IGF Youth Ambassadors Program

Meet 2020 IGF Youth Ambassadors!

About the Program

Since 2019, the Internet Society has combined the IGF Ambassadors and [email protected] into a single program called IGF Youth Ambassadors.

Based on the great success of last year’s program, we offered this program in 2020 and continue to empower young adults from all around the world by:

Building their capacity through training
Fostering a new cadre of young Internet leaders who are motivated to learn, engage, and act within their region and beyond
Partnering with organizations to broaden the depth and breadth of the program
Reinforcing the importance of multi-disciplinary leaders in fostering the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet
Promoting youth citizenship, diplomacy, volunteerism and community service as key aspects of next generation leadership
Broadening their experience and enabling their participation in public policy debates
Providing them with opportunities to participate in the global Internet ecosystem and to interact and engage with the broader Internet Governance community
Increasing their visibility and preparing them to deliver more meaningful impacts at the local, regional and global levels
Mobilizing youth beyond Internet Governance specific topics

Meet our amazing 2020 Ambassadors

Program Components

A. 3-phase Selection Process

The selection process is conducted in three phases:

1. Online Applications

The first phase of the selection process is based on Online Applications.

All applicants must be:

Internet Society Members (if you are not a member yet, please, join us!)
Between 18-30 at the date of the IGF
Able to present a strong motivation for Internet Governance
Able to demonstrate interest and expertise in issues on the IGF agenda
Comfortable with public speaking and communicating positions
Able to demonstrate interest and experience in key Internet governance related issues
Capable of appropriately representing the Internet Society and its views and policies as an Ambassador during the IGF
Capable of continuing to work with the Internet Society locally after the IGF
Fluent in English
Able to spend a minimum of 6 hours each week during the eLearning Phase
Ready to take part in the meetings and webinars
Not been selected as Internet Society’s IGF Ambassador, [email protected] Fellow, or IGF Youth Ambassador before.

The selection committee, composed of Internet Society staff and Chapter/SIG Leaders, also attempts to achieve professional, geographical, and gender diversity in the overall selections.

2. Online Internet Governance Course

The applicants selected in phase 1 (up to 150 individuals) will take an online course on Internet Governance.

All participants will be grouped into classes, each with a dedicated expert moderator to facilitate the learning process. The top ones (up to 50) will proceed to the next phase.

3. Paper Writing

The top performers during the online course phase will be required to write a paper on an existing or emerging area in Internet Governance, leveraging the learnings from the course and Internet Society’s 2020 projects. The individuals who submit the best papers will be selected as IGF Youth Ambassadors.

After being selected

B. Webinar Series

The individuals who are selected as IGF Youth Ambassadors participate at Webinar Series led by global Internet Governance experts to deepen their knowledge, present their projects/ideas and be prepared for the IGF. In this year’s version, there will also be webinars on Internet Society 2020 Projects, specific sessions led by our partners (IBM, IEEE, Microsoft, Fundación Cibervoluntarios, UN DESA) and our sponsors (Amazon, Google and AT&T), and one training to staple soft-skills in the field of international relations and diplomacy run by Institut Open Diplomacy. Additionally, in the collaboration with the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance, the IGF Youth Ambassadors will be mentored before, during and after the IGF.

C. Attending the IGF

IGF Youth Ambassadors will attend the Internet Governance Forum in 2020 remotely due to COVID-19. They might also have an opportunity to attend the IGF physically in 2021 if there is an in-person event.

D. Collaborative Leadership Exchange

IGF Youth Ambassadors will attend a virtual dynamic leadership session with Internet Society community members, youth representatives from other programs, Internet Society staff and other IGF attendees. This session takes the form of an unconference, with the agenda being crowdsourced by attendees, and breakout groups facilitated to create pockets of common interest and interaction. The goal is to build/deepen relationships and foster community around youth engagement.

Would you like to support the program through sponsorship? Let’s discuss!

Meet 30 young changemakers who make up the 2020 cohort of the Internet Society’s IGF Youth Ambassadors Program.

Meet 2020 Ambassadors