very little knowledge about touch screen usage rates for very young Australian children. UK and US usage figures indicate that over the last few years there has been a five-fold increase in tablet uptake by zero to eight year olds (Ofcom; Rideout). Although large scale, comparative Australian data is not available, previous research regarding older children indicates that Australia is similar to high use countries like some Scandinavian nations and the UK (Green et al.). In addition to this, two small research projects in Australia, with under 160 participant families each, indicate that two thirds of these children (0-5) use touchscreen devices (Neumann; Coenenna et. al.). Beyond usage figures, there is also very limited evidence-based research about very young children’s app use. Interactive technologies available via touch screen technologies have been available domestically for a very short time. Consequently, “valid scientific research has not been completed and replicated due to [the lack of] available time” (Leathers el al. 129) and longitudinal studies which rely on an intervention group (in this case exposure to children’s apps) and a control group (no exposure) are even fewer and more time-consuming. Interestingly, researchers have revisited the issue of passive screen viewing. A recent 2015 review of previous 2007 research, which linked babies watching videos with poor language development, has found that there was statistical and methodological issues with the 2007 study and that there are no strong inferences to be drawn between media exposure and language development (Ferguson and Donellan). Thus, there seems to be no conclusive evidence-based research on which to inform parents and educators about the possible downside or benefits of touch screen use. Nonetheless, early childhood experts have been quick to weigh in on the possible effects of screen usage, some providing restrictive guidelines and recommendations, with others advocating the use of interactive apps for very young children for their educational value. This knowledge-gap disguises what is actually happening in the lives of real Australian families. Due to the lack of local data, as well as worldwide research, it is essential that Australian researchers obtain a comprehensive understanding about actual behaviour around touch screen use in the lives of children aged between zero and five and their families. Beginning Research While research into very young children’s touch screen use is beginning to take place, few results have been published. When researching two to three year olds’ learning from interactive versus non-interactive videos Kirkorian, Choi and Pempek found that “toddlers may learn more from interactive media than from non-interactive video” (Kirkorian et al). This means that the use of interactive apps on touch screen devices may hold a greater potential for learning than passive video or television viewing for children in this age range. Another study considered the degree to which the young children could navigate to and use apps on touch screen devices by observing and analysing YouTube videos of infants and young children using touch screens (Hourcade et al.). It was found that between the ages of 12 months and 17 months the children filmed seemed to begin to “make meaningful use of the tablets [and] more than 90 per cent of children aged two [had] reached this level of ability” (1923). The kind of research mentioned above, usually the preserve of psychologists, paediatricians and some educators, does not, however, ground very young children’s use in their domestic context—in the spaces and with those people with whom most touch screen usage takes place. With funding from the Australian Research Council Australian, Irish and UK researchers are about to adopt a media studies (domestication) approach to comprehensively investigate digital media use in the everyday lives of very young children. This Australian-based research project positions very young children’s touch screen use within the family and will help provide an understanding of the everyday knowledge and strategies that this cohort of technology users (very young children and their parents) have already developed—in the knowledge vacuum left by the swift appropriation and incorporation of these new media technologies into the lives of families with very young children. Whilst using a conventional social constructionist perspective, the project will also adopt a co-creation of knowledge approach. The co-creation of knowledge approach (Fong) has links with the communities of practice literature (Wegner) and recognises that parents, care-givers and the children themselves are the current experts in this field in terms of the everyday uses of these technologies by very young children. Families’ everyday discourse and practices regarding their children’s touch screen use do not necessarily work through obvious power hierarchies (via expert opinions), but rather through a process of meaning making where they shape their own understandings and attitudes through experience and shared talk within their own everyday family communities of practice. This Toddlers and Tablets research is innovative in many ways. It seeks to capture the enthusiasm of young children’s digital interactions and to pioneer new ways of ‘beginnings’ researching with very young children, as well as with their parents. The researchers will work with parents and children in their broad domestic contexts (including in and out-of-home activities, and grandparental and wider-family involvement) to co-create knowledge about young children’s digital technologies and the social contexts in which these technologies are used. Aspects of these interactions, such as interviews and observations of everyday digital interactions will be recorded (audio and video respectively). In addition to this, data collected from media commentary, policy debates, research publications and learned articles from other disciplinary traditions will be interrogated to see if there are correlations, contrasts, trends or synergies between parents’ construction of meaning, public commentary and current research. Critical discourse tools and methods (Chouliaraki and Fairclough) will be used to analyse verbatim transcripts, video, and all written materials. Conclusion Very young children are uniquely dependent upon others for the basic necessities of life and for the tools they need, and will need to develop, to claim their place in the world. Given the ubiquitous role played by digital media in the lives of their parents and other caregivers it would be a distortion of everyday life for children to be excluded from the technologies that are routinely used to connect with other people and with information. In the same way that adults use digital media to renew and strengthen social and emotional bonds across distance, so young children delight in ‘Facetime’ and other technologies that connect them audio-visually with friends and family members who are not physically co-present. Similarly, a very short time spent in the company of toddlers using touch screens is sufficient to demonstrate the sheer delight that these young infants have in developing their sense of agency and autonomy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk). Media, communications and cultural studies are beginning to claim a space for evidence based policy drawn from everyday activities in real life contexts. Research into the beginnings of digital life, with families who are beginning to find a way to introduce these technologies to the youngest generation, integrating them within social and emotional repertoires, may prove to be the start of new understandings into the communication skills of the preverbal and preliterate young people whose technology preferences will drive future development – with their parents likely trying to keep pace. Acknowledgment This research is supported under Australia Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DP150104734). References Bittman, Michael, et al. "Digital Natives? New and Old Media and Children's Outcomes." Australian Journal of Education 55.2 (2011): 161-75. Brown, Ari. "Media Use by Children Younger than 2 Years." Pediatrics 128.5 (2011): 1040-45. Burr, Vivien. Social Constructionism. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2003. Cavanaugh, Cathy, et al. 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