IGF 2023 Global Youth Summit

Suzane Dose

Suzanne Dose, a distinguished member of parliament in Malawi, who holds an instrumental role in the media and ICT committee, also plays a pivotal part in the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC). She fervently advocates for the necessity of legislation specifically bound to protect privacy within the realm of digital technology. This is in unison with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, aiming to guarantee peace, justice, and robust institutions. Dose’s passionate advocacy underlines the burgeoning necessity for regulatory measures designed to safeguard user privacy in this progressively digital age.

Moreover, issues pertaining to the compliance of extant legislation have come to light. It’s been observed that the implementation of laws becomes problematic after their enactment. This highlights the urgent need for parliamentarians to strengthen their oversight roles, ensuring laws are fully complied with and their underlying objectives reached. This tripartite duty of policymakers, encompassing legislation, representation, and oversight appears essential in actualising justice and peace (SDG 16).

Turning attention to cybersecurity, its crucial role in our digital era remains paramount. Attaining a balance between safeguarding individual privacy and ensuring cybersecurity poses a formidable challenge. This equilibrium can be achieved through a harmonious blend of ethical principles guiding individuals and organisations, state-of-the-art technological solutions offering secure protection measures, and comprehensive legal frameworks providing a steady foundation for the coexistence of privacy and cybersecurity. This dialogue is aligned with SDG 9, focussing on fostering industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

In summary, this detailed analysis highlights the significant roles and challenges current lawmakers face in safeguarding privacy whilst ensuring security in the digital era. The exploration also emphasises parliamentarians’ vital role of oversight, necessary for effective legislative compliance. Furthermore, the analysis underscores the importance of striking a delicate balance between the assimilation of technology, ethical standards, and legislation to establish a secure, robust, and peaceful digital environment.

Veronica Piccolo

The prevailing discourse centres on the alarming lack of meaningful youth participation in decision-making, an issue fostering an environment of intergenerational disconnection. This problem, deeply rooted in policy-making spheres, impedes the potential for progress that benefits all generations equally. It is particularly prevalent among youth in the Global South, where their geographical locations significantly restrict their opportunities to develop careers within the ICT industry and actively participate within their local and global communities.

A striking technological divide, worsened by a lack of internet access for those not connected online, exacerbates these inequalities. This barrier limits their civic participation and further hinders their pursuit of quality education and equitable opportunities, in line with the aspirations of SDG 4 and SDG 10.

However, certain initiatives point to the potential benefits of including youth in significant decision-making processes. There’s notable appreciation for the Schuman Traineeship, a European Union programme. This unique initiative affords young people a chance to spend up to five months at the European Parliament, gaining insights into its decision-making processes. Similarly, the Dynamic Teen Coalition encourages the inclusion of teenagers in discussions surrounding internet governance. These efforts underscore the benefits of expanding youth inclusion in decisions geared towards peace, justice, and strong institutions, central to SDG 16.

The disturbing trend of escalating cybersecurity threats amplifies the importance of investments in youth education. This necessitates creating more ICT experts to counteract the weaponisation of cyber threats against civil society. At the same time, the promotion of higher education and cross-continental exchanges in ICT degree courses is seen as essential for bridging inequalities and providing global opportunities.

A more granular approach towards youth engagement and participation is touted, aiming to address the unique circumstances of different communities. Advocates propose equitable access to technology for marginalised and low-income communities, consistent with the strategies proposed as part of SDG 10 to reduce inequalities.

Advocates additionally call for the integration of youth issues into the development agenda, recognising young people as key stakeholders, and creation of specific consultation processes for their perspectives to be considered. Additionally, the private sector is urged to invest in youth-led digital activism projects and mentorship programmes, aligning with SDG 8’s goals for decent work and economic growth.

To summarise, the discourse stresses the urgent need to empower youth in decision-making processes, discourse, and policies, respecting their perspectives across varied fields including cybersecurity and internet governance. While acknowledging the current challenges, the dialogue also proposes promising solutions that could pave the way for a more inclusive and participatory future.

Nicolas Fiumarelli

Throughout this deliberation, the fundamental importance of fostering cybersecurity awareness across all societal levels was emphasised. This involves integrating cybersecurity education into schooling and tertiary education schemes, thereby ensuring that crucial subjects, such as regular software updates, robust password protection and data backup, become commonplace educational topics which brew a culture of digital safeguarding.

Moreover, the necessity of engaging young individuals in cybersecurity issues was prominently stressed. Given their inherent familiarity with the digital era, their insights and viewpoints were discarded as priceless. Offering these individuals opportunities like mentorships and direct inclusion in policy dialogues was suggested as a pragmatic strategy to accomplish this aim.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computation were viewed as being a double-edged sword in the context of cybersecurity. They were identified as noteworthy tools to augment cybersecurity yet also as potential sources of vulnerabilities. Importantly, neutrality remained the sentiment, suggesting a balanced viewpoint on these technological developments, fully acknowledging their advantages and pitfalls.

There was a potent call for policymakers to boost international cooperation to strengthen cybersecurity mechanisms. Adopting standardised practices and fostering cybersecurity norms were deemed indispensable methods in this course. The creation of platforms to facilitate the exchange of best practices amongst nations was proposed for this purpose.

In stark contrast, significant concerns were raised regarding the limited participation of stakeholders within the realm of cybersecurity. This lack of inclusivity was cast in a negative light, proposing that broader engagement in policy crafting could result in more comprehensive and sturdy policies.

With respect to privacy, it was unequivocally asserted that it should not be compromised, maintaining a firm stance that it is a fundamental pillar, regardless of the need for robust cybersecurity measures. Insights garnered from the YouthLAC Workshop at the YouthLAC IGF underscored the necessity of striking a delicate balance in this area.

A secure digital space was championed as a call for genuine empowerment of internet users. Online safety was underscored as of paramount importance, particularly given the prevalence of severe problems like online harassment. It was intimated that digital safety should ideally be integrated from the outset, referring to Utrecht’s lessons for validation. A strong argument was made that the internet should be as inherently secure as brakes in a car, emphasising the pressing need to create web spaces that are open and simultaneously secure for every user.

In summation, the dialogue underscored the requisite of collaborative education, international discussions and youth engagement, balanced against respect for privacy and wide-ranging stakeholder involvement to augment cybersecurity conventions. Well-established practices and innovative solutions like artificial intelligence and quantum computing were pinpointed as instruments to bolster cybersecurity. However, a vigilant approach was advised to address potential vulnerabilities. The idea of the internet as a safe space was a recurring theme, highlighting online bullying as a serious concern that warrants proactive countermeasures.

Iheeta Gangavarapu

The pressing need for rigorous and effective governance of various social media platforms was emphasised, ensuring safety, trust and security, particularly for vulnerable groups such as young people. The escalation of online activities and corresponding cyber threats, for example, bullying, harassment and harmful content, necessitates robust governance to protect users.

Discussion extended to the topic of moderation. Current moderation mechanisms were primarily identified as reactive, potentially rendering them ineffective in promptly dealing with certain incidents. Hence, it was asserted that social media platforms must apply proactive moderation measures, utilising algorithms to effectively identify and eliminate harmful content in real time.

Transparency was regarded as a pivotal cornerstone of solid moderation practices. It was argued that utmost transparency should be maintained regarding the guiding principles, operational guidelines and moderation methodologies employed by social media platforms to enhance trust and reliability amongst users.

In addition, the creation of formal reporting structures and helplines for victims of bullying and harassment was proposed. Based on existing legislation like India’s IT Act, requiring a grievance officer, similar mechanisms were advocated on a global scale.

A preventative approach to cyber abuse was also highlighted, calling for the promotion of awareness and careful design of platforms to deter online bullying. The significance of intrinsic design measures was underscored, particularly as some young people may unintentionally bully others online without comprehending the harm being caused.

The narrative also incorporated the subject of emerging technologies and their potential to bridge the digital divide. The accelerated adoption of these technologies could expedite progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the provision of quality health care and education.

Despite this, a concerning awareness gap was identified amongst young people concerning discussions taking place in policy and tech forums. This knowledge gap could result in a lack of confidence and participation, despite the notable relevance of their involvement.

The necessity of understanding the relevance of young people’s participation in decision-making was highlighted. Multilateral bodies, such as the International Telecommunications Union, have initiated programmes to boost youth participation, empowerment and engagement, pushing towards meaningful youth inclusion in decision-making.

To summarise, comprehensive and stringent management of social media platforms, robust and proactive algorithmic moderation methods, transparency and formal resolution mechanisms are critical in protecting users, particularly young people. Education and awareness, paired with the strategic use of emerging technologies, can bridge the digital divide and accelerate progress towards SDGs. The inclusion of younger generations in discussions and decision-making is vital. Throughout the discourse, a positive sentiment was observed, painting an optimistic picture for future developments in media governance, tech utility and youth participation.

Chinua Lee

The analysis acknowledges an essential role that the youth play in moulding and evolving the digital landscape. Their involvement extends beyond simply utilising digital technologies; they are also creators and innovators, contributing new dimensions to the rapidly evolving field. The IGF Forum plays a facilitating role in this process, fostering an environment of collaboration that unites young people from around the globe to contribute collectively towards the digital future.

However, the transition into the digital age is far from seamless. Numerous challenges have emerged along with the proliferation of digital technologies. Issues around cyber security, online harassment, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation present significant obstacles. Approximately one-third of the global population (equivalent to around 0.26 billion individuals) remain unconnected from these digital advancements, the majority of whom are from the least developed countries. This emphasises the extent of the digital divide.

Taking into account these issues, the necessity for achieving universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030 is clear. Such efforts must be deliberate and sustained, focusing particularly on bridging the gap for those individuals hailing from the least developed countries and regions, such as Africa. This global connectivity will play a pivotal role in reducing inequalities and ensuring collective industry innovation and infrastructure development.

Interestingly, there is a positive sentiment towards the intergenerational exchange of ideas in the digital realm. According to the insights gathered, the interaction between the youth and senior experts, including diplomats and cyber leaders, leads to more innovative and effective strategies for dealing with both current and emerging cyber challenges. This collaboration, drawing on a combination of fresh insights from the younger generation and the wisdom and experience of established professionals, is instrumental in crafting a more inclusive and secure digital future.

In summary, the digital age, though filled with challenges such as cyber security and digital inequality, offers immense potential, especially when all sectors of society, including the youth and senior professionals, collaborate for collective improvement. Insights garnered from this analysis underscore the need for more sustained efforts in improving digital literacy and connectivity, especially in underdeveloped regions while highlighting the value of intergenerational exchange in shaping a resilient digital world.

Jenna Fung

The efficacy of online safety policies, notably those established to safeguard the youth, depends significantly on the presence of well-structured frameworks and robust enforcement mechanisms. The constitution and legislation surrounding such policies differ worldwide, as illustrated by the divergent implementation approaches adopted by Australia and Singapore. The former utilises an industry-led approach, while the latter favours a more government-driven protocol.

The cultivation of such policy frameworks should be an all-embracing endeavour involving all stakeholders within the digital realm, emphasising collective effort. This collective approach should incorporate global public interests, thereby avoiding a single focus on corporate-led policies common in areas heavily influenced by Big Tech. Achieving such multifaceted collaboration demands the involvement of diverse stakeholders, leading to a democratic approach to policy development.

To create effective policies across various jurisdictions, the establishment of international online safety standards is necessary. This approach promotes inclusivity and encourages a broad representation of voices in discussions on safety measures. An education-centric approach is advocated, involving educating the younger generation and adults on online safety, thereby equipping them with the necessary knowledge and tools for online self-protection.

A vital aspect of inclusivity within the internet’s sphere is the prevailing language barrier. Given that a significant percentage of internet users are not native English speakers, language presents a potential hindrance to the efficacy of interactive, inclusive and diverse online discourse.

Importantly, online safety policy should not solely enhance security measures, but should also protect privacy and uphold digital freedom—necessitating the need for a balanced approach in policy formulation and implementation.

Worthy of note is the call for greater inclusion of voices from the Asia-Pacific region within the internet governance community, as exemplified by the Hong Kong speaker’s personal perspective. This commentary also underscores the importance of involving younger generations in policy and decision-making processes. However, a critique was levelled at the lack of open consultation available for the youth to contribute to policymaking in specific regions, particularly Hong Kong.

In conclusion, promoting ongoing dialogue among young people and fostering a culture of learning are key for them making valuable contributions. This stresses the importance of policy literacy as a foundational competency for engaging in these discussions and contributing to legislation and policymaking. This process should extend beyond a one-off session and be established as an integral tenet for future generations in our increasingly digitised world.

Christofer Painter

The analysis underscores the crucial role that the internet plays in the contemporary lives of the youth, serving as a principal medium for an array of activities – from communication to work, education and socialisation. Evidently, the Internet has become intrinsic to young individuals’ daily life, reinforcing its prominent role in fostering infrastructure, industrialisation and innovation.

The notion of safeguarding young people online was another key theme, emphasising the necessity for intelligent implementation of content moderation on social networking platforms. The goal suggests a need to strike a prudent balance between ensuring safety and preserving freedom of speech, thereby ensuring peace, justice, and robust institutional values. Importantly, this process should not limit the freedom of speech and association in the name of online safety.

Education initiatives that target the development of cyber skills among the youth were presented positively. This argument is supported by a report prepared by the University of Kent, under the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, highlighting the growing importance of integrating these skills into a quality education framework.

A dominant point of discussion was the essential inclusion of young people in policy discussions, a need magnified in the face of a constantly evolving digital landscape. This underscores the importance of their unique perspectives and experiences in shaping future policies and fostering innovation and justice-focused institutions.

The dialogue also delved into internet governance, digital literacy, and cybersecurity, focusing on the issue of youth participation in decision-making processes. The discussion emphasised that the inclusion of the youth’s voice in decision-making should no longer be a symbolic gesture. Instead, more effort is needed to genuinely integrate young viewpoints into decision-making, enabling substantial impact across non-governmental sectors, regardless of age.

The topic of access to the Internet and digital tools for protecting the youth was also examined. It was asserted that access to these fundamental tools should not be curtailed under the guise of protecting young individuals. Policymakers were identified as responsible for finding the right balance, ensuring active youth participation in various forums.

The significance of sustained dialogue and meaningful participatory access was underscored as necessary for addressing youth issues in the digital landscape. Open consultation at national or international levels, initiating programmes for youth participation, and bolstering coalition building amongst youth for enhanced collective voice power were advocated.

In conclusion, the analysis presented a compelling case for the engagement of youth in digital policy-making and governance. It emphasised the need for a balanced, inclusive and sustained approach to youth participation, which could empower them, stimulate innovation, and bolster institutions.

Paola Pinha

The analysis presents ample opportunities for individuals to influence critical discussions on digital and cyber policies. Recognised forums, such as the one led by Paola, and youth groups within international organisations like the Internet Society, were specifically highlighted for their mounting sway in this realm. These platforms provide avenues for robust discussion and policy-making input.

A significant shift towards transparency in policy-making has also been observed. The argument espouses the principles of open government and corporate conduct, positing that formulated policies should be transparent and include citizen participation. This approach advocates a more democratically inclusive model of shaping policies that will ultimately affect every user within the digital space.

There is a pronounced emphasis on maintaining an open and free internet, where users have the autonomy to select and access the content and services they desire. This liberty forms the cornerstone of digital democratisation and promotes a measure of decentralisation in digital control.

In contrast, the report criticises the artificial limitation of services or imposition of filters on user content. These restrictions, it asserts, alter the dialogue and lead to a limited internet experience. Instead of allowing users free rein, such artificial curtailments dictate preference and restrict choices.

Regarding internet governance and digital participation, the report expresses a favourable sentiment. Participants are encouraged to continue asking probing questions and identifying pressing issues. This sentiment intimates that robust, inclusive discussions are essential for generating transformative solutions in internet governance.

Lastly, the report adopts an assertive stance, urging for a comprehensive method to address global internet issues. It notes that these problems cannot be solved piecemeal, advocating instead for a holistic approach to tackle the global challenges at hand. It further emphasises the universality of internet use, stating, ‘we are all speaking on the same internet with the same voice,’ rallying for a more unified, collaborative tactic in devising solutions.

Audience

The discourse is principally centred on matters pertaining to youth empowerment, internet governance, and cybersecurity. Delegates underline the necessity of including youth in policy-making discussions at regional and national levels involving internet governance. The majority of the argument focuses on the fact that, despite being the chief stakeholders of the internet, young people lack a secure platform for policy discussions and policy creation at these levels.

Considerable attention is given to implementing capacity-building initiatives at national and regional levels to enable youth to have a place in policy-making discussions concerning the internet. This concurs with the emphasised sentiment that young people are not just a potential for the future but are a resourceful and urgently needed influence in present policy formulation. The discourse highlights the involvement of young people in internet policy-making as a positive stride, particularly considering the areas of cybersecurity and advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Simultaneously, speakers stress the pressing need for improvements in internet accessibility, particularly in the global south. The issue is further compounded by the existence of a digital divide that impedes those in less affluent regions from accessing the internet. Thus, numerous points emphasise the necessity for the development of cost-effective solutions to enhance internet connectivity in these areas. Moreover, it underscores the importance of making the internet more open, accessible, and affordable overall.

A particular thread of discussion is maintaining a balance between AI usage for academics and security. Nonetheless, this strikes a note of dissension as there are diverse views. Despite some universities forbidding the use of AI in academic writing due to security concerns, there is a reiteration that AI could serve as a valuable tool to augment learning among young people. Therefore, there is a call for better integration and regulation of AI usage in academia.

Debates on internet governance and social media practices draw attendees’ attention towards enhancing awareness about certain internet phenomena, such as privacy, online harassment and notably, cyberbullying. Concerns are raised about the effectiveness of governance and moderation methods in managing the risks of social media use among the young and in combatting cyberbullying and harassment on social media platforms.

The discourse concludes by reasserting the need for greater youth representation in internet governance to bridge the gap between policymakers and the younger generation. This is underscored by a call for increased youth involvement to address the critical issues related to internet usage. The conversation broadens towards environmental concerns, emphasising that while addressing issues concerning humans, we also need to make the internet safe for the environment, signifying the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability and internet governance.

Co-moderator

The Global Youth Summit is fervently initiating intergenerational dialogue to encourage the open exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise, particularly between seasoned leaders and emerging young minds. The overarching goal is to stimulate youth participation in sculpting a safer digital landscape. This is reinforced by a clear ambition to embrace robust digital policies, a concept that underscores the summit’s commitment to digital innovation and youth empowerment.

A strong focus is placed on cybersecurity, with the youth being urged to actively participate in evolving governance frameworks, predominantly in the realm of social media. The speakers, including Ms Iheeta Gangavarapu, emphasised the need for effective governance of social media platforms to assure safety and security for younger users. Strategies such as proactive moderation mechanisms, clear guidelines, formal reporting structures, readily accessible support resources, and awareness campaigns have been identified as essential.

Education is recognised as a vital factor – comprehensive education and widespread awareness about online safety are highlighted, with special emphasis placed on the role of understanding in shaping the online behaviour of the youth. Complementing this, the summit’s voices underlined the importance of digital literacy initiatives for the youth, projecting that an informed public can better safeguard their digital identities amidst an ever-maturing digital landscape.

There is a notable call for government to invest in education and awareness campaigns focusing on online privacy and cybersecurity best practices. The guiding principle is that an informed public can guard against emerging technological threats more effectively, requiring government regulations to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital environment.

Interestingly, ongoing dialogues concerning online trust were apparent, stressing the necessity of creating a trustworthy online space. Vint Cerf’s discussion outlining the struggle to preserve the openness of the internet whilst ensuring security and privacy underscores this argument, reiterating the need for an environment which is open, trustworthy and usable for all.

Beyond safety, the need for accessibility to online platforms was identified as key to facilitating the sharing of ideas and discussions on a global level. Consequently, the requirement for an open, global, interoperable internet has been recognised as a necessity.

The engagement of the youth is pivotal in promoting this envisaged safe digital future. Ongoing and effective involvement of young minds is deemed essential to drive the implementation and changes required to empower them in the digital landscape. Throughout the analysis, there was an overwhelmingly positive sentiment, suggesting a widespread consensus on these significant observations.

Vint Cerf

The analysis underscores the internet’s pivotal role in fostering global connectivity, facilitating unimpeded communication, and promoting the democratic dissemination of information. It emphasises its essential contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9): Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. A key historical point recognises that efforts initiated in 1973 to establish a globally interconnected world have persistently sought to bridge the digital divide. As we commemorate the significant 50th anniversary of internet design, it’s evident that the world wide web has become an imperative facet of our global society.

Despite the undeniable advancements, the report acknowledges the necessity to shield users from potential online harms. It underscores that the same unrestricted liberty that ignites vitality in the online milieu can also expose unsuspecting users to unanticipated hazards. This necessitates a careful equilibrium: fostering online connectivity that enriches our lives, whilst ensuring digital rights and freedoms aren’t undermined. This standpoint aligns with principles of SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, in addition to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, advocating for an internet that serves users’ best interests.

Significantly, the analysis underscores the need for internet users to apply critical thinking when assessing online information. The post-truth era demands discernment to distinguish factual information from the profusion of misinformation and disinformation that pervade the internet. Thus, promoting digital literacy becomes a pressing concern, echoing principles incorporated in SDG 4: Quality Education.

Furthermore, the report clarifies the intrinsic flexibility of the internet, emphasising that while the technology facilitates communication between any devices, it’s not a compulsory requirement. This highlights the importance of respecting user autonomy within the digital sphere.

A sustained commitment towards an inclusive digital realm that guarantees equal access to information nudges us nearer to addressing the barriers created by inequalities. This unwavering commitment echoes the internet’s initial objective to democratise access to information, thereby contributing to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

In conclusion, the report provides compelling insights into the internet’s evolution over the past half-century. The continual pursuit of a balanced, inclusive, respectful, and critical digital world underscores the intricate relationship between our online lives and the overarching ambition of achieving the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals.

Moderator

The Global Youth Summit fosters dialogue and seeks to encourage collaboration between young minds and experienced leaders. The objective is to create an equitable and safe digital landscape, promoting engagement and inclusivity. The importance of such a platform is emphasised, and it facilitates open exchange, allowing ideas, experiences and expertise to be freely shared. This stance aligns firmly with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of ensuring peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16), and promoting quality education (SDG 4).

Within the digital environment’s framework, the European Union (EU) is committed to the adoption of the Digital Services Act, which has the potential to dramatically change the digital landscape. The Act places a particular emphasis on the safety and empowerment of children and young people online. It gives special consideration to youth, aiming to instil in them the power of the digital age, while strongly focusing on their digital rights and online privacy. This commitment demonstrates the EU’s dedication to fostering good health and well-being (SDG 3), and promoting decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) especially for the youth.

In terms of education, the EU is pushing boundaries with the understanding that digital competence and critical thinking are essential components of the ongoing digital transformation. Notably, the EU has initiated a £100 million teacher training programme across Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique and Jamaica. These initiatives signify the EU’s unwavering commitment to improving the quality of education (SDG 4).

At a broader level, the EU fosters a platform that supports multi-stakeholder involvement and encourages youth participation in societal and regulatory discussions. Organisations like the DG INPA have emphasised the creation of youth sounding boards, which enable the youth to engage directly with decision-makers. These initiatives align with the goals of building strong institutions (SDG 16) and effective partnerships (SDG 17).

The Summit witnessed several significant perspectives and ideas being presented. Speakers highlighted the ongoing privacy invasions inherent in the digital age, proposing legislation to ensure and protect privacy as a fundamental right (SDG 16). They demanded a balance between assuring privacy and other facets, such as cyber security, which is a proven challenge in the digital world. Furthermore, speakers called for policy-makers to uphold their oversight roles to ensure compliance with such protective laws.

The internet, an integral part of social interactions, demands specific attention. Smart content moderation was proposed as a means to balance privacy rights, human rights, free speech, and security. Despite the benefits of such moderation, speakers warned against its misuse and underlined the importance of vigilance against any form of free speech suppression.

Young individuals are considered the future of the digital age and need to participate actively in policy-related discussions. However, despite their current involvement in the digitised world, the youth lack access to secure spaces in policy discussions. This situation leads to their potential influence on digital transformation being underexplored. As a result, there is a call for improving youth representation, participation, and involvement (SDG 16, SDG 9), reflecting the sentiment of reducing inequalities (SDG 10) and fostering peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16).

There were also concerns raised regarding the increasing instances of cyberbullying and online harassment on social media platforms, which pose a serious threat to well-being (SDG 3). Consequently, calls are rising for increased internet awareness at all levels of education, from schools to higher education institutions (SDG 4).

Finally, the International Telecommunications Union’s Generation Connect initiative highlights the significance of digital inclusion and connectivity. This initiative aims to connect youth globally, fostering their overall development and opportunities. In summary, while the digital age requires understanding and utilising advanced tools, internet pioneer Vint Cerf reminds us of the enduring importance of cognitive abilities — an essential element regardless of our digital prowess.

Peter Barian

The European Union (EU) is ardently working towards a human-centric approach in its digital transformation journey. A significant emphasis is placed on bolstering the safety and empowerment of children and young people, as part of its commitment to prioritising individuals. This resonates with the Union’s core principles, endorsed by the recent adoption of a joint declaration on digital rights and principles.

In line with this, the EU has introduced the ambitious Digital Services Act to protect online privacy. This robust legal instrument bans targeted advertising to minors, specifically those based upon personal data profiling. Such a measure reaffirms the EU’s determination to ensure a secure digital environment and manage issues related to users’ data security proactively.

Simultaneously, the EU recognises the imperative role of education in fostering digital competencies and skills, with a bias towards critical thinking. The EU has therefore established a digital competence framework, a crucial step in successfully embedding digital skills within the education system. Moreover, teacher training programmes have been extended globally, explicitly targeting African countries including Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique and Jamaica. Illustrating its commitment to youth engagement, the EU has instigated the creation of a youth sounding board.

The EU is also deliberating a significant shift in the digital landscape, from mere connectivity to fostering meaningful connectivity. This concept encompasses integral aspects such as coverage, affordability, and digital skills, a topic discussed in a session at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

However, the challenge to remain a free and open internet, amid potential shifts towards a fracture in the global internet landscape, is significant. Concerns are being raised that access to unfettered information may be under threat. Despite this, the EU heavily emphasises the pivotal role of education and critical thinking as staples in overcoming this predicament.

In conclusion, there is robust support for the Digital Services Act. This stance underlines the need to regulate the tech industry effectively, a necessity in light of the insufficiency of self or voluntary regulation. The EU’s unwavering commitment to ensuring a harmonious relationship between digital transformation and the upkeeping of peace, justice, and strong institutional measures is thus underscored.

Moderator:
youth summit, and when you look at the stage, you may wonder, but at the same time, it says it should be an intergenerational dialogue, and they say it nicely, between experienced leaders and the brightest young minds, and I will ask my co-moderator, Lily, to explain a little bit more about the concept of the session, before I ask the Under-Secretary General, Mr. Lee, and the co-chair of the leadership panel, Mr. Vint Cerf, to make formal opening remarks, but over to you, Lily, as my co-moderator.

Co-moderator:
Thank you. Hi, everyone. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, depending on where in the world you are joining us from, and this is to our online audience. We know you are joining us, and we’re excited that you are online and joining us, and to you in the room, can I hear a cheer for everyone, a clap, a shout? Can we say, go youth? Right. So, we know on this panel, we see what we call an intergenerational mix of what we call the seasoned leaders and the young bright minds. So, I want to share with you what it is we are looking to do in this session today. For the Global Youth Summit, we aim to bring together some of the brightest young minds and seasoned leaders of today from around the world, fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration between generations. So, we are young, and we have young people who are also young at heart. By facilitating intergenerational open exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise, this summit seeks to strut a course towards a safer digital landscape for everyone. It would underscore the crucial significance of implementing sound digital policies, laying the foundation for a secure and responsible digital future. And at this summit today, we’ll embark on an exciting journey of digital innovation, empowerment, and collective action to create a world where youth and seniors unite as architects of a better and safer digital tomorrow. So, you’re welcome, everyone, and I’ll hand over to my co-moderator.

Moderator:
Thank you, Lily. And with that, I invite Mr. Chinua Lee, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, to give his address. Please, Mr. Lee.

Chinua Lee:
Thank you. Thank you, moderator. Well, good afternoon, the brightest young minds from around the world. It is very, very delighted to greet you, to meet you here in Kyoto on the 2023 IGF Forum. This IGF Forum is a result of the year-long global collaboration between the youth IGFs from around the world. It has evolved organically from the dialogues held at the different regional IGFs that spawned the continents, all the way from Finland to Columbia, Australia, Nigeria, and now Kyoto, Japan. The issues you discuss, you address, are crucial in today’s world, such as the mental well-being of the young people in the digital era, online human rights, cybersecurity capacity building, and the influence of AI or artificial intelligence. The scope of this collective effort has underscored the commitment of the young people, or the brightest young minds, to creating a safer digital world, fostering dialogue, and enhancing digital literacy and security for everyone. The digital age, as we all know, as we all witness, has ushered in tremendous opportunities and conveniences, from the instant and the borderless communications to the access to the vast knowledge resources. But it has also brought about numerous challenges. We can name it, such as cybersecurity, cyberbullying, online harassment, privacy breaches, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. About one-third of the global population, or 0.26 billion people, remain unconnected. That is the serious phenomenon during our life, with the majority from among the least developed countries and in the African region. Absolutely, more deliberate and sustained efforts are needed to achieve the universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030. As we grapple with these issues, it has become evident that young people, the brightest young minds, must play a pivotal role in shaping the future solutions. The reason for this is two-folded. First, you, the brightest young minds, are most qualified among us to address these issues. You have grown up with digital technology as an integral part of your lives. Second, because you are not just a young person, you are not just mere users of digital technologies. You are also creators and innovators. You also know its strengths, its weaknesses, and its potential. But young people, the brightest young minds, are not only on this journey alone. To best leverage your contributions, your engagement with other stakeholders is the key. A healthy intergenerational exchange of ideas can foster mutual understanding and lead to more effective strategies for digital safety. Today, I am so delighted to witness the realization of this vision. Sitting around here are not only the youths from diverse backgrounds, but also the esteemed senior experts, including diplomats, legislators, and cyber leaders. This presents a valuable opportunity for all of us to learn from the conference of experience and innovations. So I hope that today’s session will inspire commitments around the world to create environments where the youth feel their voices are heard, their contributions acknowledged. They should be encouraged to take the lead in initiatives aimed at promoting digital literacy, cyber security, and responsible online behavior. I thank you so much.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much. We just heard that on this journey to advocating for an open, safe, and secure internet, and just the recommendations we bring to bear in our conversations, we are not alone. He just shared how there is a need for us to consider other people who are stakeholders in the conversation, and also to work side by side to be able to realize our aims. So continuing in the same light, we want to hear an address from Mr. Vincent, who is a father of the internet, and also a part of the IGF leadership panel. And he is not new to many of us. He’s one of the people who’s actually young at heart. The floor is yours.

Vint Cerf:
Well, first of all, thank you very much for inviting me. I want to assure you that I was young once. So you have every opportunity to do many of the things that I’ve had an opportunity to do in a new iteration. I just turned 80 years old this year, but I tell everybody I’m 50 years old in hexadecimal. And that’s my technique for staying young. First of all, one of the things you should appreciate is that the fundamental key to the internet is connectivity. That’s what it was designed to do, connect things together all around the world. Everything should be able to communicate with everything else. You don’t have to communicate. It’s like a phone call. You don’t have to answer the phone. You can hang up the phone. The computers don’t have to talk to each other, but we want the technology to allow them to do that. Now, what are the consequences of having achieved that objective? By the way, this is the 50th anniversary of the design of the internet, which began in 1973. And so I’ve lived through every single one of those 50 years. One of the unintended consequences of this connectivity is that we wanted to reduce the barrier for access to the sharing of and discovery of information. That’s basically what we wanted to accomplish, and we did that. We haven’t done it for everyone in the world, and part of your job is to help us get there to the additional people who are not yet online. But we’ve also discovered that just as there are harms in the physical world, there are harms in the online world. In the physical world, the social contract that we often believe we have accepted and adopted says that your freedom is open until you get in the way of someone else’s freedom. So for example, my freedom stops right here, just about two millimeters from his nose. I am not allowed to punch him in the nose. There might be times when I would want to do that, but his freedom is to be protected from that. And it’s important for you to appreciate this, that the freedoms in the online environment need to be protected. And at the moment, they are at risk. We may have more freedom than we should have. We need to find ways of continuing to gather value from this online connectivity while protecting people from its potential harms. This is hard. Now, that’s why it’s important that you’re young, because you’re too young to know that you can’t do that for some value of that. And believe me, when we were first starting the internet, we didn’t know whether it was going to work either. And there were many mountains to climb, many challenges to overcome. And now there are more, and you are now part of that story. So the thing that I look to you to do as you talk about the internet and the applications that now ride on top of it, thanks to the World Wide Web and Tim Berners-Lee and others, is to figure out how we maintain the human rights that we want to retain, both online and offline, while at the same time protecting people from potential harms in the online environment. I don’t have to tell you that part of the solution involves using this thing up here called your brain and applying what’s called critical thinking to what you see and hear. This takes work. This is not free. All of the advantages and possibilities of the internet and online environment are not free. You have to pay a price, and that’s to use your head. And so please, as you’re thinking about how to revise this social contract to work in this global online environment, be aware that people have to learn how to think critically about what they see and hear. We have to give them some clues. We might have to help them discover where information comes from. There’s a term for that. It’s called provenance. There’s transparency. Whose information is this? Why did they put this information online? Is there something they’re trying to get me to do that I shouldn’t do or don’t want to do? We need to help people answer those questions, and you’re the right team to do that. So I’ll stop there, Mr. Chairman, Madam Chairman, and excuse myself because I have another meeting I have to go to, but I am so glad that you’re here, those of you physically here in Kyoto and those of you who are online. We need your energy and thinking and creativity to make this environment what we all hoped for 50 years ago. Thank you.

Moderator:
In the name of all participants, I would like to thank you, Vint and Mr. Lee, for these inspirational remarks, and you’re free to go. Maybe it’s the schedules. Thank you. With that, may we invite all the other speakers for this session to join us up on the stage? There may not be enough chairs up here yet. That doesn’t matter. Lily and I can stand and walk around, but there’s enough chairs for all the chairs are coming. Okay, excellent. Excellent. I think in the interest of time, just sit wherever you like. We’ll just go to the middle. We stay at the moderates. I think we do away with an introduction round of the names. We introduce you each time when we address the issue. I just follow the notes the secretary prepared. So the setting of the stage with current and next generation of experts and leaders cooperating for a safer digital future. We have first to address the question, how can we effectively develop and enforce policies to safeguard the online privacy and safety of youth while promoting digital engagement and innovation? We have first Mr. Peter Barian from the European Commission. Please, Peter.

Peter Barian:
Good afternoon, everybody, or good morning or evening indeed for those online. I’m happy to be here. Thank you very much for this opportunity. So I will try to get straight to the point. On the question of enforcing policies to safeguard online privacy and safety while promoting the digital engagement. So first of all, I’d like to say that at the European Union, the way that we are working on digital transformation is what we call a human-centric approach. Human-centric approach meaning we put the individual at the middle of all our policies, not the state, not the companies. And of course, when we look at individuals, that includes then the youth. And in that respect, there’s quite some things that we do to focus on that part of our society. So recently, the EU has adopted a joint declaration on digital rights and principles. And it’s important to state that this declaration actually has special attention to children and young people who should feel safe and be empowered. So I invite you all to have a look at that declaration. There’s even for the very young amongst, maybe not here, but elsewhere, there’s even a child-friendly version of that declaration. Now, what does this mean in practice? So the EU is currently working on the adoption of one of our legal instruments. It’s a regulation and it’s called the Digital Services Act. And the Digital Services Act, and I think you’ll hear probably quite a lot of it in the next month, it, for example, bans targeted advertising to minors based on personal data profiling. So this is just to say that we go from these high-level principles to real action at the lowest level. And this is possible and it’s happening. Now, apart from protecting through legal instruments, of course, there is the importance of working on skills and competences. And the previous speakers already mentioned this. I’d like to also underline the importance of critical thinking, which is a long-term, let’s say, process, educational process. But apart from that, there are also tools available which can support countries and states in their digital, let’s say, in their educational systems. So, for example, the EU has created a digital competence framework. It’s a framework to think about digital competences in the educational system. And this system currently is also being adopted by a lot of our partners worldwide. Apart from that, we are also working with our partners worldwide on their digital educational systems. For example, in Africa we have a 100 million euro teacher training program ongoing. And we’re also working, just to name a few, in Nigeria, in Uganda, in Mozambique, in Jamaica, on all types of approaches to promote these digital skills. And then I’ll end, not to take too much time, just to say that, apart from, you know, regulatory approach, skilling, and so on, there’s, of course, the whole important aspect of multi-stakeholder. involvement and ensuring that the youth is also part of these societal discussions and these regulatory approaches and so the EU especially for example the DG where I work for, DG INPA, we have created a youth sounding board where youth can engage with us and for example at the last IGF in Addis Ababa there was an engagement between our Commissioner and people sitting on this youth sounding board. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you for that and now we turn to a youth perspective. We have Jenna Fung from Asia Pacific Youth IGF. Please, Jenna. Thank you.

Jenna Fung:
Hello everyone. Thank you for having me and giving me this opportunity to address this such an important topic on this panel with everyone today. I would try to keep everything short and concise so we can save some time for all of us to discuss this topic at the open floor discussion. That’s, you know, the most exciting part. So to begin with, I would like to look into the nuanced interplay between policy development and enforcement in safeguarding online privacy and safety particularly for a younger generation. So in the world of online safety, crafting policy and ensuring their enforcement are two distinctive components yet fundamentally interconnected processes. Developing policies without effective enforcement mechanism, it’s like building a house without walls. On the flip side, attempting to enforce policy without the right framework in place is like trying to cross a river with a bridge that’s no solid foundation, a structure that’s, you know, that’s meant to scramble and collapse eventually. So therefore, I think the effectiveness of policies in safeguarding online privacy and safety for youth hinge upon simultaneous integration to both well-constructed framework and a vigilant enforcement mechanism. Otherwise, it would just be a pointless effort that leaves our young people vulnerable to many risks exposed on the internet. But what exactly constitutes the right framework and who should take charge of defining and developing it? In my recent collaboration with a group of amateur policy researcher in Asia-Pacific, we study different approaches to online safety policies and legislation in Asia-Pacific and we found that, for example, Australia adopted a more like industry code approach whereas in Singapore they lean towards a more government-driven policy and so we found different approaches in different countries. So the question remains, who should be determining what constitutes the right framework? And my straightforward answer is that it should be a collective effort that involves everyone. Our ever-evolving cyberspace, particularly at the application and contents level, is predominantly driven by Big Tag. They governed and regulate these privately-owned public spaces with policies that often designed it for the interests of their business. Yet there are many layers to online safety with a discourse, especially among the youth. Primarily we focus on the application and content level quite a lot, which it gets pretty myopic sometimes. So it’s very important not to overlook the critical technical aspect that underpinned, that under online safety. To truly protect our young people, our discussion must be driven by global public interests that transcend national and local agendas. In order to achieve that, we need a multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary and multi-level approach to establish international standards that might help different jurisdictions to establish their own framework to enforce the policy and protect their younger generation. With that, we must engage everyone’s voice, not only ours, but those who may have the knowledge and expertise to contribute to the process, but prehistorically might not be included in the space. To achieve an inclusive approach, I think collaboration among key stakeholders in this domain is paramount and as we democratize the process to ensure a diverse and inclusive representation of voices, empowering our younger generation with knowledge and tools to protect ourselves becomes very, it’s a key to afford success. Likewise, educating the parents and educators on how to safeguard their own children’s is equally vital. As a young professional that work at a top level domain registry who advocate for internationalized domain names and universal acceptance, I would like us to also acknowledge how powerful language can be as a tool for inclusivity, while English is often seen as a universal language. Many of us in this room and online today don’t speak English as a first language, myself included as a Cantonese speaker, so therefore why is our internet so monolingual still today, especially at technical level? This may have something to do with the legacy of the internet and I would admit that I don’t have the full comprehensive knowledge about that, but as someone that’s advocate for a more inclusive and diverse multicultural internet, I think that should be something we eventually explore as well. Lastly, let’s remember that online safety isn’t just about security but also a preservation of privacy and digital freedom. Striking this balance is a challenge, but it’s one that we must address collectively. Thank you very much.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much. So we have the conversation moving on and we’ve had from the perspectives of both Mr. Peter and Ms. Jenna, how to approach this enhancing privacy for all in a human-centric approach and also doing it with key stakeholders present. We want to continue the conversation and this time we want to ask how policymakers strike a balance, how can policymakers strike a balance between protecting individual privacy and ensuring cybersecurity measures are robust and effective in ever-evolving digital landscapes. So how can we ensure that these are pretty much up-to-date, protecting us as much as they can. And for this part, we’re going to have two speakers. The first is going to be Mr. Nicolas Fiumarelli from the YouthLAC IGF. The floor is yours.

Nicolas Fiumarelli:
Thank you, Lily. My name is Nicolas Fiumarelli. Hello everyone. Today I am here in place of Umut, who unfortunately had a collision with another session at the same time, but will hopefully join for the second part. Some of you may know me as a co-coordinator of the YouthLAC IGF and as an active member of the board of the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance. But beyond these roles, I represent a generation that has seamlessly woven its narrative with a digital tapestry of our times. A generation that understands the profound intersections of technology, privacy, and cybersecurity. So striking this balance between protecting individual privacy and ensuring robust and effective cybersecurity measures in 2023 is paramount, as Jenna said. From the discussion held during the workshop CHUA, the YouthLAC IGF, or the YouthTRAC, several critical insights and strategies were highlighted. To say, it was emphasized in the workshop that cybersecurity awareness must be cultivated across all societal tiers. Weaving cybersecurity education into school and university curricula, we are nurturing the generation that understand the nuances of online safety. So this should cover topics like regular software updates, formulation of strong passwords, the identification of the phishing attempts, and also importance of consistent data backup. So the workshop also underscored the importance of involving young people more actively in the cybersecurity matters. Given their innate familiarity with the digital age, their insights can be invaluable. Opportunities like the mentorships, research supports, dynamic coalitions, research competitions, hackathons, etc. can further refine their cybersecurity skills, right? So additionally, inviting them to engage in the policy discussions directly ensures that the younger generation perspectives are incorporated into these national cybersecurity policies, as we say. So the dual role of artificial intelligence and also quantum computing, talking about these unbiased technologies that are related, was the focal point of the discussion at the YouthLAC IGF. While these technologies present groundbreaking protective tools, they also open the door to vulnerabilities. As we know, policymakers are encouraged then, by the workshops inside, to facilitate a national-international cooperation. We have seen the prosperous of cybersecurity treaty by the UN, we’re discussing also in the workshop, encouraging the standardised practices and fostering these cybersecurity norms, but providing with a structured pathway to bolster the cybersecurity mechanisms, as we have seen. So this platform is good and can act like as a nexus for countries to exchange best practices, fortifying the global cybersecurity standard. But the workshop also brought to light concerns regarding the limited stakeholder participation, right? How to ensure that everyone, and this is all encompassing to everyone. So just for concluding, the insights from the YouthLAC Workshop 2 at the YouthLAC IGF, clearly indicate that while individual privacy remains a cornerstone, it shouldn’t compromise robust cybersecurity. So the policymakers can create this delicate balance through education, engaging more the youth, that is a very important part, and embracing new technologies, promoting this international collaboration. Thank you.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much, Nicolas. So we see that a need for the balance, first for privacy and security. I mean, I just came from a session where that was also discussed, and parliamentarians were looking at it in very different aspects. And now, because I mentioned parliamentarian, we are going to also a parliamentarian and representative from the Malawian Parliament, and that is Ms. Suzanne Dose. So the floor is yours.

Suzane Dose:
Thank you very much. My name is Suzanne Dose. I’m a member of parliament from Malawi. I chair the media and ICT committee of parliament in Malawi, as well as a member of APNIC. I understand the digital era has many benefits, but some digital technologies have enabled privacy to be violated, and I believe that privacy is a fundamental right that enables us to make decisions. As policy makers, our role is legislation, representation, as well as oversight. Speaking on the policy makers’ side, I believe that as policy makers, what we can do is make sure that we come up with legislation that protects the individuals that we represent, and also make sure that we strengthen our oversight role, because most of the times we come up with laws, but implementation becomes a problem. So it is our role as members of parliament to make sure that we do our oversight role, making sure that the laws that we pass are being complied with. And then I take it also as a challenge that balancing individual privacy and cybersecurity on digital world, it is a manifested challenge, and that can only be achieved if we come up with legal frameworks through ethical principles, technological advancement, as well as making sure that we do, as youths, we engage them and make sure that we engage in conversations whereby we are able to discuss and see how we should progress, because I believe that cybersecurity is key in this digital era. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. Now let’s turn our attention to social media platforms and ask the question, should there be more effective governance of social media platforms, including algorithm-based moderation to shield young users from cyberbullying and online harassment? And first we have Mr. Christopher Painter, president of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation Board. Christopher, you have the floor.

Christofer Painter:
Thank you, and it’s wonderful to be with all of you. I’ve supported the youth and IGF movement and groups from the beginning, and I should say I’m a youth emeritus, I view. I was youth, like Vin said, I was young once, like you, and you have lots of opportunities before you, but I recall now back in 2012, so a while ago, they had this big meeting about the future of the Internet called the London Process in London, not surprisingly, and they had the two forums. They had a youth forum that was separate from the main forum, and I remember at the end the person who was speaking on behalf of the youth forum came and spoke to the main forum and said, I don’t know why you old people keep talking about the Internet. It’s where we live, and I think that is exactly, it’s only become clearer over time that that really is where many people are living their lives, their social interactions, etc. So when we’re talking about these issues of content moderation, it really goes to the theme that we’ve talked about, balancing your ability to use the technology, balancing your right to privacy, balancing your other human rights, not just privacy, that’s one of many human rights, and we talked about that this morning in another session, how do you make sure you achieve those basic human rights and protect things like free speech and association while at the same time achieving security, and this is not an easy thing to do. So on the one hand, should we have more content moderation, etc.? My view is yes, but we have to do it in a smart way because at the same time, too often we see, particularly in certain governments around the world, more repressive governments, as they look at this, they use that as a proxy to then restrict speech, restrict content they don’t like, and we’ve seen this, you know, even now in the UN, they’re negotiating a cybercrime treaty, and you see the debates in that cybercrime treaty negotiations, which I’ve been to, and I’m a former, you know, I’ve been doing cyber now 33 years, I was a former prosecutor, then I was our first cyber diplomat, I was at the White House, and now I’m in civil society, so I’ve seen all the different aspects of this, and I’d say that these tensions are not new, but they’re bubbling up more and more when we think about how do we do the regulatory approach, for instance, to social media, how do we encourage best practices, because you don’t want to lose why the internet is created, it’s real strength to allow that free expression of ideas among everyone, including youth, so yes, we want to protect youth, but we don’t want to use that as a proxy by governments that have a broader agenda, which again, goes after content they don’t like. I should say my organization, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, is a worldwide platform for cyber capacity building. We have about 60 countries, 200 total groups that are part of it, both civil society, industry, a real multi-stakeholder approach, and I think that’s really important. One of the things that we’ve done recently is we have various working groups and cybersecurity, one is on working group D on awareness and skills, and that group has just issued a report or had a report come out that talked about the, you know, education, and this was by the University of Kent that did this, it’s pre-university cybersecurity education, a report on developing cyber skills amongst children and young people that just came out in February of last year, and I think that helps try to set the tone for this, how do we make sure we mix these in an appropriate way, so it’s not an easy topic, certainly. The final thing I’d say, and I look forward to the interaction as well, is that in this area, my experience when I was a diplomat, when I was a prosecutor, when I was at the White House, in all these different roles and now, is there’s tremendous opportunity for the people in this room to actually make a difference, unlike many other areas of policy, where everything is set, you have talking points, there’s not much wiggle room, you know, it’s been boiled down for years, even as a young person in these various agencies, whether they be in the government or in the private sector, you have much more influence than I think you do in other areas, because the policies are still developing, the debates are still alive, so I encourage you to be involved in all those debates, and I think it makes us all stronger for it, certainly in my group, I try to reach out, make sure we have that diversity of opinion that includes yours, because these issues really are going to determine the future for all of us, and they’re not easy issues. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you for that, Christopher. Can we now have a youth perspective from Miss Iheeta Gangavarapu from the Youth India IGF, please.

Iheeta Gangavarapu:
Thank you so much, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here, to you know, to address and talk, give my perspective on something so critical and pressing at the moment. I’m Iheeta Gangavarapu, I’m the coordinator of India Youth IGF. So to answer your question, oh yes, without a doubt, we need effective governance of social media platforms to ensure that there is safety and there’s trust and security when vulnerable groups, especially young people, when they’re navigating the online spaces, to shield them from cyber bullying, from harassment and exposure to harmful content. You know, with more and more users coming in online, there is a lot of tremendous increase in the activities that are happening online, and in the sheer volume of data itself, right, interventions from humans to moderate the content is quite challenging. challenging. And if you see, most platforms, from my experience, have a reactive moderation mechanism, wherein once the issue is reported, moderation happens. So coming from a tech background and having worked with a little bit of algorithms myself, I think that proactive mechanism is what is required when it comes for flagging, moderation, removal of harmful content online by social media platforms. And this is where I think algorithm moderation will come into place. Taking down content, of course, does sound like censorship of our free speech and rights online. So it’s important to ensure transparency in terms of the guidelines that the social media platforms are putting forward, the principles that they are following, and making sure that proactive moderation could be considered to be conditional to situations. Formal reporting structure of the platforms for those who are being bullied and harassed. And there should be a mechanism for collecting evidence. And there should be a helpline which is accessible and easy to use by those who are experiencing these aspects. And not just the platform. Even at the national level, you’re looking at legislation across all platforms. For example, in India, that’s where I belong. Under the IT Act, there is a requirement to have a grievance officer. A very important aspect here is to note the role that awareness plays, both in terms of a young person who is maybe being a bully without realizing or realizing. So these requirements are not, have to be at the design level itself, the platform level. They have to be inherent in it. And they have to be inbuilt as functional requirements. So thus, without a doubt, I would say that youth need to be protected and empowered for them to safely and meaningfully access the online space. And I think all of us sitting in the room today have a role to play in ensuring so. Thank you so much.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much. So our speakers have shown us what a struggle it is right now for people to enjoy or maximize the use of social media, and also a way to protect so much so that it gets to the good point where we are not censoring. And that is really important, and I hear how we say that we require many things coming into play. Effective policies, we require education that’s widespread, and all of that. Now we are moving from the conversation to what role do we play? And I think Ahita hinted it in her final words that it behoves us all to do something. And what exactly can we do? So the question I’m gonna ask now to our next speakers is how can young people actively participate in shaping cybersecurity policies and governance frameworks and sharing their voices ahead in the decision-making process? And I’m going to start first with Ms. Verinka Piccolo who is with the IDLE Youth IGF and also the ISOC Youth Standing Group. So Verinka, the floor is yours.

Veronica Piccolo:
Thank you, Lily. Thank you, everyone, and to the speakers for setting the floor for this discussion. My name is Verinka Piccolo. I’m a Youth IGF coordinator for Italy, but some of you might know me as chair of the Internet Society Youth Standing Group. It’s a group that mainly engage young people globally mainly with the big presence in Africa and Latin America. And we have a solid experience in youth engagement trying to empower them to take the floor in policy-making discussion. In this regard, I will quote my colleague, Yaw Amevi Sosu from Benin, when I say that the lack of meaningful inclusion of youth voices in decision-making, especially with regard to how existential threats are tackled, leads to what he called intergenerational disconnection. There is a lack of understanding between generations, a conflict over priorities, and how to achieve long-term progress that benefit future generation. This is true for how current leaders tackle climate change, AI-driven existential threat, and how they frame the response to cyber attack and cyber criminality. And in a world that is more and more globally connected, but is at the same time, faces the same old, how to say, geopolitical tension, it is concerning also the lack of ICT experts in times where cyber threats are weaponized against civil society. And in many countries, there is also a lack of expertise in basic cybersecurity framework. And the solution starts from the major investment in youth education and youth involvement and engagement. I could share some of the best practices we have in Europe, but I’m from a privileged country, and I cannot turn my head the other way when I say, when I saw some of my valuable colleague from Global South, who could talk firsthand about barriers to youth participation, they had to miss their flight and accommodation because their visa was rejected. So the fact is that even in 2023, being born in a given geographical area determines the chances that young people can shape their own careers into the ICT industry, and their ability to play an active part in the local global community. Being born and raised in certain countries of the Global South brings about substantially less possibility than those available in many other parts of the world. But there are a lot of talented people there, and their project is contained in this book. So this book will be presented on Thursday, and it contains all the interviews from people, especially from Africa, about the work they do into the internet governance space. You can see the interviews, and some QR code to the live interviews. But beside this, I would like also to share a four-point concrete proposal that the youth community of the Internet Society included in the position paper on the Global Digital Compact, that we propose to overcome barriers to youth participation. The first is to promote higher education and facilitate cross-continental exchanges in ICT degree courses. A low number of young people leave their country to study in the European Union and in the United States, but they are fortunate enough to be able to afford that. Many others don’t have that opportunity, and they don’t get through the visa application. Secondly, we need to adopt a more granular approach. We can’t keep talking in the same terms about youth participation and youth engagement when it concerns issues stemming global north young people and global south young people. Young people from low-income and marginalized community do not benefit from equal access to the technology and infrastructure needed to fully participate in the digital economy. This impede their participation on equal footing and influence and the ability to influence the global agenda. Private business should invest and support youth-led digital activism projects and mentorship programs to connect young people with professionals in the business and digital skill building program that target youth in marginalized area. Lastly, it is necessary to mainstream youth issue into the development agenda by recognizing young people as one of the key stakeholder and create special consultation processes that include youth representative and organization in order to allow them to participate in decision-making processes and make sure the young perspective are taken into account and considered. I’m aware that some of these points might be, how to say, bold, but we need to invest more in young people because that mean also investing more in the future generation, the future leader and future professional in the internet governance space. Thank you.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much, Veronica. A round of applause for you. Thank you for amplifying the work of young people around the world. And now we head out to Miss Paola Pinha who works with Netflix. The floor is yours.

Paola Pinha:
Thank you very much, Lily. Good afternoon, everybody. First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for the invitation to speak on this panel, which I think has the potential of being one of the most impactful ones of this week of events. I mean, when you think about connecting and sort of how to influence policymaking, and I’m not gonna focus just on digital security or cybersecurity, just cyber policy, digital policy as a whole, there are lots of opportunities now for engaging and influencing those discussions. There’s fora like this. I know other international organizations, the Internet Society, all of them have youth groups and I highly encourage everybody to get involved because those are being very influential when governments and companies are looking at the future of policymaking in this area. Certainly governments, when they are legislating, when they’re regulating, today there’s a big push for transparency in those discussions. Getting involved, contributing to those discussions, participating in the dialogue is an important part of that and I encourage you all to get involved as well. But I wanted to touch, having the benefit of being the last sort of speaker here, touch on a few of the ideas that were discussed by my fellow panelists. We heard a lot about connectivity and sort of how that’s the foundation of the Internet and how we can’t dismiss it. We heard about freedom of expression. We heard about the Internet in which you all live, in which we all live. And we need to be recognized that in order for all of that to happen, in order for all of that to allow you to participate in these discussions, for you all to allow you all to have a voice in these discussions, we need to make sure that the Internet remains free and open, the way it’s been until now. You know, and as we are sort of, as Veronica mentioned, we are facing this conflict of priorities and we don’t know which area to focus in and do we talk about this issue or that issue. Connectivity and openness of the Internet is a basic issue that we all should be aware of. Today, the Internet functions very much in a way that you all, we all, the users, get to pick the winners and losers and we get to decide which content we access and of course, we need to apply critical thinking and judgment and there’s a lot that can be done there in terms of digital literacy to identify the right information. But the information is there and we are able to choose the products and services and the information that, at the end of the day, will influence discussions. And if we start inserting artificial filters into which conversations get access and which conversations you all get access to and which products and services we all get access to, the more we start limiting the types of services that are available to us, then that dialogue shifts completely. So I encourage us all to, when we’re engaging in policymaking and in forums like this and with governments, we keep in mind that basic connectivity is the key to all of the discussions that are happening on the Internet and we need to push that that remains as it’s been, open, free, and easily accessible to all and then we can get into the conversation of how to make it accessible to all, which is a whole other set of issues. But without that basic openness, I think the conversation shifts completely.

Moderator:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And with that, we have finished our round of speakers on the panel and we open the discussion to the floor. There are two microphones in the room. I would suggest please just queue up behind the microphone and we can take it in turns. So there are two microphones in the room. Just stand up, stand behind the microphone and we take it in turns. You were the first, so okay. You get started. Just if you want to say something, go behind the microphone and then take it in turns. Thank you, everyone. Hello, everyone.

Audience:
My name is Ananda. I’m from Nepal, for the record. So thank you so much, Vero, for such a nice thing and all the guests. So I represent from Nepal and Asia Pacific. So my point is, youth, it is a youthful session and we are all youth. We are the biggest stakeholder of the internet today. And still, in the regional and national level, we don’t have secured space to actually chip in into the policy discussions, policy making space. Being a biggest stakeholder of the internet, we have to actually, capacitive building kind of thing from our national initiatives and regional initiatives so that youth can get the seat into the policy making, which is really, and we have a lot of youth leaders here in this youth summit. And I encourage myself and all youth leaders that we have to work hard so that youth can be represented in the policy making space and maybe we can work more diligently to make internet open, accessible, and affordable. Thank you.

Moderator:
So I would suggest that we shift from microphone to microphone. Now we go to this microphone here. And please introduce yourself. All right, thank you.

Audience:
I’m Levi Sianseke from Zambia, Zambia Youth IGF, as well as the Internet Society Zambia chapter. I have two questions. One, I think, directed towards, I’ve forgotten the name of the man, but I think he was talking about security related to the internet. And then one, I think I’d like to get a comment from Veronica and Ahita. The first question is around security. We’ve noticed that there’s been an increase in AI. To some extent, it can be a threat, but also it’s, I think, one of the great tools to initiate development. But by observation, there’s been a bit more of curtailing the use of AI. Let me give a case example where in certain universities, it’s prohibited to use AI with regards to academic writing, when in the actual sense, it can be an effective tool to enhance learning among the youths. Now, youths are among the big adopters of the internet, as we can all see, right? But if we are bringing in regulation around AI that inhibits its effective usage, then how do we navigate around the balance between AI usage as well as academia and any other related tech development to ensure that internet technology is futuristic, but also ensuring that there’s security? That’s number one. The second part of it is, how do we enhance internet adoption in the global south? A case example is, I love the fact that there’s satellite technology to increase connectivity. But so far, it’s been observed that it’s actually very costly. And majority of people that are found in digital divide spaces cannot afford the conventional internet service providers fees. But satellite technology, which is supposed to be helpful in creating a digital inclusion society is proving to be a bit costly. How then do we balance satellite technology with existing internet service providers infrastructure to create digital inclusion? I raise my case. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you. In the interest of time, I suggest that the panelists at the end, we give them a round to react to the comments. And we have quite a long line there. So in the interest of time, again, can you keep your remarks as short as possible? And again, we shift from one microphone to the other. So the next speaker will be over there. Please introduce yourself.

Audience:
Yes, thank you very much. My name is Emmanuel Vitus from Togo. So my question is directed to the MP. I will not actually stress over the challenges that were raised. My question is for those who are already connected, those youth who are already connected, what are the progressive legislations that those policymakers like the MPs in Africa today are putting in place to minimize the risk of the use of social media? Because it’s a main concern today for the youth who are connected. We are actually fighting to connect more. But what kind of progressive legislation are we putting in place to limit the risk of the use of social media on the continent? Thank you. Next speaker. Hello, thank you for the panel. My name is Laura. I’m from Brazil. I’m a mentor at the Youth Brazil for IGF. And my question is internet governance. So, we have this structure built and a little bit consolidated. However, the process that you all describe it, about cybersecurity, about artificial intelligence, they reveal a lot of information, a lot of data, a lot of information, and they reveal a lot of data, a lot of information, and they reveal a lot of data. So, how can we make sure that the youth have a seat at the table and the tracks and institutional recognition on those other spaces? How can we take what we have here to other institutional spaces that are more prominent right now? So, I would like to ask you a few questions. First of all, how can we make sure that the youth have a seat at the table and the tracks and institutional recognition on those other spaces that are more prominent right now? Thank you all.

Co-moderator:
Thank you so much. So, we’ll go back to this microphone and to you, Emilia.

Audience:
Thank you very much. My name is Emilia Zalewska-Czajczyńska. I work for the Polish Research Institute NASK, and I also have the pleasure to be UFIG of Poland coordinator. So, I wanted to ask you a question, but I believe that looking on how many questions we’ll have, it will be just an issue to be put in the air. So, I would like to ask you a few questions. First of all, what we could hear today in all these brilliant inputs by speakers is that a lot of questions about balance, balance between privacy, between human rights, and between cybersecurity, between protection, protection of minors. So, what I wanted to bring up is the particular case that we’ve seen, like we could observe different tendencies from the, on the one hand, we’ve got more and more legislation proposals to protect young people, especially the minors, more from, for example, sexual abuse. And on the other hand, we thought that encryption enables human rights, enables privacy. It is crucial to be kept, not to be omitted in order to detect bullying, to detect the sexual abuse of minors. So, what I think it is an important issue, important example of the specific issue when this balance is needed between the privacy protection, freedom of speech protection, and other human rights, and at the same time, the cybersecurity in the scope of protecting the youngest ones from the abuse. Thanks. All right. So, now to you. Okay. Thank you very much. I’m Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamed from Nigeria. I work for National Information Technology Development Agency. My question is, like, we have, I notice, we all, we can all notice there is a gap that is keep becoming wider and wider, which is trust between the policymakers and the youth participation. When it comes to, because even my sister, enforcing, enforcing, enforcing, because of data privacy, security, and transparency, how do you think we can bridge such a gap because it keep increasing and becoming more wider? Thank you very much. Thank you. We’re going to impose a two-minute time limit to ensure that we keep the time. Now the floor is yours. Hello, everyone. My name is Franka. I’m from Germany. My question is really, we talked a lot about youth participation, about social media platforms. And one thing I was always wondering, there are existing platforms in social media platforms like oversight boards who give input for civil society. For example, META has the oversight board, which is about free speech. I just checked their website. They’re really proud to have 50% women, and there’s not a single person under the age of 40. So I was wondering if it’s not possible anymore to have a woman-like man-only oversight board or panel. Why is it still possible for social media platforms to have an adult-only panel? So this would really be a first step, not over the government area, but really about the platforms and companies itself to bring in youth. So this is my question to everyone who’s here from a big company. Why are you not including us directly? Thank you.

Moderator:
Right.

Co-moderator:
Now your turn.

Audience:
Thank you, everyone. My name is Emad Karim. I’m from UN Women, working on online gender-based violence. And my question is related to the internet governance and how far the youth are in the ladder of the governance, where it’s the leadership of the internet is still with private sector. And that conversation was policymakers who, yes, they were once youth, but they have no idea of the reality of young people’s life at the moment. So there is a huge gap between policymakers and private sector. And with the youth not included in that conversation, and in practice, they are way far behind in being part of the decision-making. So I wonder if, like, you see an opportunity that would come, especially for, you know, how far distance the youth from the global south and being in the conversation that is led by the major private sector companies and internet governance, which is way far from the global south and young people. Thank you. Thank you so much. So we’ll go to you two. Hello. I’m from North African IGF. I want to talk about awareness and privacy. I think there is a main point in privacy is awareness, increasing awareness is a very important thing about privacy and online harassment. My question, what is the main project to do in this point about increasing awareness, and what is the role of sales? Thank you. Your turn, Manu. Thank you. I’m Manu. I’m from Brazil, and I represent Instituto Alana, which is an organization that defends child’s rights. So my question is a little structural. We’re talking a lot about participation, but what about the effects of unemployment and the lack of time, money to participate, and I would like to know if there are regulatory experience that actually create the institutional framework so that you allow for effective participation, because although we have a lot of youth here, normally the process is very hard to participate. You have to have internet access, you have to go through a course, so it’s very hard for the reality of a lot of people to go through the steps to be able to do advocacy on this issue. So how do we amplify this kind of possibility of effective participation, thinking about especially income, well-being, and time to participate? Thank you. Our question queues are closed now, so we’ll take you, and then that’s the queue, and no new ones will be added. Okay. Thank you. This is Jasmine Koh. I’m from Hong Kong, from technical community. So I actually have a case, a personal case to share. So actually in Hong Kong there was a rising number of cybercrime related to, so the thing is my Hong Kong ID, my identity number, was being stolen, and then the criminal that used my personal information to do, you know, like some kind of phone scam, and I was, yeah, it’s actually a little bit shameful to say that, but then the fact that is the police force, like, they were trying to, you know, like, warn me about, like, this is the things that was happening, but in the background, to give you some background, it’s actually Hong Kong have been implementing some things in a lot of China, so, like, when you register for a phone number, you need to use your real name and also identical number, but at the same time, the entire system did not cover that there is a leakage and gray area that the criminals could be able to use my, like, each of your personal, you know, like, identical number or your phone number to commit crimes. So this is a problem, like, being vulnerable in this case. So, oh, instead of just, you know, feeling my capacity on how to be more careful, you know, read all the terms, when I have to click on agree, you know, whenever it comes up, or, like, how would you, you know, advise us to, you know, to behave or whatever the system. I feel like it’s not just a single person or youth problem, but I feel like it’s also a systematic problem. So I would love to hear about your advice on this situation. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. The floor is yours. Hi, everyone. My name is Miriam Hart. I’m a recent graduate from Stanford University and a Gen Z technologist. My question is targeted towards the parliament members and policymakers. So something that’s really important about this issue in particular when it comes to digital governance is that it’s a very technical problem requiring a lot of technocracy to be involved. And when you have a very technical problem, the technologists and the experts usually work for big tech. And what I found is that a lot of auditors in governance, like the EU Parliament, actually audit people that come from these big tech companies to make these policies in place, like the EU Digital Act. And so my question is how do you get good technologists to work for the government when they’re not being paid the same kind of salaries that they are getting paid for, for big tech? Thank you. Thank you. We’re going down to one minute. The floor is yours. Okay. My name is Naza Kirama, and I work with the Internet Society Tanzania chapter and also Tanzania IGF and co-founder of the Southern Africa Regional School on Internet Governance. I think there is a huge problem. I just wanted to make a comment on the issue of engaging young people. I think the issue has been engaging instead of inviting. There is a difference between engaging and inviting, because when you engage, it’s just you engage for the purpose of. But when you invite young people to be able to participate, they will be able to contribute their fair share of the digital future. So I think my advice to young people who are in the room, do not wait to be engaged. Invite yourself on the table so you can discuss these issues that are for you.

Moderator:

Audience:
Because this tendency of saying young people are the future. Young people are not the future. They are now. Thank you. If I may say. Thank you. Absolutely. The floor is yours now. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. My name is James. I’m from Cameroon. Some of our lawmakers in our countries have exhibited a concerning level of complacency. I believe it is imperative for our legislators to establish an environment that respects the rights of young people who are aspiring to be present in arenas where their future has been determined. Now, to achieve this, I think lawmakers could consider enacting legislation that ensures due respect for embassies and their functions. I think the MP could throw more light on this if anything has been done towards this perspective. Thank you so much. Now, the floor is yours. Thank you so much. I’m Ethan from Hong Kong. I’m the Young Ambassador of Lone Pile Foundation. Just a very short question. We have just talked about how should we put effective governance to shield young users on social media. I just want to ask how effective are the current governance and moderation practice been in mitigating the cyberbullying and online harassment on social media platforms? That’s all. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now, to you. Thank you. Namaste, everyone. This is Vivek Silwal from Youth IGF Nepal. While there are an ample amount of youth initiatives that are going in and it’s quite successful in terms of creating awareness, but I have a question. Are we really doing enough? With that, my question is we need to build or empower community rather than empower individuals. One of the major challenges, I believe,

Moderator:
is the ample amount of information for youths in awareness. With this, I want to emphasize including internet awareness, case studies in academia level from schools, lower secondary to higher secondary and colleges level. Awareness and safety in this place is quite essential because we are envisioning a safer future tomorrow. And even local and regional youth initiatives should emphasize a part in creating those programs and deliberate considerations are required for the academic sector from basic level. Thank you. Thank you. Over to you. Thank you. My name is Terry. I’m also from Hong Kong. I would like to draw a question about cyberbullying. As we know that youth is one of the most active but also the most passive one regarding to the internet. So how can we ensure youth is empowered enough to maximize themselves and benefits to themselves by using the internet? But at the same time, they will not be very vulnerable and overwhelmed by the overload message mass media. Like I’m from Hong Kong, over 50% of teenagers have suffered from cyberbullying as well as they don’t know how to deal with the situation. And also 50% of people, of teenagers, they as a bystander, they don’t know how to react, how to respond to this cyberbullying. So how can we do to this situation and provide a more efficient practice? Yeah, I would like to know more about this question. Thank you. Thank you. The first, yes. Yeah, first of all, I would like to read a comment from the online participant. He is Ray from Bangladesh who is also the vice chair of the Bangladesh UIGF. His question is to the moderator and speaker. There is a large number of youth are under the digital device and out of the connectivity. What is your plan to include and connect youth in the mainstream across the globe? That is a comment coming from the Bangladesh Remote Hub, UIGF, and then I would like to share my comment regarding to from the youth perspective regarding to our safety and our involvement in the internet government.

Audience:
First of all, I think meaningful participation and our self-deliver engagement in this community is very important for everyone. But on one hand, the challenges are like Bronica said like we have lots of challenges in terms of the financially, of course. That’s why I would like to mention that we also need the support from the every kinds of the government like Japanese government who are supporting to get visas. So we would be very happy to see continued support to the young people to get the visa to travel to the events like this. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. The floor is yours in one minute. Thank you. My name is Sarah Naudi. I am from Ghana Communication Technology and also a member of Ghana Youth IGF. My question is, is there a way pornographic acts can be banned from advertising on the World Wide Web because we have most of our kids connected on the internet just so that when they are doing that, we know that they are safe. So that’s my question. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now the floor is yours. Hi. My name is Boris and I am from Hong Kong. And my question is targeted towards policy makers. My question is, how can we ensure that new internet policies do not limit the ability of youth in accessing valuable internet resources as some governments restrict the ability of youth in assessing certain websites, platforms or resources? Thank you. Over to you. Hello everyone. My name is Nadia Owusu. I am from Ghana. My question is on the declaration of the future of the internet. I wanted to know what the Youth IGF stance is on the declaration because the declaration represents a political commitment by various stakeholders including the U.S. State Department and the EU Commission on advancing a positive vision for the internet. I wanted to know what the Youth IGF is doing to spread awareness and to make sure the principles are inclusive of youth, marginalized groups and women and girls. Thank you. And our last speaker. Hi everyone. Sorry for the voice. I am Carla Braga and I come from the Amazon region. I am from the Amazonian Youth Corporation for Sustainable Development. Also, I am a youth mentor for the Brazil delegation. And I just feel that this discussion was a little far from my reality. Not just because I come from the global south, especially in the Amazon region where you are fighting for survival. Because we are feeling with the most intensity the impacts of the pollution, of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. So, I was thinking, how can we discuss about how to make this space safe for the youth if we don’t discuss with so much energy how to make this space safe for the environment too. You know, since the internet, it’s for younger people. And talking about the climate crisis, it’s also speaking about how we can preserve the young people and how we can build a space that is safe for this person too. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you so much. Now over to you, Mr. Marcos. Well, we have lots of food for thought and not much time left. So, my suggestion is a very simple one. I give each one of you one minute to react to whatever you want to react to. You start, Nicola.

Nicolas Fiumarelli:
Yes, very short comment. With the ICF 2023 empowering all people, it is clear that real empowerment needs a safe digital space. You mentioned all the lessons from the Utrecht says that there is a need for built-in digital safety from the start, right? It’s like having breaks in a car. You don’t need to learn how to stop, the brakes do for you. So issues like online bullying show why this is crucial. And true empowerment means the internet is safe by default. So there are a lot of research about it, making it open and secure for everyone. So this will be a thing worth for governments, tech experts, users, private sector, and for achieving the ICF 2033 vision, right?

Veronica Piccolo:
So I have a few questions, actually. But I will try to be very, like, tweeting. Oh, now it’s X, no? So there was a question about the inclusion of youth in the global south, and especially when not able to be connected online. Indeed, this type of forum needs you to be connected online. If you don’t have internet access, you cannot actually engage in any way. So that’s a structural problem. But I would advise the person who asked a question to connect with Ananda. He has done a lot of good work with the community network. So maybe you can connect with him. Can you stand up, just? So he’s a great person. About how to bring young people in decision-making, in Europe, in the European Union, we have a program which is called Schuman Trainship, where young people get the chance to spend up to five months at the European Parliament and see how decision-making processes work. You can also have the chance to work with a member of the European Parliament. That’s another type of activities. But I don’t think I’m not aware of any other programs like this in other countries. But this is a good practice to share. About the youth governance and the engagement of very young participants, especially Generation Z, to internet governance-related spaces, with a few other people, including Stacey and Pirate, we have co-founded the Dynamic Teen Coalition, which is open to young people, to teenagers, aged 13 to 19 years old. And we want to try to engage teenagers from a very young age to the internet governance space. This is, I think, the coalition was launched yesterday. I was not there because I was on my flight. But in the next year, we plan to do some activities. And we have already teenagers involved. Pirate itself is 14 years old. And she is a great example of how young people, like teenagers, can be, how to say, engaged. I will leave the floor.

Jenna Fung:
I will try to keep it short. But we have lots of questions. And I just want to reflect a little bit to a bit of everything. Really happy to actually see quite a lot of folks from Hong Kong. I am from Hong Kong as well. And after so many years, we’re finally back in Asia-Pacific. And we finally have more voices from Asia-Pacific to be in this global internet governance community. It’s been a long time, me, myself, being here for like five years. I think it is really good to see. You know, it’s full of human colors in this room. And thank you so much for policymakers and private sectors, as well as the team that put together this global youth summit to make things happen. Because, I mean, embracing our youth, this probably don’t have that diplomatic or political wisdom to be very careful on what we speak. But thank you for being so open to listen to our opinion. But one big thing, as someone who works as a youth leader in this space, particularly for a program that focused on beating people’s digital literacy in Asia-Pacific, I think for some countries, there are ways for us to get involved into policymaking by participating in open consultation and all. But apparently, not all the countries that do that. And ironically, from the place I come from, I don’t think we can contribute to anything constructively. And so this is a space for us to just give our two cents. But how is it going to change, right? This is very questionable. But in an international level, and especially in internet governance, I think one thing very important for us to be able to be part of the policymaking process is to also have the capacity to be policy literate. I don’t know how to put it. Because in order to contribute to legislation, a policymaking process, you have to know about what is going on. We can’t just go into a room telling people that they need to listen to young people. So I’m really glad for people of the previous generation to stay in this room to listen to us today regarding all the comments that we just made. I think I’m really, really glad that we are not trying to make our voice heard. And I believe this conversation does not end here. Because it is just an hour of a session. And you probably, not everyone knows too much about the scenes in Asia-Pacific probably. But we believe that young people should. Sorry, I hate to rush you. I will wrap up. That’s my last sentence. Young people would like to contribute with substance. And we should work hard on that in order to make our community here working. Thank you.

Co-moderator:
Thank you very much. There was a question that many youth already connected. And as legislators, what are we doing to make sure that most of them, there’s a risk on social media? So I think one of the issues that as the legislators do is to make sure that the executive develops digital literacy programs, especially for the youth, to make sure that they are taught on how to use digital tools safely and responsibly. So government has to make sure that they invest much in education and awareness campaigns so that they can be able to inform youth and individuals as well as the public on the issues of online privacy and cybersecurity-based practices. What I believe is an informed public is better equipped to protect their digital identities. I think in conclusion, maybe I’ll not be given time, I will just say that to recognize that the digital landscape is ever evolving and as policy makers, we have to regularly review and update regulations to keep pace with the technological advancements and emerging threats. Thank you very much.

Christofer Painter:
Thanks. And lots of great questions. I wish we had a chance to address all of them more in depth, but I’ll take a basket of them. A number of questions revolved around how do you get youth’s voice heard, not just in the Internet Governance Forum, but in a lot of these decision-making levels and how do you have that multi-stakeholder approach? And I think it’s not, this is a larger issue, right? We always talk about multi-stakeholder involvement and the reality is often far different than the mantra of saying multi-stakeholder over and over again. Actually having an impact makes a difference. Now I’ve been a government stakeholder, I’ve been a non-government stakeholder and I think we all realize it’s a lot harder when you’re not in the government to have the impact that you wanna have and that’s true whether you’re young or you’re old or whatever age you are, whatever sex you are. So it can’t just be a box-checking exercise saying oh, we’ve consulted the youth, we had a forum here, we’ve consulted the youth, we’re done. We pat ourselves on the back, we say okay, we’ve done a great job. It has to be meaningful and I think that’s a process and I think it’s not easy. There are economic constraints and access constraints. That’s also true in the non-youth area too for lots of folks. So how can we address this more meaningful and make sure that people have those access and I think there’s a couple examples. One, when there are open consultations in your country or there are ones that are international, it doesn’t matter if you’re young or you’re old. If you’re young, take advantage of those. Make your comments. Submit written comments if you can. Try to be part of that conversation. Try to group together to the extent you can too. There’s a program that we’ve been running with a number of governments, my organization, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise for women diplomats to get women in cyber, to get them to come to UN meetings. That’s been very successful. More women have voices now. Maybe there should be a program like that, like was talked about in the Schuman Fellowship that we should do for youth to come to these meetings, to see where the sausage is being made to participate in these. So I think that’s really important. So those issues I think are really at the heart of everything else we discussed. Just one other thing I’d say is someone asked the question of how do you make sure to protect youth without limiting their access to the internet and to these tools? That’s exactly the issue here. I think that you cannot, in the name of protecting youth, limit their access so they don’t have the ability to participate in all these different forums and see it. That’s for policy makers to find the right balance, but that’s where we really do, I think, need your input and help. So thank you for participating. And like everyone else said, great we meet every year here, great you’re meeting nationally, but it’s gotta be a more sustained conversation.

Peter Barian:
Thank you very much. And indeed, many, many interesting questions, so impossible to tackle them all. Just a few points from my side. What we’ve seen recently and what we are actively supporting, so in practice and also financially, is a shift in paradigm from connectivity, where people, this was the mantra of the last years or decades, where everybody should be connected to meaningful connectivity, meaning that it’s not sufficient that you have coverage it also has to be affordable, it’s not sufficient that you can log on to the internet, you also need skills to actually do something useful, and other such indicators. So this is called universal meaningful connectivity, and there’s a session on this during the IGF, one of the next days. Oh, by the way, and that also means collecting data, of course, in all the countries that participate, many in all UN countries around the world, and then, of course, informing policy in those countries. So I think a lot of questions were about not only connectivity, but other aspects of that. And so this is one way that we’re trying to have this paradigm shift towards meaningful connectivity. The second point I wanted to make, which might also be of interest is, as I mentioned before, the Digital Services Act, a new legal instrument in the EU, which really tries to be part of the answer to many of these questions. So we feel that industry isn’t doing enough on a voluntary or self-regulatory basis. There have been all these questions about balance, and so in this act, there is, I think, one of the first serious approach to this around the world, and that we are taking now. Maybe a few more things. So part of the answer to also quite a few of these questions in our opinion lies in education. So it is about education, it is about skilling. There’s no shortcuts, no easy answers. As some people said, this is hard. You have to go through this, I mean, we. And so education is part of the answer, and the concept of critical thinking. About participation, I think some people have already responded. Maybe last point is that, yes, we are also completely supporting as a European Union the concept of a free and open internet, because we are seeing since some years now, but this is not stopping potential shifts where we might end up with a fractured global, so not a global internet anymore, but a fractured internet where access to information, to free information itself is really under threat amongst other things, but thank you.

Paola Pinha:
Thank you. I’m not gonna try to restate what was already said so brilliantly by my colleagues here. So what I would say is just to encourage you all to continue to ask these questions, and you’re asking the right questions, you’re identifying the right problems, you are challenging the right ideas. And to follow what my colleague here, Peter, just said is really the idea of the open internet and making sure that you have these forums, these avenues, this ability to say that in a global universe, in a global internet, because otherwise we can’t fix, these are not problems that are gonna be fixed piecemeal. It does need to be addressed at a global level, and we can only do that if we’re all speaking on the same internet with the same voice. But I was really encouraged by seeing all of the engagement and all of the questions. You all asked very hard questions, and I think it’s important to continue to ask them.

Iheeta Gangavarapu:
Yeah, I completely agree, actually. The questions were incredible and something to ponder upon. So great points by all the panelists. The couple of things that I’d just like to highlight upon, there was a point around digital divide with more emerging technologies coming and there’s more adoption. But let’s look at it from a different lens, leveraging emerging technologies for bridging the digital divide, for accelerating SDGs, give quality healthcare, quality education, so maybe that’s also something we can think about. There was also a point around concern, rather, on how to decrease this gap between policy makers and youth, meaningful youth inclusion. From my experience working with young people through Youth IGF India, notice that a lot of young people are falling, are concerned about the lack of understanding of the subject and this gap in terms of awareness of the level at which the discussions are happening in the policy and tech forums. So that results in lack of confidence and that is something we’re working towards through YIGF Fellowship Program and as well as at the annual forum, which is an intergenerational dialogue that builds in confidence and comfort for them to discuss such critical issues of importance, along with the decision makers. Now with respect to amplifying the participation, it’s also important for young people to understand the relevance of their participation. Why is it important? And this is also something I think we should look into working upon. There was a point about young people, you know, we are seeing a lot of young people in this room, in the IGF processes, or internet society also. There are lots of organizations that are meaningfully engaging young people, but something I’ve noticed is the multilateral bodies also, not just multi-stakeholder, are engaging young people. For example, the International Telecommunications Union has a Generation Connect initiative under the ITU-D, where they are looking at participation, empowerment, and engagement of young people. I’m part of the Generation Connect Visionaries Board, and we are not just looking at young people’s involvement in the ITU processes internally, but also implementation of the UN Youth Strategy, making sure that young people are placed at an equal footing at various forums, platforms, and at the table, along with key decision makers in the digital space. Thank you.

Moderator:
Well, thank you very much. This was a very rich intergenerational dialogue. I can’t possibly sum it up, but it reminded me that a good friend told me once the difference between the online and the offline world is, in the offline world, it’s the natives who make the laws, and the immigrants have to abide by the laws. In the online world, it’s the other way around. The immigrants make the laws, and the natives have to support these laws, and have to abide by these laws. Anyway, I think the message is clear. The room is clearly in favor of more youth empowerment and youth engagement, and what I retained was the importance of basic connectivity. Without connectivity, without an open, global, and interoperable internet, we cannot have these discussions, so that is the very basics, and lastly, what Vint Cerf said right at the beginning, the importance also, which is not digital, but analog, use your brain. I think that was a very healthy reminder, but with that, I give to my co-moderator, Lily, to sum it up and to close the meeting. All right, so we are at the end of our session, and one of the things that came out of this is essentially our voices matter, and what you did here today for promoting the safe digital future is to bring to bear the things that hit or affect us the most as youth, and we don’t, like what was said before, we don’t want to just be engaged, and it ends there. We want to be continually invited, and to follow just through to possibly see some changes, and also implementation. We’ve seen how there’s that struggle to be able to balance both privacy, security, and just making whatever we do online also open for people to use, and even Vint Cerf mentioned that as an open system, or open space, there’s that struggle that still exists, and what we want to do is to make sure that we are reminded continually on how to make sure that we create the space, make it in such a way that’s trustworthy, that all of us can use, and also leave it behind for future generation.

Co-moderator:
Thank you for being an amazing audience, and the time was, I mean, probably racing with us, but we’ve come to the end, and we want the conversations to continue. Please meet any of our panel members to discuss further if your question wasn’t answered, but before we go, we want to do a photo for all of us, so if you can, anyone on this stage, just run up, come stand somewhere, feel, leave your seats, don’t feel like we don’t know somebody here, just come back, come to the stage, let’s have a photo together and sum up our youth summit this year. Thank you so much for participating. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Come everyone, find some space around the stage. Come on in.