The Youth Internet Governance Summit will take place in Berlin on 24 and 25 November. People under 30 who are active in the digital field can apply for participation until August 4, 2019. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy.
With the Internet Governance Forum 2019 (IGF) taking place in Berlin, Germany for the first time, the German Informatics Society is mobilizing young people (aged 18 to 30) that are willing to participate in a pre-event dedicated to policy making and advocacy. Young people from all world regions and backgrounds who are active in Internet Governance are encouraged to participate.
Together, participants are going to share and network the outcomes of their work in order to arrive at the Youth IGF Messages 2019, which shall be presented and advocated for to a global audience. The decentralized part of the program starts in September 2019 with webinars. The Youth IGF Summit takes place on November 24-25, right before the IGF. Participants then formulate and decide on the Youth Positions. The summit culminates in a presentation on Day 0 of the Internet Governance Forum.
Elisabeth Schauermann, project coordinator of the Youth IGF Summit, says: "The past few months have shown just how much young people are involved in socio-political issues. The international Fridays for Future movement or the protest about the EU copyright reform are just two examples. With the Youth IGF Summit we want to give young people, with their very own interests and realities, the opportunity not only to make themselves heard, but also to enter into dialogue with decision-makers. We are convinced that, as the largest demographic group among Internet users, they are entitled to appropriate participation in political processes and decisions".
The call for application aims to reach young people from all world regions. Application is possible until August 4, 2019 for the international Youth IGF Summit, as well as the German Jugend Internet Governance Forum (a pre-event in September for young people based in Germany).
The Youth IGF Summit is recognized as a host country's youth initiative and supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, Google, the Vodafone Germany Foundation, the Internet Society and many more.