Liberia Youth IGF 2024 Concept Note
Date: July 23, 2024; 1:45 pm – 5:00 pm TBC.
Hybrid Event: Hybrid /In-Person
Venue : TBC

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.

Liberia IGF, the national initiative (NRI) of the IGF process, has positioned itself as Liberia’s Premier Internet and Digital Policy Forum, having successfully held annual meetings of the National IGF in Liberia since 2020. Liberia IGF continues to open up the space for new voices and champion the capacity development of many through the annual Liberia Youth Internet Governance Forum in partnership with key local and international stakeholders to host it annually such Meta , ICANN and IGFSA and the UN IGF based in Geneva, Switzerland. Many beneficiaries of this program have been youth from various stakeholder groups who have since been meaningfully engaged in subsequent National and Regional IGFs.

Liberia Youth IGF
Young people are key stakeholders in the IGF ecosystem as they represent a significant portion of Liberia’s population. The IGF secretariat has recognized the importance of meaningful youth participation in 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 substantive discussions 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.

Liberia 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 Liberia IGF in partnership with industry stakeholders to address key Internet issues. Following the success of previous editions, this year’s Liberia Youth IGF 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. The outcomes of the forum will feed into the annual 5th edition of the Liberia IGF 2024.

Theme
This year’s theme for the 2024 Liberia Youth IGF will be : TBC/announce

Sub-themes
The sub-themes prioritized for discussion, which will help in framing the discussions, are:
1. Digital Literacy and Inclusion: Ensuring all Liberian youth have the skills and access needed to participate in the digital economy.
2. Youth in Digital Policy Making: Encouraging young people to actively engage in the creation and implementation of digital policies.
3. Cybersecurity Awareness: Equipping youth with knowledge to protect themselves and their communities from digital threats.
4. Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among young Liberians.

Expected Outcomes
The main outcome of the Liberia Youth IGF is to maximize opportunities for open and inclusive dialogue and the exchange of ideas on Internet Governance (IG) related issues relevant to young people. Other outcomes 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 2024 Liberia Youth IGF targets 70 participants, including individuals representing various sectors such as government, private sector, civil society, technical, and academic communities, as well as 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 and moderated plenary discussions.

Agenda
TBC