AZE.US
Azerbaijan should create its own national digital platforms for children, MP Fazil Mustafa said, as concerns grow over online safety, foreign educational apps and the promotion of the Azerbaijani language in the digital space.
The issue has been discussed amid wider debates over how children use social media, learning apps and international platforms. Participants in a recent event organized by the Press Council noted that many children in Azerbaijan use foreign digital tools to learn Russian, English and Turkish.
Against this background, the idea of creating national online resources for children has gained renewed attention. Supporters say such platforms could help children learn Azerbaijani in a safer digital environment and also promote national culture and family values.
The debate also followed criticism of the popular language-learning platform Duolingo. During a joint meeting of parliamentary committees, Sevinj Abdullayeva, head of the public association “Support for Education of Women and Children,” said her son had seen an English-language sentence in the app referring to the possibility of marriage between two men.
Abdullayeva described such examples as harmful for children and claimed there were “hundreds” of similar cases. She argued that age restrictions alone would not solve the problem, since some platforms remain accessible without registration and children may continue using them.
She also called for a more systematic effort to create videos, articles and other content promoting traditional and family values.
However, no specific lesson or screenshot from Duolingo was presented during the meeting, and the claim about the platform was based on Abdullayeva’s account.
It is in this broader context that Fazil Mustafa, chairman of a committee in Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, supported the idea of creating a national digital platform for children.
“Of course, we must create a national platform. There is no obstacle to this proposal. It is the kind of initiative that can be implemented at any time, and individuals should also take part in bringing it to life,” Mustafa told Redaktor.az.
According to the MP, if there is a need to teach and promote the Azerbaijani language, such an initiative would be useful. He said rational steps in this direction would help both children’s education and the wider promotion of the language.
The idea discussed by participants is that the platform should be attractive enough not only for children in Azerbaijan, but also for people in other countries, including Turkey, who may want to learn Azerbaijani.
Experts say the issue is no longer only about blocking harmful content or setting age limits. It is also about what languages, cultural codes and educational models shape a child’s daily online environment.
For supporters of the proposal, a national digital platform would be more than an education project. It would also be part of a broader effort to protect children’s digital safety, strengthen the Azerbaijani language and promote local cultural values online.
AZE.US