What are you, as a young person, ready to do to shape a better digital future?

Good day everyone!

Are you aware of the indivisibility of the Sustainable Development Goals? If not, that's alright! Achieving one goal means achieving them all - and we're happy to have you onboard this very important discussion for our future!

I am Qjiel Mariano from the Philippines and I am a 21-year-old Nursing student advocating for quality education for sustainable development and more visibility in healthcare innovations. In times where people can hack into our private information, it is important to not become bystanders as healthcare information is starting to be digitalized (lab results, electronic health records, and more.). As you can see, ICTs have a big role in all sectors of society and I firmly believe in the advocacy of the ITU in connecting the unconnected.

With that in mind, we'd like to learn how you guys are making significant changes in society! Youth all over the world may make up only 16% of today's population, but we'll make up 100% of the future! We have to be prepared to face our world's problems at any time.

Please check the details of this page regarding the questions and goals of our consultation. This is a safe space created by Generation Connect and the International Telecommunications Union to share your expectations and thoughts about what actions make us better shape a digital society!

Every young person has the right to participation and association. Hence, your ability to contribute to society depends if your voices are heard and respected. Luckily, this safe space will allow you to freely express your thoughts respectfully and academically. Kindly share a bit about yourself, your interests, and your expectations about this topic! I look forward to engaging with your thoughts and ideas for a better digital future!

Remember to check the other discussion rooms and other commitments we can do to champion our rights as young people for a safer and digital future!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to this discussion about the many incredible ways in which young people are shaping a more wholesome, inclusive and sustainable digital future for all. 

My name is Dinesh Moro, and I'm an intern with the Generation Connect team where I work remotely from Canada. As part of my internship, I have been actively working on projects that will uplift young activists from around the world who share Generation Connect's vision: A world where every young person is connected, benefits from the digital economy and digital transformation, and is fully empowered through access to and use of ICTs. 

As we begin this week, I can't wait to hear about how each of you have been shaping a better digital world. Youth are powerful, and I know that many of you are making real impacts on your friends, families, and communities.

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Hello, thanks for the space. I am Federica Morici, Argentina living in Canada, I am 24 years old. I am a lawyer and I am studying a Master in Educational Innovation to contribute to my universal education project, where I promised to make education accessible to everyone. I am a member of Generation Connect Americas.

1) I am willing to offer education, I believe that education is the most powerful tool of a society. We need to promote the development of digital skills in young people.
 
2) I believe that youth have valuable and visionary contributions, we will be the next future and we want to build it, it is important that young people empower ourselves in the industry that most interests us in order to achieve different objectives at the regional level.
 
3) I am committed, from the project I created (Digital Students) to democratize education to make it more accessible to everyone in the world.
 
4) It is very important that these spaces are created to continue encouraging youth to unite in pursuit of a common goal. I believe that the support and cooperation of different public and private agents is essential to achieve this objective.

Hey,

I'll like to acknowledge you for creating this forum for us as young people to air out our thoughts as we all look forward to developing a digitalized future.

I'm Dafine Matagi from Kenya. I'm studying computer science. I'm 20 years old

I've come to realize that many of us, mostly in African countries haven't yet uncovered our potential; what we can do best.

Consequently, I've been striving to write articles about how to discover our abilities as youths and I've been posting them on various social media platforms.

I've also made an effort to reach out to others, educating them on how to discover their talents through seminars and friendly talks.

I speculate that through these, we'll all contribute to building a great future world that we are all craving for. Together as youths can do great things.

Private and public organizations should also come in to make all these happen: help youths discover their capabilities.

We are the generation the world is waiting for. we are the ones to make the world into being a better place.

Hola a todos, espero se encuentren muy bien el día de hoy, es un honor para mí participar en este espacio abierto a nosotros los jóvenes, siguiendo, me presento soy Maria J. Londoño, tengo 21 años y estoy en mi último grado de universidad de mi ciudad, estoy cursando actualmente derecho, y desde que comencé mi carrera pude ingresar a Nuestro Unicef como antes se llamaba, actualmente esta como Red Nacional de Participación de Adolescentes en movimientos por sus Derechos, el cual me enorgullezco de decir que soy líder nacional después de mucho esfuerzo, seguidamente, crece en mi un interés por la sociedad, principalmente a raíz de mi participación en la Red y en otras funciones que me desempeñe sobre mi trabajo voluntario con la alcaldía siendo consejera de los niños, niñas y adolescentes del municipio. Teniendo esta breve introducción de mí, daré mi opinión respecto a lo planteado en este foro: 

1. Estoy dispuesta a ofrecer voluntariados para la impartición de talleres respecto a la digitalización del mundo y su alrededor, debido a que no hay nada mejor que jóvenes enseñando a jóvenes que podemos entender la perspectiva de lo que sucede, y también vemos las dificultades desde un ojo mucho más empatico, entiendo las necesidades de las personas, como el hecho de que no todos contamos con acceso a internet libre o que tengan la capacidad de pagar un aparato electronico que permita ese acceso al mundo digital, una solución que puede ir introducción a los jóvenes es la realización de talleres donde se explique qué es el mundo digital, cuales son sus pros y contras, entre otros temas que abarquen, solo falta organización. Y a través de mi red y de mis circulos puedo impartir información de este tema -siempre con la debida autorización-. 

2. La contribución juvenil en todos los ambitos es bien importante debido a que se esta construyendo el futuro sobre ellos, porque además de ser el presente, también van a ser el futuro por el cual nuevas generaciones se van a edificar, así que la participación e integración en todos los ambitos es necesario porque eso es su futuro y para eso debemos tenerlos presente, para escuchar sus necesidades, sus virtudes, sus ideas y opiniones, las voces jóvenes deben ser escuchadas y respetadas y lo que construyan ahora es tan importante como a nivel nacional como a nivel regional o local, porque los jóvenes de ahora serán los adultos del mañana quienes tendrán la capacidad de reconocer que toda mente por muy pequeña en edad que sea es importante integrarla y además brindar herramientas para cultivar la intelectualidad. 

3. Concretamente a seguir realizando lo que estoy haciendo, a través de mi voluntariado que hago en la Red, debido a que es un espacio mas conocido para mí, como igualmente siendo consejera de las personas que comienzan en el mundo digitial. 

4. Se necesitan recursos ciertamente, debido a que las cosas no se hacen solas, la intervención de las entidades tanto municipales como estatales es importante resaltar ese punto. Sin embargo, desde mi posición, siendo realista, se deben dar los suministros para la implementación de talleres, siendo yo solamente una facilitadora de la información u otras personas a mí, es importante la difusión a través de medios como los colegios, corporaciones y universidades, para que así se llame la atención más a los jóvenes y crear esa curiosidad. 

Week 2 Recap: Thank you all for an excellent second week of this discussion! Already, we are seeing the many impressive ways in which young people are positively shaping our digital future. Federica Morici 's mission to democratize education has taken shape into a powerful start-up called Digital Students. Dafinematagi is using social media to help other young people find their purpose. Meanwhile, Maria Jo Londoño Tous has exemplified an integrated approach, working with local government to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly digitized world. The work each of you are doing is so impressive, meaningful, and inspirational. Thank you for sharing, and I look forward to the discussions of Week 3!

Hello team, my name is  Eliane Mbende, I'm the Cameroon Youth Voices Chapter Lead and a 23 year-old general dentist passionate about international development;

Thank you for this amazing space!

As a young person, I’m ready to train and equip community influencers with knowledge on digital literacy and outreach practices to enable every youth to develop himself through digital;

I want  to create a digital cluster to expose vulnerable young of my community to freelance websites like Upwork, and online learning platforms like Udemy, Google Digital Skills for Africa program and LinkedIn Learning;

Then I’ll promote open source tools and raise awareness of the concepts of contribution to digital accessibility for all.  In the meantime, I’ll organize competitions such as hackatons to accelerate knowledge acquisition and stimulate curiosity and a competitive spirit among learners.

 Hi everyone!! I'm Luísa (she/they) and this week I’ll be the lead moderator of the room! A little bit about me: I’m 23 and I’m a youth and gender activist from Brazil . I’m also a researcher and graduate student in New Technologies, International Development and Public Policy at Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics. I’ve previously worked at UNDESA and OECD.AI and I’m really passionate about building an inclusive and ethical digital society for all! 

As you have probably seen, all the discussions we're having here will have a real impact in policymaking around the world. We'll compile the points raised by you into a Youth Call to Action 'Our digital future' and present them at the ITU Generation Connect Youth Summit (Kigali, Rwanda, 2-4 June 2022) to world leaders.

Personally, I'd like to encourage you to speak from your heart: what matters to you? Also please: don't mind formalities!! Write however feels most natural to you, feel free to link videos (TikToks, Insta reels, Youtube videos), songs, photos you might have come across that fit the topic (in any language!). As long as you are respectful, all kinds of entries are very welcome!!  Introduce yourself, your pronouns if you'd like, where you are from, and let's bring about some meaningful change!!! 

Happy to be part of this movement and excited to have some cool conversations with everyone!  Don't hesitate to reach out to me and connect/chat/talk all things digital and youth (:

(Reminder: this webpage is available in over 100 languages! Simply click "Select Your Language" at the top right to translate all text) 

Hello everyone, I am Ntein Precious from Cameroon. I'll be 23 by May 30, I am a content creator and tech enthusiast, passionate about digital communication and innovation.

Here is my contribution as a Young leader:

Less than 30% of girls are represented globally in the tech ecosystem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where exposure is a major problem. With over 2years of experience working with Data Girl Technologies, I have increased the company’s brand visibility and impact on girls by 70% through the digital content I create, reaching out to over 2000young girls.

Through my weekly scoop of motivational, insightful tech updates and orientation content, I have been able to educate and inspire more than 35% of these girls to pick an interest in tech-related fields and take part in our “all girls” training program in web development and digital marketing. I seek to solve the UN Sustainable Development Goals five and nine which is a major problem in my community and by extension across Africa.

My first step at helping girls is through our training programs and boot camps, designed to equip girls with tech skills for free first, then prepare them to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers thus getting them employment ready. With the understanding of the poor representation of girls in the tech ecosystem, we aim to close this gap by at least 10% through our “solution-driven” programs which I work with other team members to design and implement.

While coordinating these training, my next step is geared towards intending to consciously and continuously share information through the digital platform I will create. I believe this platform which breaks the barrier of distance will help me reach out to more girls who I believe are young enough to make early decisions in the right direction.

This is not only about educating the girlchild on picking the right careers and getting into tech in a bit to curb the digital gender divide but equally a platform to teach girls about personal development. And this will be done in the most relaxed, entertaining, and enjoyable way. 

Young girls of ages 13 to 19 will gather, share stories, learn, share experiences, ask questions, get advice from mentors and coaches, have fun and learn from their fellow peers.

PS: Young people love it when they learn without being forced or while having fun!

Young girls have a lot to offer if only they are given the opportunity to prove it without having to deal with being pressured or limited. 

When the right information and practice are instilled in a child early enough, children tend to grow with that information and act accordingly. Teaching a teenager to hone her career skills at 13 or even 12 is never late. They need to learn to be leaders even in their growth.

Good day people
My name is Tsungirirai Lucia Paridzira and I am twenty-one years old lady from Zimbabwe.  My father was the district education officer and he was involved with organisations like campaign for female education, BEAM to mention just a few. Seeing him being  part of helping communities, groups and individuals inspired me to be who I am today. It showed me how a person's efforts and passion have always had the ability to improve people's lives and change them for the better, thus taking me to such a position in life like this one;desire, dedication and commitment to bettering lives. My interest in social work has been growing at every stage of my life since then. In 2017, I was a part of a movement that formed a club at Chemhanza high school which focused on helping children from the primary school who were disadvantage with stationary. Besides that I am great listener and I have helped people who have depression, anxiety, post traumatic disorders and other mental problems. This made me realize that I was destined to be a social worker. Being a social worker is not just a job, it's a passion, it runs in my blood and it is who I am . We live in a developing country and everyone needs the help they can get to be able to adapt mentally, financially, socially and I want to be a part of that. I have come to understand that social work has many faces which allow us as social workers to function and help people in every way possible; everyone needs a helping hand one way or the other. 

In 2021, I got an internship at City Council in Masvingo under the Health department. From then I have been working with key populations of all age groups, people living with HIV and the community at large. I have come across a lot of situations were by young women have been abused, some who are ignorant about the sexual rights, children who were born HIV positive who are being neglected by their community and people who have engaged in sex work because of poverty. I have met young people who are jeopardising their future because they have lost of hope, some of them who are of my age and some who are younger than me. I have seen people being stigmatised and discriminated because they carry something which they cannot change. I have seen people giving up on their communities because of fear of going against law enforcement officers who are marrying young girls. The truth is I have tried to help them but sometimes I cannot go beyond because I'm just an intern. My hope is to help people living with HIV who are being discriminated, young key populations who have turned to sex work because of poverty, educate people on sexual reproductive health rights, advocate for gender equality and equity in marginalised communities in Zimbabwe under the sustainable development goals three, four and five. My main focus is own educating women because during my internship at Masvingo City Council I saw women who have been raped, married off and abused in the name of culture because they simply did not know their sexual reproductive health rights. Also, in world where technology has become a necessity people living in rural communities are being left behind simply because they do not have access to Internet. I believe that we can overcome that through partnerships that we do as a world because together we can do anything. Together we can fight anything and we must be there for each other. 

According, to the SADC region statistics many of the new HIV infections which are being reported are coming from young people aged 16 to 29. Some of these young people have lost hope for a better tomorrow not knowing that by jeopardising themselves they are also jeopardising the future. That's why governments should have young people out there helping other young people to regain the hope they have lost #standingupforyourgeneration #endingAIDS#Genderequality#everyvoicematters#endingdiscrimination#doitforthenextgeneration #leavingnoonebehind2030
I want to see my community change and I want to see their perspectives on things change. I believe that a better tomorrow is inevitable. The goal is to leave no one behind and my fight is for people living in marginalised areas and that are still imprisoned by culture. I believe a better tomorrow is possible only if we act. I also believe that as young people we need to be involved by our governments on the decision making table because we know the future we want and I also believe that as young people we just need resources and the capacity to impact positively in our communities 

Hello everyone?.

I'm Hannah N-yelayo Nilada, a 22 year old (23 in June) student from Ghana.

A passionate tech enthusiast, disability and girl child advocate.

As a tech enthusiast understanding abit of digital literacy in today's world and envision better transformation and technology leverage to solve most of our problems., I am in view of this saying that,

1. I will offer my time and resources in educating and training youngsters especially girls and persons with disability on how to better their lives using technology and be well represented in the digital space as well.

2. A greater proportion of the youth are working in this sectors of the economies hence their contributions in digital problems solving is huge because most often those are the things they do.They go digital to search solutions and also use their expertise to innovate and create digital solutions that will benefit the sectors they represent.

3. As a passionate tech enthusiast, disability and girl child advocate. I have and still engaging in tech trainings for girls and persons with disabilities. I volunteer and mentor people to aspire to go digital and  explore to be problems solvers. The organizations I have partnered with to engage in these activities are; World Vision Ghana-Saboba cluster, Developers in vogue, Cradx, Organization for Inclusion and Empowerment among others. Also, I have a team of youth who are working on bringing forth a digital solution in the health sector. These are some of my actions towards making transformations and impacts in the digital space and  I am still available to partner with any organization or company in the digital space remotely or in-person if in my country of residence (Ghana).

4. The resources I will need are digital tools because for these engagements I have undertaken I leverage on the tools available and provided by the partner organizations. So for some situations that demanded I become resourceful (use my digital tools) I am always stuck with not going in for such an opportunity to impart hence I will need digital tools to be able to operate effectively. These tools will also enable persons to be trained experience what they learn and work on problem solving projects. Again, I will need in-service training to explore more and gain more knowledge to impart.I will need a digital network or community I can learn, share my expertise and be my backbone to renew my energy to keep impacting in this space. A network that will share helpful tips on how go about things to achieve the vision or goal. Conclusively, I will need a team of liked minded youth especially in my country who are ready to work with me to achieve this goal.

Hi, 

I'm wondering why the question is phrased in terms of what we are "willing to" to? Why isn't it "what should be done?" Why not put the onus of action on those who already have power? 

I think Question 4 is much more relevant here. What can institutions do *for us* to let us get done what needs to get done? How can they offer us the support? 

Best, 

Melanie

Hello, I am Abdulmajid Haruna Saeed from Nigeria, I'm 23 years and a digital marketer. My experience as a digital marketer has exposed me to various ways to take advantage of the digital space. I have been working on a project which will provide reliable daily internet connection to young people. This project will address some challenges which hinders young people from accessing and tapping into the digital space. Some key areas which this project will look into are;

1. Subsidizing the cost of internet data bundle: before young people can actively engage in the digital space, there is a need to ensure that the cost of internet data bundle is Affordable for people of all financial status. This will present an opportunity for people to be able to be part of the digital space. 

2. The ownership of digital assets: There is a huge gap in the number of ownership of digital assets, men are more likely to own a smartphone compared to women. Whilst ownership is a major concern, the decision of who will pay for mobile phones services is another issue of concern. In this case, there is need to increase the ownership of digital assets taking consideration on the gender impact. I am of the opinion that if ownership of digital asset is increased, the future will experience a large number of techPreneurs. 

3. Awareness campaign on the need for digital skills; I always emphasize on running awareness programs because it is when young people are better informed on the role they can play, how they can contribute, what skills they need, that we can achieve our collective goal of a digital future. 

For the past years, I've been engaging with youths, community leaders from various rural areas to discuss on the need for a digital transformation. I've conducted surveys on the issues / challenges community faced when it comes to digital space. The data have given me insights on how i can offer to shape a better digital future for people of those communities. I want to improve the daily internet access, support techPreneurs, make internet data bundle affordable and enlightenment on cybercrime. 

The resources that will be needed to achieve a better digital future is the increase in the number of ownership of digital assets. Smartphones and laptops will be needed to support and achieve the sucess that is required. 

Hello everybody, I am very grateful for this opportunity to share our perspectives and knowledge. I am Alexa Silva Varela, from Costa Rica and recently finished my bachelor degree in International Relations. 

As a Latin American woman, I have seen from my own what do ICTs represent as a powerment tool for women but can be a barrier too. I have seen the necessities of the ICTs in many circumstances and I want everyone to have the adecuate access and use of them. 

1) I think talking about the ICTs is very important, just informing people about many things they do not know about it. I am committed to first, talk about it and create awareness of the topics, everywhere. Can be about the positive and not positive things, can be about the barries tha socities face when they want to access to ICTs... You can either choose to talk in spaces like this, but also in a daily conversation with your friends, neighboor or family.

2) I am committed to participate in the awareness about the ICTs, I am committed to participate in volunteers, in internships, to get close to the topic and use my perspective on it, to create awesome and valuable things, but to build a present and future with the right access and use of the ICTs.

3) I am committed in the education, can be for me to get informed about these topics and participating in events and conversations like this and like the Global Youth Summit 2022. Also, I am committed to the sharing and knowledge and perspectives at my communities, especially with girs and young people that have not had many access to this important tools.

But also, I am pretty sure that the creation of this awareness should be build with the rest of the societies and institutions, in this case, young people should ask for help, should push the institutions and empower and support leaders to start making this an important topic. 

Awareness of the digital future can be made if it is a topic and in order to one, we need to talk about it, make questions and find answers as well as solutions, this is so important. Lets make together a better digital future with better digital policies and better digital actions. 

Hello everyone, my name is David Chacon, I am from Venezuela and I am 22 years old. I am currently working on the Gender and Water Working Group of the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme and I wanted to thank you all for this opportunity so youth can express and be taken into account in international discussions. I consider that youth needs to play a key role in making sure that participatory approaches are integrated into every policy, program, or project that could entail digital transformation. This will be essential to guarantee ownership and sustainability, which are crucial aspects to achieve a greater impact of these solutions and guarantee that all stakeholders benefit equally from these improvements. I think that it is a great challenge to build bridges and ensure complementarity between social sciences and natural sciences. I think that youth can be very active to promote the recognition of the social objectives of projects that are often dominated by professionals from the "hard sciences". Thus, social considerations need to be fully integrated into the design of digital solutions (gender perspective, human rights-based approaches, etc). From the water sector, it is very important as these digital solutions can become useless without an effective comprehension of the communities and social categories most impacted by the lack of access to water and sanitation.  

Hi everyone !

My name is Karina, I’m 23y/o, I come from Peru and I’m currently a public affairs intern at Nexans in France. Over there I’ve been assisting the Risk manager, and I’ve learnt a lot about cyber and digital issues - which is not at all my area of expertise, I’m an economics and energy gal ? - and how one of the main risks in the near future is digital inequality.

Along with other types of inequalities (access to education, income, etc), digital inequality will harm cohesion within and between countries, harming as well the green transition needed to face climate change. Youth’s contribution is needed across the board, since it’s our future that is at stake. Sadly I don’t believe we have many “serious” places to share our concerns. I find some solace in the popularity and real live impact apps like Tiktok and Twitter have. I’ve seen how young people’s voices from rural communities in Peru are getting out there through these mediums, breaching gaps that have been open for centuries.

To push forward a more inclusive digital world, as a young person, I’m committed to demanding my political representatives to take matters into their hands (for example investing in internet infrastructure to breach the gap between rural and urban internet access). I’m also willing to put my money towards companies advancing digital inclusion and those with strong data privacy ethics !

As a young Latin American lawyer, something that I am willing to do is to dedicate myself to the study of all the regulation (domestic and international) that has to do with the use of technology. 
 

In order to have a fair and better digital world, certainty should be given to all market participants. In the same sense, social inclusion should be pursued as a main aim. In this regard, I believe laws (bad and good ones) can highly influence the outcomes of our future digital world. 

Je me présente au nom de Ursul Amos BOUNDJA de la République Centrafricaine, je suis bâtisseur de la paix et je fais partie de beaucoup de réseaux en ligne comme United network of Young peacebuilder (UNOY), Civicus (Civicus Youth ambassador). concernant ma participation aux activités en ligne je crois que j'ai beaucoup d'activités avec l'apparition du Covid 19 j'ai eu à faire des réunions en ligne, des conférences en ligne et j'ai aussi participer à des pareilles consultations en ligne sur la plate forme 4Dialogue. 

À mon avis les jeunes sont les noyaux du développement on a tendance à dire que les jeunes n'ont pas la maturité de diriger ni de contribuer efficacement dans différents domaines de travail alors que c'est le contraire les jeunes sont les leaders d'aujourd'hui et demain aussi ils sont les responsables des plusieurs entreprises dans le monde, les jeunes sont des innovateurs, les jeunes font partie des organes de prise des décisions dans différentes institutions. 

Je me suis engagé dans l'agenda Jeunesse Paix et Sécurité qui groupe toutes les résolutions de conseils de sécurité des nations unies qui parlent des jeunes. 

j'ai besoin que des outils numérique pour me permettre d'être très actif qu'avant c'est à dire avoir une connexion Internet fiable, un ordinateur portable de bonne qualité, un smartphone de bonne qualité. 

Hello there, my name is Luis Felipe (they/them), I'm from Mexico, and I currently study International Development at LSE. As a non-binary person, social media and digital platforms have been a fundamental space to access vital information for my own personal process and to connect with people like me. Social media was literally the platform I used to socialise my transition during the pandemic - it was the space where the majority of the people that knew me got to know about my true self. Since then, I've tried to advocate in my networks about non-conforming identities, most of the time by making the obvious point that we exist, by simply being visible.

Our generation has had privileged access to information that allowed us to challenge preconceived notions about basically everything. Non-binary people have existed since the beginning of humankind, but recently we've become more visible because, for the first time, lots and lots of people have the tools to revindicate our identity, come together as a community and help more people feel safe to embrace their true selves. 

What do I or the people like me have to offer? We are already challenging one of the most entrenched and pervasive social institutions in history: the gender binary. And we're doing it with style and kindness across social media. We are the generation that cares for each other and is willing to challenge the status quo. Perhaps most people don't use precise terms, but we are the generation championing human rights, equality and dignity above anything else. Is not that we come with "fresh eyes", but with an honest and authentic lens - we are only trying to be true to ourselves and our values. 

Do you want to have candid conversations about social issues? Bring young people to the table. Whether it is the gender binary, neoliberalism or fossil fuels, we have nothing to lose and all to gain from making the call when something's time is up. Oh! And we are also the best-educated generation in history, so you can bet we will also contribute to finding solutions. 

Re: concrete actions, I'd like to raise the case of the informal support networks among the trans community in Mexico City and other states of the country. We use social media to organise as a political movement (after pressure from the community, Mexico City recently passed a law allowing trans kids to legally reaffirm their gender without barriers), but also to provide a social safety net that the state is still failing to provide. People on Twitter and Instagram frequently reach out asking for help, whether to find a job, somewhere to stay or emotional support. We are using the tools we have to fill the gaps left by a system that still fails most of us. 

What do we need? Let's go to the core: we need to occupy positions of influence and power. Bring queer, Black, Indigenous people to the table. Invest in finding the talent you need among marginalised communities. Create career paths that enable and support people with different backgrounds and skillsets to thrive. Build workspaces and organisational cultures where neurodivergent people are acknowledged and supported. Diversity is one of the few things that are better built when done so top-to-bottom. Let us, all kind of us, into the decision-making process, and we promise to do the rest. 

Dear fellow participants,

I am a 23-year-old Mexican Master's student, greatly concerned by digital policy issues. I believe it is really important to have these fora to express ourselves and be able to influence the current landscape.

I strongly believe it is our responsibility as young, connected persons to enable the use of digital fora to create a viable environment for young people to get their voices across. We have repeatedly demonstrated a high capacity to build and direct dialogue and participation by young people through social media. Agenda setting and public information have also been influenced by our use of social media. As such, I believe we can try to boost and expand access to information - in policy and other aspects - to other young people.

I am engaged to use these instruments to expand youth active participation and to inform and eventually engage young people who might feel left out of mainstream communication and participation streams. I have participated in projects with local governments and ministers to expand youth access to cultural programs and inform about active engagement opportunities. I believe more trust is needed in young people to lead, design and implement programs and policies targeted at youth - after all, we know ourselves better.

Hello everyone! I appreciate the opportunity to express my thoughts.
My name is Favor Olaitan Oludele. I'm from Nigeria, and I'm twenty years old. In my current position, I work to ensure that people have a smooth transition into the tech industry.

1. I believe that as young people we must be informed and actively involved in social issues because knowledge gives us the upper hand. And connectivity allows us to access a wealth of information to increase our knowledge.

I'm willing to devote my resources to ensuring that people have access to the best of the digital world.

2. I see no way to achieve sustainability if young people are not placed across boards. Because young people are important stakeholders.
Also, youth constitute a sizable proportion of the population and having a large portion simply means a diverse set of perspectives on issues.

3. I'm determined to learn as much as I can so that I can educate others, beginning with my immediate community. I'm also committed to using my voice to advocate for the changes I want to see.

4. A community with the same goal in mind, in which structures are put in place to help us do better.

Hi everyone..

I'm Martha Mbaiorga from Nigeria,I am 23years. The digital future can be use to create and share awareness,I don't just believe I know for a fact that youth of this generation tend to emulate what we see on the internet to our various lives,be it's from our favorites influencer or elsewhere. Using it's as a tool for awareness and early warning system to share vital information with interested parties..

The contributions of youth to the work needed in my country is poor, advocacies are made for youth to come out and work but the numbers aren't motivating.

Resource I will say environment, in the sense that in the right environment my actions ( awareness) will be taken seriously and warnings will be heeded

Olá, me chamo Isabella Martins Lemes, sou brasileira, tenho 18 anos e atualmente estou cursando o terceiro ano do ensino médio em um colégio público. Acho importante fazer parte deste tipo de discussão para enriquecer o meu conhecimento e quem sabe dessa forma passar mais informações para os jovens de minha idade. Não tenho muito conhecimento, então caso eu diga algo errado ou fora da "caixinha" peço desculpas desde já!

1- Acredito que comunicação e uma educação melhor neste sentido tecnológico. Porém principalmente expandir a comunicação, assim todos teriam contato de alguma forma com as notícias do mundo atual, e consciência delas, criando uma postura apropriada para discussão e ação. Além de terem mais noção sobre como melhorar a cidade onde moram, e a convivência em sociedade.

2- Nosso papel é importante em todos esses campos por sermos o futuro. Sendo a maioria, precisamos agir de forma ativa na sociedade, seja ela de forma digital ou até mesmo pessoalmente. Acredito que o que falta é oportunidade e encorajamento para os jovens, porque capacidade nós temos e muito!

3- Como sou atualmente uma pré-vestibulanda, que possui responsabilidades com a escola e com meu emprego, acredito que para mim vai ser um pouco difícil agir de forma ativa. Porém tentarei alcançar as pessoas de outra forma, por redes sociais, por debates e discussões como esses. Tentarei promover em minha escola ações como essas!

4- Acredito que uma grande contribuição por parte do Estado e governantes e talvez ONGs. Que forneçam recursos melhores e incentivem mais as pessoas mais jovens que estão sendo inseridas agora na sociedade como futuros adultos.

Feliz em ver tanta gente que veio do TikTok aqui!! Mal posso esperar pra ler as opiniões de vocês <3 e obrigada aos que comentaram até agora! I'll wait for some more comments to come and then I'll connect all your points to (hopefully) engage in an insightful reflection on digital and youth! Keep 'em cominggggg

Hi everyone! :D 

I'm Juan Arias, a 22 years old student from Colombia. I am doing a master in economics and public policy at Sciences Po and I'm currently doing an internship at the OECD's Center for Responsible Business Conduct. I'm also a tech enthusiast and I am passionate about using new technologies to create, as we say at the OECD, "better policies for better lives". 

Here are my inputs: 

• What are you ready to offer to help shape a better digital future, as a young person? As young individuals, I believe we need to take advantage of social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to raise awareness among our communities on the advantages and risks related to our digital future. Therefore, I will use my YouTube channel ("Jaco Arias") and other social media platforms to create a discussion on this topic (e.g. How can we seize opportunities in the digital ecosystem? How can we mitigate the risks? Why is it important to learn about data protection policies? etc.). I will also use these platforms to share information that may help others to better understand the challenges of our digital world. 
   
• How do you see the contribution of youth to the work needed across the board, in different sectors (e.g., education, health, science and technology, entrepreneurship) and at different levels (e.g., local, national, regional, international)? Youth can positively contribute to the debate by suggesting fresh and innovative ideas. As most of us belong to the internet community, we can easily share our thoughts and projects with colleagues from all around the world (and in a matter of seconds!). We can thus leverage our presence on social media platforms to facilitate the exchange of information among the different sectors at a local, regional, and international level.    
   
• What concrete actions are you committed to engage in? (1/3) Continue learning about the latest initiatives that build a better and more equal digital future. (2/3) Make sure that social considerations (Responsible Business Conduct policies, human rights considerations, gender perspectives, etc.) are included in the digital solutions/tools built by governments, enterprises, and communities. (3/3) Use my social media platforms to raise awareness on issues related to our digital future. 

• What resources would you need to make a meaningful contribution to a better digital future? (1/3) Get access to trustful and evidence-based reports/studies/policy reviews on digital policies. Sometimes, these documents are not accessible to the public... (2/3) More communities like this one so we can continue exchanging information and initiatives. (3/3) Clear and operational mechanisms that allow us to participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies related to our digital future. Governments and businesses should invite the youth to the policymaking process. We do not want to be just spectators! 

I have an idea: why don't we create a LinkedIn group so we can all connect and exchange our thoughts on the digital future? We could name the group "Building a better digital world" (or any other name you prefer). What do you think? :)

Best,  

Olá, adorei ver uma brasileira em uma pauta bem importante e de peso aqui no fórum, parabéns e eu só vim aqui graças ao app ao lado.

• O que você está pronto para oferecer para ajudar a moldar um futuro digital melhor, como jovem?

Para um futuro digital acontecer primeiro precisamos que todas as pessoas tenham acesso a esse espectro digital e que a idade não seja uma barreira que impeça a curiosidade para imersão nesse mundo tecnológico por isso a minha contribuição, quanto jovem, seria o compartilhar de conhecimento e vivência de tecnologia e no mundo digital para as pessoas que não tiveram acesso e/ou não sabem como usufruir desse meio digital

• Como você vê a contribuição dos jovens para o trabalho necessário em todos os setores, em diferentes setores (por exemplo, educação, saúde, ciência e tecnologia, empreendedorismo) e em diferentes níveis (por exemplo, local, nacional, regional, internacional)?

Em minha cidade eu posso ver que há muitos jovem engajados no meio político para que principalmente possamos retirar aquela politica arcaica e rasa e que com a tecnologia venha a agregar nessa empreitada mostrando que a tecnologia veio para ser aliada a democracia. Como na disseminação de poder fazendo com nossos representantes legais tenham conhecimento de nossas opiniões sobre diversos assunto por enquetes online fazendo com que a polícia volte a ser do povo e para o povo

• Em quais ações concretas você está comprometido a se engajar? 

Em criação de aplicativos para que o poder político deixe de ser tão polarizado, já que vivemos em uma era digital alguns assuntos tinham que ser retirado de pauta de plenários de câmara ou assembleia e volte a decisão popular por votação online dando mais voz a democracia e ajudando o estado a investir onde realmente precisa 

• Quais recursos você precisaria para fazer uma contribuição significativa para um futuro digital melhor? 

Para que esse futuro digital realmente possa acontecer o único investimento que seria feito era na criação de uma aplicativos móvel 100% seguro e para o povo com plena voz no âmbito das esferas públicas

Olá, sou Leonard e sou um universitario, e já adianto que esse não é um assunto muito levado no meu dia-a-dia então peço perdão por qualquer erro e equivoco em alguma coisa. (Espero que compreendam os erros de português, já que eu tenho dois idiomas como meus de nasença)

1-A comunicação e acessibilidad a tecnologia seriam os principais quesitos para isso, pois sem acesso a isso não tem como nada disso acontecer, eu ajudaria em compartilhar o que eu ja sei, ou seja, compartilhar conhecimento e experiencias com a mesma.

2-Acho que em tudo, já que somos o futuro, e imagino uma grande revolução sobre isso, já que muitos de nós encherga muitas coisas como se fosem muita arcaicas ou muito coservadoras, no caso a juventude de hoje visa muito o respeito e aborda temas mais do que importantes, coisas que nossos pais não fariam.

3-Acredito eu, que eu não seria tão ativo nessas questões, porém eu tentaria chegar nas pessoas de outras formas, já que nas épocas atuais os jovens na sua maioria usam plataformas digitais ou redes socias que tem um raio de alcance muito grande, digo que se usarmos concientemente cada plataforma elas seriam grandes repasadoras de informação, assim como já são e continuarão sendo.

4-Precisamos de uma educação mais aprimorada nos colégios, ainda mais nas questões políticas, pois assim os jovens votariam em alguém com consciência de que o país precisa de mais acessibilidade em todos os setores, mas mesmo assim existem ONGS que já ajudam muito nisso, espero muito mesmo que isso melhore pois o futuro somos nós e a educação é muito precaria.

Hello everyone, I am Margaret Nambaziira from Uganda. I'll be making 25 years by September 29 , I am an IT support , social media manager  and tech-innovation enthusiast, passionate about digital technologies like AI, IoT and Data science.

What are you ready to offer to help shape a better digital future, as a young person?

Well, My background is in IT Since my high school and graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in Information Technology.

Having prior knowledge in Cybersecurity, i am offering my cybersecurity skills to help my organization apparently where i am working right now . 

I am making sure that  company software on every employee's laptop, is Up-to Date , installation of up to date anti-virus software, encouraging and educating my fellow work mates to use strong passwords and also to educating them to be cautious about phishing scams so that our data can't be compromised.

I not only to this to my work place, but also educating young fellows the importance of their  data safety. 

Thanks for the opportunity to be part of this Community.

Hola a todos gracias por sus tan valiosos aportes. Mi nombre es Juan Cortes y soy Colombiano. Como joven lo que estoy dispuesto a hacer para tener un mejor futuro de digital es cambiar mi relación con la información digital. Me comprometo a mirar el mundo digital con unos ojos nuevos llenos de análisis y entendimiento para así poder entender la realidad digital de una mejor manera. Me explico, el mundo digital representa una nueva realidad entonces nuestras referencias actuales que usamos para entender la realidad no sirven de la misma manera en este mundo digital. Como joven representando una nueva generación me comprometo a deconstruir mis preconceptos epistemológicos para poder entender de manera distinta el conocimiento en el mundo digital. Mencionó esto haciendo referencia principalmente a la desinformación que se puede encontrar en el mundo digital en el mundo de posverdad que nos encontramos ahora. Estos nuevos ojos y maneras de entendimiento nos ayudarán a entender la información presentada en el mundo digital y superar los problemas de desinformación, "Fake news" y manipulación a través del mundo digital.

Hello great youth.

I am Ifebuchechukwu Francisca Edeh from Nigeria, I am 23yrs old and a student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

To shape a better digital Future I am ready to offer my time , experience and resources on the journey to the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), to be held from 6 to 16 June, also in Kigali if granted the opportunity to represent my country.

which after the training I hope to improve and have more intense knowledge about digital world.

afterwards I wish to

1)organize a sensitization program for my fellow young women and people with disabilities encouraging them to take part in any available and affordable digital training and not abuse the opportunity in order to close digital divide and improve digital inclusion.

2)I will collaborate with Tech experts to organize a workshop for the youth.

3) Carry out digital literacy awareness using social media.

4)I Will meet government stakeholders to have a dialogue on the need to build digital skills and address the growing need for a broader literacy culture by providing resources needed like laptops computer, steady electricity, strong internet connection etc.

5) in my own capacity I will give incentives like free data,etc to assist passionate youth to gain acess to internet and learn digital skills.

To make my contribution an achievable one I need some laptop,computers,smart phones,data,money for many logistics that will be needed for all the training.

Nevertheless I will do the little I can do with available resources for a sustainable future.Thank you

Hello everyone,

My name is Khanimnisa and I am 23 years old girl from Azerbaijan. I did my Bsc in Information technology and I have been working for a software development company as an IT Business analyst for nearly 2 years. 

What are you ready to offer to help shape a better digital future, as a young person?

Since my university life, I have been volunteering in some local and global organizations as a programming teacher. And I think, teaching and giving a lead to people is the thing I utterly enjoy and getting inspiration from it. We can relate to it as "Healers get healing when they heal people". Researching, teaching, and being able to see different approaches to a topic are the best mesmerizing part of this desire. I am fully open to sharing my experiences, real business practices, and knowledge with people, by organizing nonprofit workshops, classes, and maybe consulting about their future career paths and explaining to them how important to integrate their knowledge with digital tools. 

How do you see the contribution of youth to the work needed across the board, in different sectors (e.g., education, health, science and technology, entrepreneurship) and at different levels (e.g., local, national, regional, international)?

I would like to explain my vision based on a software development process. For example, to create any tool to automate for instance in the health care sector, having or being a talented developer is not enough requirement to automate a process. To have a decent and usable tool, you should know which exact processes are going in there and we call these people knowledge engineers who are experts in the sector and can explain the basis and process to developers. If we talk about a digital future to hand down to the next generations, first we need talented knowledge engineers (experts) from different sectors to make information, experiences, and practices available to the next generations. Whole people in the world, in my opinion, have an impact and contribution to getting a digital future because their needs and desires are the keys to creating this digital world to ease processes.

What concrete actions are you committed to engaging in?

To inspire people, you should voice up and share your sincere journey with them and because of this, I am planning to open channels on social platforms to share my unique journey and maybe inspire them. I came across just two years ago a girl who can't use a browser, and actually, it is not surprising in my culture. Let me explain why some people in my country believe digital tools are very harmful and they affect their children (especially girls) in a bad way because when you have access to the internet you have access to the world. And it is very dreadful for these kinds of families to have wide-visioned children who will want to create their future by not obeying their families' old-fashioned vision. I aspire to show them there are tons of opportunities and digital sources that you aren't aware and maybe one of them could be a tool to reach to your dream. And I have been looking for a community to join in to go rural part of my country, and give some classes to underprivileged young children.

I think connecting the unconnected agenda starts with the government (ministry of education) and how our nations are committed to spread technology. In Africa children are dropping from school to be specific in Zimbabwe so it doesn't make sense that we are fighting to teach children who do not even have access to basic education. How ever are high key think that is young people are included in the policy making and work with their governments connecting t

The agenda to connect the unconnected agenda starts with the government (ministry of education) on how they are committed to making a better digital world for all. Its high time we fight even for those who can't fight for themselves. The government should include IT in their curriculums and involve young people who are educated in that area in policy making. Children have been dropping out of school in Africa because of poverty according to the recent UNDP statistics. Young people and government should come up with ways from preventing issues like that from happening. Children should have basic access to IT knowledge around the globe cause how can we build a better digital world without including the pioneers of this generation and the next generation. I also think that young people should volunteer or organisations who focus on IT should start with marginalised areas as the goal is to live no one behind. As a young person I am very much concerned with adolescents who are living in marginalised areas. Its high time that they should be involved and considered. They are behind in everything because almost everything that is being done in the world start with the Internet even conferences that are being done online to impact their lives positively they do not even have access to attend them. And my only hope is as world we commit ourselves into educating them

Hello everyone,

My name is Emmanuella Antwiwaa Amoah from Ghana and I am a Generation Connect - Africa Youth Envoy. I am also a Network Operation Center Technician with a telecom company in Ghana. I am very passionate about technology. I strongly believe in the positive changes that technology can have on the livelihoods of individuals that are exposed to them. I also believe in the role and the responsibility we have as a youth to help make the world a digitized place.

It is my greatest pleasure to be your lead moderator for this week’s discussion. We must recognize the impact our contributions to this discussion will make. And in that regard, share freely and openly. I have already read some amazing contributions from the previous weeks. I can’t wait to see and read more about what you are ready to do as a young person to help shape a better digital future.

Kindly go through the details of the page at the top to understand the purpose of this consultation and use the questions as a guideline for your responses.

Feel free to check other discussion rooms as well and offer your contributions.

Okay now. Let’s hear you!

Note: You can also access this page in over 100 languages! Simply click "Select Your Language" at the top right to translate all text.

Hello everyone! My name is Michael Jojo Aidoo and I am a graduate data scientist. I have a love for technology and hopefully I'll start working with a company to that end.

1. I cannot highlight enough the importance of knowledge. I can offer education. For a example, digital security is something a lot of people are not so educated about and end up falling for various malicious schemes.

2. I see a lot of youth tech start ups around who are looking to change the whole digital sphere. Some I know are responsible for various payment softwares that certain companies use to manage payments of their staff salaries.

3. Giving up my time and resources to help curious minds develop

4. Sustainable connectivity infrastructure to drive and nurture curious minds

Interesting and great topic discussed here. Greatly impressed with the comments and views from everyone. I'm an Electrical and Instrumentation Engineer at an Oil and Gas Terminal and as well as Technology Enthusiast.  I'll also like to say hello to the amazing lady who introduced me to such an educative space. 

1. I can offer my expertise to volunteer in seminars as well as forums such as this to contribute my quota to global digitization not hiding the fact I'll need some coaching in the early stages since it's probably going to be my first time.

2. On the whole ,the youth are doing well with innovative ideas and startups in the very key sectors such as technology and recently in agriculture. What's left is the major funding and we'll see massive works being done!!

3. For me I'm very passionate about solar and renewable energy , that being said I'm open to volunteer as and when needed.

4. Coaching and development training  will go along way to help as well as the necessary structures to provide the right expose.

Thank you.

Hello, a pleasure, my name is Francia Serrano (Mx) - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/francia-serrano-836366228)

I'm very glad to share with you some ideas about the topic ...

1. What are you ready to offer to help shape a better digital future, as a young person?

Write about the transversalization of technology in multiple disciplines such as politics, economics, geography, ethics, etc. It is important to give more emphasis on its applicability in other fields in order to make more nourishing and analytical essays oriented to good practices.  

2. How do you see the contribution of youth to the work needed across the board, in different sectors (e.g., education, health, science and technology, entrepreneurship) and at different levels (e.g., local, national, regional, international)?

Creation of content on paradiplomacia.org about Smart Cities oriented to underdeveloped countries, but above all, localities that seek to develop through an innovative and creative vision, aware of the importance of knowledge and the culture of entrepreneurship. 

3. What concrete actions are you committed to engage in?
I feel very committed to fostering discussion in science to promote a knowledge-based economy and, on the other hand, to encourage women in the area of science and technology. 

 4.  What resources would you need to make a meaningful              contribution to a better digital future?

Discussion circles | Webinars | Pedagogical courses | Platforms for dissemination 

I believe I would be in a good position to offer information. Having had a background eduction in ICT and coding, I can pass it on to other youth without  it. I am also willing to hold information sessions, seminars, meets and others on how to better navigate digital spaces and hold a better internet citizenship. Knowledge and awareness are greater drivers to take better actions and build a better digital future. I also enjoy using the Internet for awareness and so running a social media page, a website or a blog would be incredible. Youth could contribute as consultants or as delegates to advocate for a better digital future. There are organisations in my country that take responsibility in bridging the technology gap between users and non-users, as a youth Envoy I believe I could approach such organisations to propose to work with them. For more things to be done I think the resources I would need would be for the youth i would be trying to convey information to; they would need internet connection if we operate online and a place to continuously go to if in person

I think the world is moving at a very fast pace, getting economies interconnected and digitalising the world in a bid to enhance globalization. Personally, as a 24-year-old youth, I believe it is part of my mandate to help increase the awareness of digital technology tools along with providing means of adoption and usage where ever I may find myself.

I think young people are key drives to the above mentioned. Fortunately, a number of us were born in an age of computers and have a higher IT literacy rate compared to the older generation. I believe our contribution as youth should go into understanding the digital world and the future we can create with it while being able to integrate that knowledge into their daily activities at home/ work, This will help in a better technology transition amongst others.

I am currently committed to mentoring. a few Tech enthusiasts, interested in or having gained an initial background in technology. I assist in helping see their dreams in the IT Sector come true, with a bit of guidance.

As for resources to make a meaningful contribution, it defers from idea to idea and under pressure, Personally, I would need resources, both financial and in-kind, a support system, be it, teams, to help in awareness creation or digital education and a good vision and team to help push it through to the end.

-MrFianko

Hello, I am Maria Luiza and as a 19 year old girl I believe that talking about digital is talking about the future. In a world where every day a new tool appears like digital arts and complex systems it is important that the population is increasingly aware of this matter. 

I believe that all young people and people in general can contribute. Especially the young people who are the most willing and engaged digitally and physically in the most diverse political issues. But it is necessary to do more, to educate the population through free content talking about technology and how politics and technology are facilities for a better and more democratic world. It is necessary to open debates and digital polls to inform and discuss contemporary issues and through these safe platforms bring the people closer to the political sphere. I had the opportunity to be part of an NGO focused on education completely remotely using technology to educate and connect children from different parts of São Paulo, Brazil. So I think I can transmit this small but very important experience.

For these ideas to become reality financial support is needed to sponsor NGOs and free educational content. It will be needed as well a voting app or digital resources to bring politics to reach the general public. And a safe and well structured platform for debates without disrespecting individual rights.

What. A. Week. (or two!). This consultation went above and beyond any expectations and this is all thanks to the inspiring young people who have been commenting and participating, sharing inputs, insights, and engaging in this process of co-learning and co-creation! Let's do a recap of what the youth is saying about our role in the digital transformation ;) To make it easier to navigate, I divided it into five topics: ICTs and gender equality; ICTs for development; Youth, technology and sustainability; Young people in leadership positions; and Education and digital skills. 

ICTs and gender equality

@Ntein has shared her experience working with Data Girl Technologies and increasing the representation of girls in the tech ecosystem. @Lucia showed us how to meaningfully engage with public policy by sharing some of her conquests and obstacles working at the Masvingo City Council, such as the need to increase awareness of sexual health and rights, decrease stigma related to people with HIV, and educating women on their rights. @Hannah focused on the importance of digital literacy and the need to educate girls and persons with disabilities on how to leverage technology for their own wellbeing, but brought attention to the obstacles of doing so in a low-resource setting. @Ifebuchechukwu mentioned how she’d like to encourage other young women and people with disabilities to take part in digital training programs, which should be easily accessible and affordable. 

ICTs for development

@Haruna gave us some hope regarding achieving meaningful youth connectivity in developing countries by presenting their project focused on subsidizing the cost of internet data bundles, equalizing ownership of digital assets, and developing digital skills. @Alexa brought attention to her position as a Latin American woman on the transformative power of ICTs for development and the need of having voices like hers heard in policy discussions. @Leonard said something very important: the youth comes with a more socially conscious mind, and when that’s combined with quality education, we see the transformative power of technology for societal good.

Youth, technology and sustainability

@David raised a point about the interconnectedness of technology and sustainability and the need to bridge the gap between hard sciences and social sciences in order to generate meaningful change. Along the same lines, @Karina mentioned how digital inequality will harm cohesion and disrupt the green transition needed to face climate change. Additionally, she also raised an important point on the lack of discussion spaces for young people to connect and influence policy-making. @Olaitan complements Karina’s point by stating that there is no way to achieve sustainability if young people are not placed across boards. 

Young people in leadership positions

For @Ursul, young people are extremely capable of leading important decisions taken in the developmental sphere, sometimes even more than older generations who sometimes lack an innovative mindset. @Jose would agree: he believes it is our responsibility as young, connected persons to enable the use of digital fora to create a viable environment for young people to get our voices across - just like we have been doing on social media very effectively. It all comes down to the fact that more trust is needed in young people to lead, design and implement programs. On the other hand, @Melanie raised an important question regarding the burden put on young people to lead their own emancipation by asking ‘why not put the onus of action on those who already have power?’. There are indeed obstacles when generating meaningful youth engagement, as @Martha mentioned, because it also happens that there is not enough awareness on the transformative power of digital tools due to a constrained [sociopolitical] environment. @Henrique’s contribution, as a young person, would be to share knowledge and experience of technology and in the digital world for people who did not have access and/or do not know how to enjoy this digital environment. Moreover, technology and democracy should walk together if we want to build a healthy political environment. Indeed, @Mariela mentioned how laws (bad and good ones) can highly influence the outcomes of our future digital world - and how important it is for the youth to have a say in them. As a young policymaker and social media geek, @Juan said that we need to take advantage of social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to raise awareness among our communities of the advantages and risks related to our digital future. However, it should not be limited to that: governments and businesses should invite the youth to the policymaking process. Additionally, he suggested that we create a LinkedIn group amongst the consultation participants and other young people to exchange our thoughts on the digital future (I’m down!). 

Education and digital skills

@iIabella brought up the power of effective communication and better education, as the youth lacks opportunity and encouragement - but not capacity! @Margaret is educating young fellows the importance of data safety, privacy and cybersecurity! @Juancortes explains that the digital world represents a new sociopolitical and cultural reality, so our current references to understand reality are not sufficient there. New ways of understanding the digital sphere will help us understand the information presented online and overcome the problems of disinformation, "Fake news" and manipulation that we’ve been enduring. For @Khanimnisa we need to gather experts from different sectors to make information, experiences, and practices available to the next generations. Moreover, we need to overcome cultural barriers when it comes to access to digital tools, which end up preventing young girls from engaging in the digital transformation. 

Finally, @Luis gave us a very beautiful personal perspective on the power of the internet as an arena for breaking important social barriers, such as lgbtphobia, gender inequalities, and the marginalization of vulnerable populations. They shared their experience finding themselves as a non-binary person through the internet and also using this arena to speak up about their identity and experiences. For them (and many of us), the change will only happen when us, young people, occupy positions of influence and power, and when we’re able to bring young, queer, black, and indigenous people to the table and let them speak. A super insightful comment which I would love to have up on my wall so I never forget what is the core of what me and so many other young people are doing here: being the vector of change. In Luis’ words: “Is not that we come with "fresh eyes", but we come with an honest and authentic lens - we are only trying to be true to ourselves and our values."

Having inspiring discussions like the ones we are having here are only possible thanks to the diversity of the participants: in only one week we managed to gather young people from Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Ghana, France, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Central African Republic, Brazil, Colombia, Uganda, and Azerbaijan. A beautiful Global South representation that warms my heart! Thank you all for the amazing comments, and stay tuned to see the outcomes of our exchanges in the Youth Call to Action that will be presented to world leaders at the ITU Generation Connect Youth Summit in Kigali, Rwanda next month!!! 

With lots of love,

Luísa

1.As a future of networks enthusiast,  I take keen interest and pay much attention to how the rapid evolution of mobile networks can be transformed into products that benefits community. I currently work on the deployment of Vodafone Ghana's rural telephony and digital inclusion projects and I seek to leverage on learnings from this role to a propose and see the implementation of solutions that further bridges the digital divide for rural and peri-urban areas.

2.As youth, we hold a special super power of "abundance of knowledge and skills". We are strategically situated in an evolution to digital. Our role is to harmonise these superpowers and drive digital in all sectors of the economy.

3. It is my priority to develop my capacity by jumping at any and every opportunity to learn skills to help me lead the digital agenda. I also seek to engage in conversations that yield results in rallying the youth aboard the digital train. Lastly, I seek to impact others with the knowledge I have gained so the mission rippled down to my peers and colleagues.

4. Capacity building opportunities and trainings to help prototype ideas on open-markets.
A forum such us this where youth get to interact on special topics directed at addressing challenges of a better digital future.

Hello all. My name is Nicholas Gasani, I am 21 years old and a civil engineering with major in environmental engineering from the National University of Rwanda and based in Kigali Rwanda.  I am thrilled Generation Connect is coming to Rwanda in June and hopefully i can meet some of you. My inputs on this are:

1. What are you ready to offer to help shape a better digital future, as a young person? I would raise awareness in my circle of influence on the need for digital skills for youth and integrate digital skills into our everyday learning/professional training.
2. How do you see the contribution of youth to the work needed across the board, in different sectors (e.g., education, health, science and technology, entrepreneurship) and at different levels (e.g., local, national, regional, international)? There is a need to involve the youth in national digital policymaking.  This includes making sector-specific policies for example in education, health, etc. For example in Rwanda, there is a Smart Rwanda Digital policy https://www.minict.gov.rw/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=1113&token=6bd5d… and currently working on a new policy.  This involvement of youth can be replicated in regional policies ( eg Smart Africa Alliance digital policies for Africa) and through the African Union at the continental level.
3. What concrete actions are you committed to engaging in? As a youth, I commit to being an active participant in the national digital policy process whenever we the youth are called upon.  

My name is Martin Atsu Cudjoe. A telecom engineer and system administrator from Ghana. I'm really happy and proud to be a part of this discussion.

1. As a young person in other to shape a digital future, I am ready to invest time, energy and resources in creating free video contents and ebooks that will be centered on educating and training of people on the need to acquire digital knowledge and skills and how to apply these skills in the digital world in which we find ourselves.

2. The youth's contribution to the work in all the various sectors and levels is really encouraging because more of them find their selves in these various working space and environment. Also more of them genuinely care and will go that extra mile to contribute to a cause that affects society. Some youth have the ability to take risk and deal with uncertainty with the hope that this will lead to larger good. Lastly many youth have a certain kind of resilience and optimism that creates an atmosphere conducive to positive change. 

3. Creating more videos contents and books by practicing my skills over time and also follow current tech trends on an ongoing basis

4. Bigger platforms that will make big impact by sharing more of my contents. 

Hi, my name is Helena Amoah, a 22 year old communication student at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.??

Young people are key in every area of development, especially in digitalization. I have been following active youth participation in digital issues and I would like to commend some young people from Generation Unlimited and PwC who have brought up an initiative known as Youth Series as a means to amplify reflections of young people about the digital divide.

Their activities have influenced and shaped my decisions as a young in a seemingly digital era.

Also, I am a member of Curious Minds, a youth driven organization and I am a radio host for their Youth Action on Radio Central, Curious Minds and Gems of our time on Uniiq FM ( all GBC radio stations) where on several occasions, have discussed youth participation in collectively achieving a digital future.

As a young person who wants to make the world a better place, I am willing to take up volunteering opportunities to acquire digital training and skills to impact the lives of others especially those deprived of digitalization.

Through my upcoming TV program (Let's talk SDG) on GTV, one of the national television channels of the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation, my team and I will educate the general public on what digitalization is, the need for a digital future and how we can collectively achieve a digital future.

We would also conduct SDG GENIUS COMPETITION where young people with innovations (including innovations for a digital future) to make the world a better place can compete and receive support. We would only need sponsors and partners to make this possible