In an effort to promote digital citizenship among youth by accentuating this global discourse with relevant local context while amplifying local interests to the global stage, the Forum bridges youth in Hong Kong with the broader Asia community and the global dialogue.
Recognized by the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF) Secretariat, HKyIGF also prepares participants to engage in the upcoming regional Youth IGF (yIGF.Asia) and Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF).
The first HKyIGF was initiated by NetMission.Asia in 2010 after a group of young ambassadors attended the 2009 UN IGF. Realizing the importance of the engagement with, and by, youth for being one of the major Internet stakeholders consistently, the NetY Programme was launch, which then re-introduced as HKyIGF from 2016.
香港社會普遍對網絡管治比較新鮮,但原來在國際舞台上早已對此多加關注。作為一名中學生,參與聯合國網絡管治論壇的確是一種思想上的衝擊。
在IGF會場上眾持份者來自全球各地,他們都懷著同一信念:推動數碼化的多元社會。他們涵蓋不同專業領域,更於多年來累積寶貴經驗,而我這個地方青年大使,首次參與如此大型盛事,卻是相形見絀。然而,網絡管治論壇上的每位,異常歡迎像我一樣的新面孔,在圓桌上帶出年輕一代的觀點與角度,使光譜更為擴闊。青年的力量不能小覷,論壇裡不少工作坊都是由青年主導。我們在那裡交流經驗,取各地之長,補本地之短。短短數日活動,我已與不同人士結下了深厚友誼,成為了親切的伙伴和朋友。
HKYIGF 2017 青年代表
蔡伯賢 CHOI Pak Yin
聖言中學 Sing Yin Secondary School /
香港中文大學 - 政治與行政學系
The NetY Programme organized by NetMission and Chinese YMCA in 2013 was the precursor of HKYIGF for secondary students, which was the stepping stone for my involvement in internet governance. I faced a lot of difficulties in the process because the workshops were conducted in Cantonese but I had very supportive team mates and mentors that helped me along the way.
Before joining the programme, I didn’t know anything about Internet Governance but doing the research essay and also attending the IGF 2013 in Bali has given me a lot of first-hand exposure. I have been in this journey for four years now.
Over the years, I have become a participant, an organizer, a speaker and now a MAG member because I received mentorship advice, training workshops and also participate in discussions. I hope that youth will continue to be involved in Internet Governance because it’s a very big area but each one is close to our lives and affect us in many different ways.
NetY Ambassador 2013
Jianne Soriano
Hong Kong Baptist University /
International Journalism
It is an extraordinary experience to jump into a facilitator role directly without ever being a participant. In general, I enjoyed dedicating myself into Internet Governance campaign. It is my pleasure to be part of NetMission of 2018 cohort and was granted this opportunity to make impacts on Internet Governance topics I am passionate about at HKyIGF 2019. I am glad that all of us have gained insights from the event. Looking forward to the next one in 2020!
NetMission Ambassador 2018
Jasmine Ko
Lingnan University / Chinese
is a network of young ambassadors dedicated to engage and empower youth around Asia on the Internet Governance discourse. Established in 2009, we are the pioneers on youth engagement in Internet Governance and sparked the movement worldwide. We founded the Asia Pacific Youth IGF in 2010 which is held annually in different economies around Asia since then. We also piloted the model ICANN meeting in 2014 and now being deployed in various youth Internet conferences and trainings.
Edmon Chung is the CEO for DotAsia Organisation and heads the secretariat for the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF). Edmon is a veteran in the Internet community and participates extensively on Internet governance issues with leadership positions at various International working groups. He is currently serving on the board of the Internet Governance Forum Support Association (IGFSA), and the Executive Committee of Internet Society Hong Kong, which serves as the secretariat for the Asia Pacific Regional At-Large Organisation (APRALO) of Internet Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). He is also the pioneer of Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) technology and the current vice-chair of the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG).
"You can make an impact for how the Internet works and how you will work on the Internet into the future! Your view matters, you are the first digital native generation and you are the experts. Tell the world what you think!"
We are looking for support and partners to help us scale the event and enhance our impact.
If you share the same vision of empowering youth participation on internet development policy, we are happy to meet you!
For any enquiries about HKyIGF, please do let us know via email at [email protected] or fill out the form below.
Join us being a young leader in Asia and express your views on Internet governance today !