Call for Participation: YouthxPolicyMakers Program: Apply by July 23, 2021

About the organizer

YouthxPolicyMakers is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The German Informatics Society (GI) is a non-profit association and the largest society for computer science professionals in the German-speaking world. Since 2019, the GI is organizing events, networking and advocacy opportunities for young people in the area of internet governance, including the Youth IGF Summit in 2019 and the Youth4DigitalSustainability initiative in 2020.

YouthxPolicyMakers: Make your voice on digital policy heard!

Young people under the age of 30 are the largest demographic group on the Internet, yet they are still underrepresented at the Internet Governance Forum, and in decision-making on digital agendas. We believe that young people have a high knowledge of the digital world they interact with daily and therefore deserve to play a stronger role in decision making, and policy processes regarding the Internet. 

In preparation for the UN Internet Governance Forum taking place 6-10 December 2021, we want to bring together young people and policy makers as equals, sharing and learning from one another. In the course of thematic roundtables taking place online in October and November 2021, participants will get the opportunity to meet policy makers such as parliamentarians and governments officials, asking them questions and advocating for their stances on pressing issues such as sustainability, equality and inclusion online, or digital security.

Youth meets policy makers

Ahead of the roundtables, preparatory workshops will be held August-September 2021. These collaborative meetings will address specific topics within Internet governance, and also contain methodic segments on advocacy work and effective youth participation. Besides getting the opportunity to learn from experts, participants will benefit from each other’s expertise and work together to formulate policy recommendations or advocacy strategies.

The thematic discussions will revolve mainly around the IGF 2021 focus areas:

• Economic and social inclusion and human rights;
• Universal access and meaningful connectivity;
• Emerging regulation: market structure, content, data and consumer/users rights regulation;
• Environmental sustainability and climate change;
• Inclusive Internet governance ecosystems and digital cooperation;
• Trust, security, stability.

Application procedure and requirements

This Call for Participation is addressed to young people aged 16-30 worldwide interested in or already active within the field of digital policy. The participation in the program is free of charge. You can apply by filling out the below form by 23 July 2021. Selected participants will be notified before 10 August. Previous involvement in Youth IGF or other internet governance or youth initiatives is welcome, but not a prerequisite. We are looking for motivated individuals who feel that their voice has something to contribute to the debate on internet governance!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

For questions regarding participation or organization, please contact kristina.hatas[at]gi.de.

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