Introduction
The 10th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), under the auspices of the United Nations, will be held in João Pessoa, Brazil, from 10 to 14 November 2015.
In January 2015, the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) agreed that one of the big impacts to push for at the upcoming Global IGF is to increase the youth participation from the LAC region. Therefore, it has approved the creation of the Working Group to Foster Latin America Youth Participation, in terms of Resolution CGI.br/RES/2015/003
CGI.br and Internet Society (ISOC) have extensive experience in providing capacity building on Internet Governance through online courses and fellowship to previous IGFs.
Therefore, CGI.br and ISOC have combined efforts to put together a program called Youth@IGF, aiming to empower the next generation of leaders and increase the participation of young leaders from Latin America and the Carribbean in the debates about Internet Governance.
Moreover, the Youth@IGF is inspired by the sucessfull experience from several nacional and international initiatives, such as NetMission.asia, INSAFE, Dínamo and SaferNet Brasil, that together with other companies (Google, Intel and Yahoo) have already supported and will join the program.
About the program
The program will be comprised of 3 main phases: online course, discussion tracks and travel fellowship to IGF 2015.
Online course
There will be 120 selected participants for the online course, that will take 4 weeks, and includes the following modules:
- Introduction to Internet Governance
- Internet Actors and Stakeholder Groups
- Internet Infrastructure, Standards, and Protocols
- Internet Policy Principles
Selected candidates will be divided into classes of 30 participants, and each group will have a dedicated moderator to facilitate the learning process. The online course will be delivered in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Discussion tracks
All selected participants will be invited to choose one of the discussion tracks to continue the discussions in one of the specific áreas:
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Privacy and Security
- Internet Governance
Each track will contain updated and interactive materials to allow dynamic discussions with the group, and some webinars with experts from each thematic area will be organized. Each track will also have at least one facilitator assigned to follow the group discussions. It will be held in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Travel Fellowship
Among the participants of the Youth@IGF program, 50 young leaders will be selected for the travel fellowship, taking into consideration those who demonstrate leadership, commitment and dedication. There will be specific activities onsite, including a group meeting and mentorship activities to support engagement at the IGF. The fellowship includes airfare costs and hotel accommodation during the event.
Timeline
July 17 - August 09: submissions to the Youth@IGF program
14 August: announcement of the selected candidates
17 August: start of the online course
18 September: end of the online course
21 September: start of the discussions tracks
09 October: announcement of the selected candidates for the Travel Fellowship to IGF 2015
Ready to join the Youth@IGF program?
Apply here:
https://cursoseventos.nic.br/turma/inscrever/programa-youth-igf-t1
Applications will be accepted until 09 August 2015.
Selection criteria
All applicants must be between the ages of 18-25 years and must have demonstrated:
- A basic awareness of, and interest in, Internet-related issues;
- Fluency in English, Portuguese, or Spanish;
- Good writing and argumentation skills, to prepare reports and defend positions;
- Regular access to the Internet;
- Alignment with the Internet principles, particularly the NetMundial principles and the CGI.br principals
- Minimum of 8 hours commitment per week during each of the phases and readiness to participate in the online meetings/webinars (this is perhaps the single most important requirement and should be evaluated seriously by any potential applicant).
The selection committee will also attempt to achieve professional, geographical, and gender diversity in the overall selections.
Important: There will be an additional selection process for the third phase (Travel Fellowship), available only for the Youth LAC selected participants who have accomplished the activities with a minimum of 90% participation rate.
Ready to join the Youth@IGF program?
Apply here: https://cursoseventos.nic.br/turma/inscrever/programa-youth-igf-t1Applications will be accepted until 09 August 2015.