This year's youth summit was held in a reduced format. Each country was represented by one person, the coordinator of the local youth IGF. However, the work of young people began even before the summit. At the preliminary meetings, the common position of each regional group was developed, which were presented in the final document.
Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, addressed the summit participants with a welcoming speech, where he noted the need to listen to the ideas of the new generation, since they are the main users of the Internet and will determine what it will become in the coming years.
Young people from different parts of the world drew attention to the fact that one of the main challenges for young people now is to determine the relevance of certain regulatory measures that are being developed or have already been developed. They should conform to the spirit of the times, especially in such a rapidly changing environment as the online space, where new technologies appear almost daily.
Another point that the young participants of the Forum drew attention to is the lack of a youth position in new decisions. They advocated the need to create an atmosphere of trust so that people are actively involved in all decision-making processes at different levels. Young people should remain an active participant in the process in order to develop the necessary regulatory measures.
The Russian youth community at the IGF was represented by Roman Chukov, Chairman of the Board of the Center for Global IT-Cooperation. He stressed that youth participation can and should be more meaningful. "We need to make sure that young people all over the world have an affordable Internet and are able to participate in decision-making and be "connected" to events like the IGF. We need to make sure that we have new rules of the game that clearly define the role of youth as a meaningful facilitator in shaping the future of the Internet. In the end, it is the youth who have the most energy, ideas and desire to change something and come up with something new. Separately, I note the importance of conveying the position of young people of the whole world as part of the process of creating the Global Digital Compact, so that the voice of young people is heard and influences the final provisions that will be included in the document. We are ready to develop such work within the framework of the IGF youth track," he concluded.
The XVII Internet Governance Forum is held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from November 28 to December 2. The main theme and motto of the event – "Resilient Internet" – is a sustainable Internet for a common future, capable of withstanding any difficulties in the world and continuing to connect people in all parts of the world.
