THEME: “Internet United: The Role of Youth”
Background and Introduction
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. The forum is held in an informal setting, free from binding negotiations. It brings together all stakeholders from government, private sector, technical community, academia and civil society to discuss Internet governance issues on an equal footing through an open and inclusive process. This type of cooperative engagement is referred to as the multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance, which is one of the key features for the Internet’s success.
Kenya IGF, the national initiative (NRI) of the IGF process has positioned itself as Kenya’s Premier Policy Forum having successfully held 14 annual meetings of the National IGF in Kenya since 2008. KenyaIGF hosted the global IGF Forum in 2011. Over the years, Kenya IGF has continued to open up the space for new voices and champion the capacity development of many through the annual Kenya School of Internet Governance that was launched in 2016. Majority of the beneficiaries of this program have been youth from various stakeholder groups who have since been meaningfully engaged in subsequent National and Regional IGFs.
Kenya YouthIGF
Young people are key stakeholders in the IGF ecosystem as they are the majority in Kenya, Africa and the world over. The IGF secretariat has since recognized the importance of meaningful youth participation at the IGF processes and promotes the strengthening of Youth IGF Initiatives. Youth Initiatives of the IGF are created with a goal of encouraging and involving young people in a substantive discussion on Internet governance. These forms, as well as the national, sub-regional and regional IGFs (NRIs), are expected to follow the main IGF principles of being open, inclusive, non-commercial with multi-stakeholder participation during the whole preparatory phase and the event itself, all in line with a bottom-up decision-making process.
Kenya Youth IGF is a youth-led structure to develop the capacity for coordinating, mobilizing and advocating for meaningful inclusion and engagement of young people in the Kenya IGF in partnership with industry stakeholders to address key Internet issues. This year’s Kenya YouthIGF aims at serving as an interactive discussion platform for organized youth participation from all stakeholder groups to bring up their ideas and concerns. The Forum will further create opportunities for networking, collaboration and creating long-term partnerships between key stakeholders and the community. This year, the YouthIGF is scheduled for 22nd September 2021. The outcomes of the forum will feed into the annual 15th edition of the Kenya IGF 2021 happening on 23rd September 2021.
Theme
This year’s theme for the Kenya YouthIGF will be “Internet United: The Role of Youth”
The sub-themes prioritized for discussion which will help in framing the discussions are:
- Data Governance – This session will provide for discussions on the fundamental challenge of ensuring the benefits of the data revolution to contribute to inclusive economic development while protecting the rights of people.
- Digital Inclusion – This session aims to provide a framework for assessing and considering the various elements and policies which can improve access to equitable opportunities in a digital age. Digital inclusion is about having the right access, skills, motivation and trust to confidently go online.
- Security, Stability, Safety and Resilience – This session will review potential risks to security and safety will be discussed from various angles with due consideration to how stability and resilience can be achieved. Strategies for protection of both systems and users will be addressed, taking into account a multidisciplinary perspective to potential solutions and the importance of stakeholder collaboration for responding to the growing range of threats to the global Internet and its users.
Expected Outcomes
The main outcome of the Kenya YouthIGF is to maximize opportunities for open and inclusive dialogue and the exchange of ideas on Internet Governance (IG) related issues relevant to the young people. Others include:
- Creation of opportunities to share best practices and experiences;
- Identification of emerging issues and bringing them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public;
- Contribution to capacity building for Internet governance.
Target Participants & Methodology
The Kenya YouthIGF targets 50 participants who will consist of individuals representing various sectors including government, the private sector, civil society, the technical and academic community, and the general public. The invitation to the event shall be open to all via a public link.
The format of the forum will include:
- Thematic Moderated Panel discussions.
- Moderated Plenary discussions.
Working Program
| Time | Agenda | Moderator |
| 13:45 – 13:50 | Mic set up and speaker briefing | Organising Team |
| 13:50 – 14:00 | Welcome and Introductions Welcome Remarks | Conference Moderator |
| 14:00 – 14:20 | Opening Remarks | Moderator: Keith Andere, African Youth Commission |
| 14:20 – 14:30 | Key Note AddressAnja Gengo, IGF Secretariat | Moderator: Keith Andere, African Youth Commission |
| 14:30 – 15:10 | Session One: Data Governance, Content Regulation and Consumer Rights Panel Discussion: Contributor | Moderator: |
| 15:10 – 15:50 | Session Two: Digital Inclusion, Universal access and meaningful connectivity Panel Discussion: Contributor | Moderator: |
| 15:50 – 16:30 | Session Three: Security, Stability, Safety and Resilience Panel Discussion: | Moderator: |
| 16:30 – 16:50 | Plenary Session: Emerging Issues Open Mic Forum | Moderator: |
| 16:50 – 17:00 | Closing and Way Forward Rapporteurs Summary Report Closing Remarks Vote of Thanks | Moderator: |