Toronto, June 9 (IPS) – “50 percent of the present, but 100 percent of the future,” was the chorus at the first ever Generation Connect Global Youth Summit.
Held in Kigali, Rwanda, June 2-4, youth summit saw community activists, entrepreneurs, engineers, policy makers and students from over 115 countries discuss digital divide and youth engagement. Another 4,800 people joined virtually from research centres, universities and schools.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for information and communications technology, hosted the summit. It serves as a construction for ITU’s World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC), to be held two days after the conference, from 6 to 16 June.
Delegates at the conference emphasized the need for young people to be seen as equal partners in decision-making, especially around issues related to their future.
Climate activist Xiye Bastida said: “We know that young people will be most affected by issues like the climate crisis.
The discussion also centered around bridging the digital divide. Like the WTDC that followed, the theme of the summit was “connecting the unconnected to achieve sustainable development.”
During the opening ceremony, Prime Minister of Rwanda Édouard Ngirente comment on the benefits of ubiquitous digital technology in everyday life. However, the Prime Minister also noted that many people are missing out on the advantages of technological innovation.
More than 2.2 billion children and young people globally lack of internet connection at home. Among them, 350 million young people have never accessed the Internet.
“The digital economy is evolving rapidly, with almost every aspect of our lives moving online and huge economic opportunities created. The opportunities ahead are truly promising. appointments, but to make the most of these opportunities, we must ensure that no one is left behind.” he say.
Ngirente mentioned that the lack of equitable access to technology has posed challenges to economic development and youth employment rates.
“The extent to which our economy can grow will depend on our ability to ensure equitable access to technology as well as upskill and upskill our people, especially those who are living in poverty,” he said. young people”.
Currently, access to the internet connection is not equal. Accessibility depends on factors such as income, demographics, and gender.
For example, only 15 percent of women and girls Heidi Schroderus-Fox, United Nations Acting High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing Countries, said in the least developed countries internet use .
“There’s a huge gap,” said Schroderus-Fox. “We need to ensure that the opportunities of the internet and the digital world are provided equally to everyone, women, girls, men, boys, everyone.”
Important policy issues related to internet connectivity and technology, such as cybersecurity, the future of work and entrepreneurship, were also explored during the summit sessions. The need for youth participation on these policy issues remained an essential theme throughout the event.
Emma Theofelus, 26, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technology in Namibia, talked about how young people are best positioned to discuss regulations around online work and business-driven content creation. their experience in navigating online spaces.
“Policy should take center stage. However, beyond that, it’s a policy that should be co-created by young people. We understand best the complexities and challenges of online platforms as well. like the harms that can come with it,” she said.
Emphasis on youth engagement is central to the summit outcome document — of Connecting Generations Call to action. “Our Digital Future” lists recommendations to promote better youth participation in government, UN and ITU decisions for “a sustainable digital future, more comprehensive”.
Delivering the Call to Action, Rwandan Youth Minister Rosemary Mbabazi highlighted the document as an important step towards more digital inclusion.
“The Call to Action represents a call to young minds, global partners, the private sector, and a commitment to making internet connectivity accessible, available and affordable.” through creating and enabling environments and providing prerequisite infrastructure for young people to invent and innovate,” she said.
Although the Call to Action has been in place since 2020 and went through an extensive online consultation process, it was finalized during the summit. There, attendees reviewed the document and made suggestions for improvement.
One suggestion is to refer to the gender minority along with the sexual minority. Another measure is to swap the phrase “digital rights” for “human rights” to promote the urgency of the issue for policymakers and to use established language for legal documents. international Version.
The Generation Connectivity Call to Action was presented to leaders at WTDC.
Report of the United Nations Office IPS
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