SOS Children's Villages Austria and Spain
2025 to 2026Led internal research into the impact of AI systems on child safeguarding, consulting key global stakeholders, and developed the governance measures arising from it for both associations.
Who Maryam is
Maryam Ehsani has spent sixteen years auditing and building child safeguarding systems for more than 200 organisations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East: national police forces, children's hospitals, global faith networks, bilateral aid programmes, international NGOs and UN agencies. She founded Child Safe ME in 2019 to turn international child protection standards into practice inside real organisations.
Her work today concentrates on two fast-moving fronts: online child safety, as the EU Digital Services Act, the UK Online Safety Act and a wave of new Asia-Pacific rules move from statute to enforcement, and child safety in AI, where children's rights need to be built into how AI systems are designed, governed and assessed.
- 16 yearsin child safeguarding worldwide
- 200+organisations across four continents
- 85,000+people reached through 150 or more trainings and workshops
Two kinds of authority that rarely sit in the same person
That combination lets her help governments, regulators, UN agencies and NGOs operationalise children's-rights-grounded safeguarding for the regulatory era, rather than treating it as a compliance checklist.
Long-standing child-protection standing
Through the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), where she serves on the Executive Board, founded and chairs the Child Safeguarding Working Group and chaired the scientific programme of the 2023 Congress in Edinburgh.
Formal training in AI and AI regulation
From the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School: the Oxford Artificial Intelligence Programme (October 2025) and the Oxford AI Ethics, Regulations and Compliance Programme (January 2026).
Career
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2019 to present
Founder and Chief Executive, Child Safe ME
Specialist assessment and advisory practice serving governments, regulators, NGOs, UN agencies and institutions internationally.
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2010 to 2018
Child Safeguarding Network Manager, Keeping Children Safe, London
Joined at the coalition's founding and led a global network of more than 80 governments, international NGOs and corporations, building safeguarding systems and raising the standard of practice across the sector.
Selected engagements
Terre des Hommes Netherlands
2024Professional Content Advisory Group for a five-module course on participatory methods in childhood sexual violence research, commissioned by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative.
Congregation of the Good Shepherd Foundation
2019 to 2020Assessed safeguarding risk across the Congregation's global operations and developed the framework now in force across all 75 units.
Charity Commission for England and Wales
2017Co-developed guidance clarifying trustees' safeguarding responsibilities.
Eurochild
2018Advised on and led child protection reporting and implementation at headquarters and across programmes in Croatia.
Save the Children Uganda, British Council, Terre des Hommes UK, ChildFund Japan
2015 to 2018International safeguarding audits, organisational assessments, policy and accountability measures.
USAID PEPFAR
2012Safeguarding workshops across African and Asian programme countries.
Al Jalila Children's Speciality Hospital
2019Hospital-wide safeguarding policy, procedures and staff roll-out with clinical and executive leadership.
Dubai Police
2019 to 2022Safeguarding assessments underpinning a community development strategy, and a national child protection awareness campaign for the education sector.
Focal-point and leadership training for Terre des Hommes Lausanne, the Open University, Save the Children UK, War Child, Tearfund, Islamic Relief and Embrace the Middle East.
Credentials and education
Oxford AI Ethics, Regulations and Compliance Programme
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (January 2026)
Oxford Artificial Intelligence Programme
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (October 2025)
MSc in International Child Rights
King's College London (2012)
BA Business Management
Swansea Metropolitan University (2009)
ISPCAN
Roles in the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Executive Board Member
ISPCAN; secured the society's first law-enforcement country partner and contributed to its strategic review and bylaws.
Founder and Chair, Child Safeguarding Working Group
On safeguarding beyond formal education (after-school programmes, camps, faith communities, recreation), convened at the Vilnius Congress in 2025 and the Melbourne Congress in 2026.
Scientific Chair, International Congress, Edinburgh 2023
Set the scientific direction and oversaw programme selection for a congress of almost 800 delegates from 73 countries.
Speaker, International Congress, Melbourne 2026
Symposium on data privacy and consent in AI systems, and papers on how policy makers can safeguard children in the age of AI and on rethinking child safety in the digital world.
ISPCAN webinar programme
What she works on
Online safety and regulatory readiness
Helping organisations meet the child-safety duties in the EU Digital Services Act, the UK Online Safety Act and the new Australian and Southeast Asian online-safety regimes.
Online safety advisoryChild safety in AI
Child rights impact assessments, age-assurance and algorithm reviews, and governance frameworks grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and General Comment 25.
Responsible AI assessmentSafeguarding policy and frameworks
For governments, regulators, UN agencies and international NGOs, including bringing existing standards up to date for digital and AI-era risks.
Policy and framework developmentKeynotes, executive briefings and workshops on protecting children in the age of AI.
Publications, speaking and recognition
- Author of the chapter on the evolution of child protection in the Gulf Cooperation Council in The ISPCAN International Handbook of Child Abuse and Neglect (Elsevier, 2026).
- Author, Sofia's Safe Circle: A Story About Trusted Adults and Speaking Up (Growing Brave Press, 2027).
- Invited speaker, UNICEF Innocenti, Beyond Barriers: Advancing Research for Children with Disabilities (2025), on protecting children with disabilities who take part in research on violence and abuse.
- Alumni speaker, King's College London, Celebrating 30 Years of Child Rights Teaching (2026); guest lecturer on the safeguarding duties of governments and organisations (2018).
- Speaker, COP28 (2023), on empowering vulnerable communities with resilience amid climate change.
- Ambassador, AI Universal Council (2025 to present), working to place children at the centre of AI governance.
- Convened South Africa's first national child safeguarding conference (2014): 250 participants from governments, donors and NGOs across 49 countries.
- Participant, Consortium for Street Children All-Party Parliamentary Group, UK Parliament (2014 to 2015).
- Podcast guest on AI Trust Talks and The AI Social Club (see featured podcasts); recurring radio guest on child development and parenting since 2018.
How she works
Child Safe ME works with organisations worldwide, in English, across European and Asia-Pacific time zones. Most advisory work is delivered remotely; Maryam travels for keynotes, workshops and flagship engagements. Over sixteen years she has worked with more than 200 organisations across four continents, delivered 150 or more trainings and workshops, and reached over 85,000 people.
Work with Maryam
For consulting or advisory enquiries, send a message. For keynotes and event bookings, see speaking and keynotes. Journalists and event organisers will find bios and a headshot on the press and media page. Maryam also writes about her work at maryam-ehsani.com and on LinkedIn.