Youth IGF Programme 2018

"Young people are shaping online culture in so many ways. They use the internet to meet people around the world, create the videos that go viral, create art that moves us, and start and stand behind online social movements that make us think. They are building their dream Internet" states the Internet Society.

Date 2018-07-18 Author BIK Team Section awareness, youth

Back in 2015, the Internet Society (ISOC), in collaboration with CGI.br, initiated a programme to bring young people to the table on policy discussions. Later on, together with partners NIC.MX, the Government of Mexico, Microsoft and Verizon, they brought more than 160 young people to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in 2015, 2016 and 2017 under the Youth@IGF programme.

As stated by the Internet Society, this is part of their organisation and partners' commitment to ensure that the next generation of internet leaders are primed to advance an internet of opportunity for all. As a result of these efforts, many young people are now contributing to the Youth Special Interest Group and to regional meetings, such as the African Internet Summit, EuroDIG, and others. Also, some of the Youth@IGF Fellows have created civil society organisations, such as Digital Grassroots.

For the 2018 edition of the Internet Governance Forum, the Internet Society aims to send even more young people as a result of the 2018 Youth@IGF programme. Selected participants will have a chance to attend IGF 2018 in Paris, France, during the week of 12 November 2018, as well as to be part of an Onsite Collaborative Leadership Exchange on 11 November 2018.

The Youth@IGF programme is open for applications from youth aged 18 to 25 that are interested in contributing to internet governance policies and discussions. The call closes on 22 July 2018, and more information on the timeline, programme, selection criteria and partners can be found on the Internet Society website.

The Internet Society is a Safer Internet Day supporter. For Safer Internet Day 2018, the Internet Society supported the campaign with a social media campaign featuring 25 young ISOC members under the age of 25 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Through this action, they aimed to contribute to raising awareness of the importance of creating a safe online environment. Moreover, various Internet Society Chapters support Safer Internet Day through their coordination work as Safer Internet Day Committees, such as in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uganda.

For more information on Safer Internet Day 2019, stay tuned to the campaign website.
To find out more about the Better Internet for Kids Youth programme, see the BIK Youth minisite and associated Twitter profile.

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