Youth Have Their Say on Internet Governance

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was created at the World Summit on Information Society in Tunis in 2005 in response to calls for an international platform where public policy issues relating to the Internet might be discussed. The Summit asked Secretary General Kofi Annan to summon such a forum – a forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue. The IGF, which meets annually, is open to all: governments, civil society, international organisations, teachers and scholars, organisations in the private sector and others.

The purpose of the Forum is to examine issues relating to the Internet from a broad variety of perspectives; these range from purely technical aspects to human rights issues. All participants are free to speak and share their experiences. Unlike many other fora in the UN community, the IGF has no legislative or executive powers.

Young people are a frequent topic in IGF discussions, but to date very few young voices have been heard. Young people have not found a place at the table. Their absence was particularly obvious at IGF 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the topic was Developing the Future Together. It was here that the idea of a Nordic Youth IGF was conceived.

The aim was to bring young people from all the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – together to discuss the future of the Internet with respect to issues like openness, diversity, accessibility, safety and personal integrity, and not least, human rights. The forum should bring policy-makers, experts, operators, and media companies face to face with young people’s knowledge and experience and to heighten young people’s awareness of the opportunities the web affords as well as its limitations and specific characteristics. Writ large, it is about the potential of Internet to be a tool for democracy that transcends local and national frontiers in decisionmaking processes that relate to children and youth.

Content

• Foreword
• Introduction: ”We are the Internet generation”
• H.M Queen Silvia of Sweden: Speech at EuroDIG 2012
• What We Think Matters: Olivia Gisle, Sweden
• Hello Dilja! Interview with Dilja Helgadottír, Iceland
• Listen to the Youth: On Education, Integrity and Ease of Use
• Hello Elmo! Interview with Elmo Kuisma, Finland
• Three Voices:
  • Looking Ahead: The Danish experience of involving youth: Gry Hasselbalch, Denmark
  • An Opportunity to Teach the Older Generation: Sindre Deschington, Norway
  • “Maybe I can make some of the decision-makers listen”: Sebastian Buhl, Denmark
• Hello Sigurpáll! Interview with Sigurpáll Sindrason, Iceland
• Resources, Documents and Ongoing Projects
• Facts about the Nordic Countries
• Collaborating Partners
• Sources