INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM 2022 YOUTH ENGAGEMENT TRACK
The third capacity development workshop hosted at the Asia Pacific Youth IGF

Transforming future for Youth: opportunities and challenges 

11 September 2022 | 14:50-15:50 SGT
Online and onsite at Grand Salon 2, Level 2, Grand Hyatt Singapore
Register to receive the Zoom link https://conference.apnic.net/54/register/register/

We are living in a time when each and every aspect of our lives is going through digital transformation, from education and work to communication and entertainment. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted ‎the power and importance of digital technologies. While the physical distancing measures associated with ‎the pandemic have closed schools across the world, disrupted people’s ability to work and forced families ‎and friends to stay apart, the Internet has enabled many to continue their education and jobs and ‎maintain social interaction.‎

However, the increase in the use of online technologies prompted by COVID-19 has exacerbated many ‎digital policy-related issues and has starkly illustrated the widening gap between the connected and ‎unconnected. For example, it has highlighted the importance of issues related to online security and ‎safety, data protection and utilisation, as well as freedoms and rights on the Internet. Even before the ‎pandemic, there was broad recognition of the need to conquer the digital divide, particularly the gender ‎digital divide, as well as online segregation and discrimination of various marginalised groups. These ‎problems have been around ever since the Internet entered our lives, just over 50 years ago, and the ‎complexity and global nature of the issues require the involvement of multiple generations. The ‎youth of today will be tomorrow’s Internet leaders and experts. The sooner we start developing the capacity of today’s youth, the sooner we can start to make progress, across the generations, and create an Internet that benefits all. ‎

About this session
Building on the demand from young people, as well as on the outputs of the last year’s Global Youth Summit and related youth engagement opportunities, the IGF 2022 aims at creating a set of activities to connect youth from around the world among themselves, and also create opportunities for them to network with senior stakeholders, experts in Internet governance. As digital transformation was among the topics of interest to youth, the capacity development activities will also tackle specific issues nested under this broad theme.

As a follow-up to the first two capacity development workshops organised at EuroDIG and African IGF in which digital transformation was unpacked, this workshop will outline the opportunities and challenges the youth faces now and in a near future. The session will specifically focus on the role new and emerging tech such as AI has and could have on education and job markets.