Head of The IGF Secretariat Speaks About the Role of Youth in Internet Governance Issues

"Young people are tomorrow's leaders and it is critical that they should be engaged in the global public policy discourse today to bring us closer to a safe, secure, sustainable and reliable Internet for all," said Chengetai Masango, head of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat, in an interview he recorded especially for the participants of the First Youth Internet Governance Forum (Youth RIGF).

Masango also urged young people to become more involved in IGF processes and to bring up more often for discussion the issues that are of most interest to them. Engaging young people is one of the IGF's priorities right now, and the secretariat is doing all it can to ensure that as many young people as possible take part in the upcoming Internet Governance Forum to be held in Poland in December. There is a Youth Coalition for Internet Governance (YCIG) within the IGF, as well as several national youth initiatives. A similar youth initiative was created in Russia, which has led to the First Youth Internet Governance Forum.

According to the head of the IGF Secretariat, we live at a very critical time for the Internet when the direction of its development will depend on the decisions that are being made now. Moreover, the Internet still has a lot of untapped potential. That is why young people should be part of the Internet governance process because they can offer an unconventional and unique perspective on the problems of the Web, and help find ways to solve these problems.

Watch the full interview with Chengetai Masango here.