October 2022
The 5th edition of the annual Youth IGF India was organised at KRB auditorium by the Youth IGF India organising committee on 25 September with immense support from Prof. Ramesh Loganathan and Open Source Developers Group (OSDG) as the student community partner. Youth Internet Governance Forum India is a platform recognized by the United Nations Internet Governance Forum and supported by India school on Internet Governance (InSIG). It engages the youth of India in dialogues around technology, policy, and society that include dimensions of data, trust, inclusion, and environment. Since 2018, they have organised five national annual forums in addition to capacity-building initiatives empowering 2000+ youth from across the country. Ihita Gangavarapu pursuing MS by research under the guidance of Dr. Sachin Chaudhari at SPCRC co-founded Youth IGF India in 2018. Shahul Hameed is the other co-founder. But he is not associated with Youth IGF India organizing committee, since 2020.
The event was supported by InSIG, Meta and sponsored by APNIC and FirebirdVR. Under the theme Empowering youth for a sustainable digital future, the forum had 100+ youth including 12 selected through the fellowship program from across the country representing diverse stakeholder groups to discuss technology and policy developments in internet governance. Several IIIT students engaged as delegates and volunteers. The event provided an opportunity for the youth to interact with like-minded people on various critical issues, such as digital inclusion, cybersecurity, emerging technologies and regulations, censorship, data governance, and opportunities for the youth.
Mr. Maarten Botterman, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board and Ms. Anja Gengo, NRI Initiative Coordinator at the United Nations IGF inaugurated the event. There were workshops, keynotes, panel discussions, and interactive classroom sessions. Key speakers included Dr. Bhagwan Chowdhry, Professor of Finance, ISB; Mr. Osama Manzar, Founder and Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation; Mr. Narendra Nath, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat; Dr. Sriram Birudavolu, CEO, Cyber Security Centre of Excellence DSCI; Ms. Rama Devi Lanka, Emerging Technologies, Government of Telangana; Ms. Amrita Choudhury, Director, CCAOI; Satish Babu, At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), ICANN; Mr. Anupam Agrawal, Specialist, ICT Legislation & Standards; and Mr. Srinivas Chendi, Senior Advisor for Policy and Community Development, APNIC.
Partners and Sponsors
The event saw support and partnership from:
- Recognized by: UN IGF
- Supported by: inSIG, Meta
- Host ISOC Chapter: Internet Society Hyderabad
- Sponsored by: APNIC, FirebirdVR
- Knowledge and Marketing Partner: Cybersecurity CoE Telangana DSCI
- Community Partners: Software Freedom Law Centre, India (SFLC.in)
- Student Community Partners: OSDG, IIIT Hyderabad
Connect with Youth IGF India
Reach out at: youthigfindia@gmail.com.
Subscribe to their mailing list for updates and opportunities for all interested in technology and policy: https://mailman.apnic.net/postorius/lists/yigf_india.youthigf.in/
Photo credits: Brahad Kokad, Shreyas Sinha (UG at IIIT Hyderabad)