From participants to contributors: Young people shaping digital future

"Embrace the new, pursue the good, and look to the future."

These were the three messages Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the World Internet Conference (WIC), shared with young people at the Youth and Digital Future Forum of the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit on Nov 5 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.

Under the theme "Collaboration, Inclusion, Creation," youth leaders selected for the 2026 WIC Global Youth Leadership Program joined government ministers and representatives of international organizations to discuss AI governance and international cooperation, digital inclusion and capacity building, and innovation in digital and intelligent technologies.

For the first time, the forum featured a dialogue between government ministers and WIC global youth leaders. It also included a cross-generational dialogue and a special youth dialogue on AI. Discussions ranged from AI governance and digital-intelligent technologies to digital inclusion and career opportunities for young people. Government officials shared policy perspectives, while young leaders brought practical experience to the table, creating an exchange of ideas across generations and borders.

Bringing young voices into digital governance

As AI rapidly reshapes existing rules and systems, what role should young people play? The discussions at the forum offered some answers.

The first dialogue brought together government officials from Uganda, Jordan, and Zambia, and three global youth leaders to explore how young people can participate in AI governance and help shape its development.

Ministers and WIC global youth leaders engage in a dialogue at the Youth and Digital Future Forum during the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 5. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

Young people need more than opportunities to participate; they need a role at the decision-making table.

"AI must be inclusive, and young people must be part of the decision-making process," said Alioni Yorke Odria, state minister for national guidance at Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and National Guidance of Uganda. "We need to involve young people and show them that their voices can be heard and can influence the formulation of regulatory policies."

"Young people are our future. They should not be excluded from digital governance but should be given a greater role in advising us," said Brilliant Habeenzu, permanent secretary of Zambia's Ministry of Technology and Science. Zambia has formulated an AI strategy and is using legal instruments to put it into practice.

"I am not here to lecture anyone. I want to share my experience and hear what the young leaders have to say," said Nooh Ali Mohammad Alshyab, commissioner of Jordan's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. Describing himself as belonging to an older generation, he said: "I may not appear as energetic as young people, but we have wisdom and experience." Jordan is passing that experience on to the next generation, with a young leader at the helm of the country's digital transformation.

Three youth leaders drew on their research and professional experience to address how young people can contribute to AI governance.

"What I have learned is not simply to listen to what technology promises or what solutions it can offer. We also need to ask how a system actually works, who is responsible when something goes wrong, what the consequences are, and, above all, what it means for people," said Laura Iancu, a WIC global youth leader from Romania and founder and director of Diplomats.Digital, who focuses on digital diplomacy and institutional capacity building.

Referring to the Latam-GPT project, jointly led by Chile's National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Brazil, Ignacio Araya, a WIC global youth leader from Chile and director of CityDiplomacy.org, said it had opened up opportunities for young researchers. "It gives young researchers in Latin America an opportunity to work with their Chinese counterparts on open-source models."

"Radio-frequency spectrum does not stop at national borders, neither do satellite beams," said Flora L. Okine, a junior support officer at the International Telecommunication Union. Using spectrum management as an example, she explained that countries need to coordinate within common technical frameworks and rules. "AI governance works in the same way, because AI development also crosses borders."

Turning innovation into solutions for real-world problems

If participation in governance is about how young people can influence the digital future, technological innovation shows the world what they can do.

The second dialogue brought together three government officials and three young innovators to discuss AI applications in agriculture, transportation, climate governance, and other fields.

Ministers and WIC global youth leaders engage in a dialogue at the Youth and Digital Future Forum during the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 5. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

The value of innovation lies not only in the technology itself, but also in its ability to solve real-world problems.

"I am impressed by the experience and achievements of the WIC global youth leaders in different fields," said Odria from Uganda, while emphasizing that technological innovation must be grounded in rigorous research and professional advice. "Every contribution you make must be evidence-based — supported by research and expert consultation and advice."

Habeenzu, from Zambia, focused on the potential of technology to improve public services. "Young people can help governments improve social governance and people's daily lives." However, he cautioned against pursuing efficiency at the expense of other considerations. New solutions must be built on trust, mutual confidence, and accountability, while safeguarding personal privacy and data security, he said. "To make a new solution work, we first need to ensure that it is genuinely useful, accountable, and trustworthy."

Alshyab, from Jordan, illustrated the pace of technological change with a personal memory from his studies in Germany in the 1990s. At the time, international calls were expensive, and a phone card could buy only three minutes of conversation. Today, he joked, "If I want to see my children at home, I just open my phone, and there they are."

From phone cards to smartphones, technology has transformed everyday life. Yet, in Alshyab's view, the digital journey is far from over. "We are only at the beginning of technological exploration."

The young innovators offered concrete examples of how technology can address practical needs.

"Food security must come first. Whatever line of work you are in, everyone needs food," said Lilan Dayananda, CEO and managing director of Elzian Agro. "Agriculture is directly connected to what we eat, and we need to think more about farmers, who put food on our tables." His team helps farmers assess soil quality and crop conditions and increase yields through automated irrigation.

"Our job is not simply to teach students what is written in textbooks. It is to turn the equations and formulas in those books into real-world applications," said Liu Hui, a professor at Central South University. Liu applies digital twin technology in areas such as transportation and energy. The technology has been deployed in more than 50 countries and regions, with related patents filed in China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Russia, Singapore, and Australia.

"We want solutions to be accessible to the public and benefit everyone — easy to use, affordable, and backed by solid evidence," said Natalia Mykhaylova, founder and CEO of WeavAir. She explained that her team combines satellite remote-sensing data with high-resolution imagery to identify climate risks such as floods, wildfires, and heat waves, helping cities and communities strengthen climate resilience. Its solutions have benefited six countries. For technology to make a real difference, she said, "both the public and governments need to be able to use these solutions."

Bridging the digital divide across generations

How far we advance into the digital future depends on how many people we leave behind.

According to the International Telecommunication Union's Facts and Figures 2026 report, around two billion people worldwide remained unconnected to the internet in 2026. This digital divide has thus become the starting point for the forum's cross-generational dialogue, which brought together Francis Gurry, vice-chair of the WIC, and Jovan Kurbalija, founding director of DiploFoundation and head of the Geneva Internet Platform, with four WIC global youth leaders.

Participants engage in a cross-generational dialogue at the Youth and Digital Future Forum during the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 5. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

"Globally, gaps and barriers in technology are widening rather than narrowing," Gurry said, identifying open source as one of the key factors in preventing the divide from growing. He also noted that many leading universities offer free online courses. "Making these resources freely available is one way to enable young people to participate."

"Young people should have the opportunity to explore, make mistakes and imagine, just as we did when we were young," Kurbalija said. Drawing on his experience in helping diplomats build their capabilities since 1992, he proposed a practical approach: establishing an AI apprenticeship model that enables people to create an AI agent in just five or 10 minutes. "Learning with the help of agents can help people overcome the limitations of their own knowledge."

The youth leaders offered perspectives on the digital divide from their own regions and professional experience.

"There is a mindset today of using technology rather than creating it," said Shirley S. Herrera, founder and CEO of Excelsior Academy. From an economic perspective, she described the challenges facing smaller Latin American countries. "We are simply adopting technologies developed elsewhere, but the people who create them do not necessarily take our local needs into account." She also pointed to young people's anxiety about having to learn more and more to feel adequately prepared. AI, she said, offers them an opportunity to move beyond being merely learners and technology users.

"AI is also widening certain gaps and divisions around the world," said Nurbolat Nyshanbayev, director of the Higher School of International Relations and Diplomacy of Turan University. While some communities enjoy high-speed internet access, others remain disconnected, and some countries have already developed advanced AI models. "When it comes to AI, humanity knows no national boundaries." He added that "now is the time for us to forge a new compact with AI."

"The most urgent task is to coordinate AI governance with capacity building," said Lyantoniette Chua, founder of Asia Affairs AI. AI could help support cancer treatment and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, she noted, but warned that malicious uses of the technology could also create global crises, including biomedical and pandemic-related risks.

"In my country, The Gambia, not everyone has embraced AI. I have to convince people that AI is unavoidable and cannot simply be restricted, and that those who do not use it risk falling behind," said Ousman Bajinka, a senior lecturer at the University of The Gambia. Drawing on the example of a laboratory test report in a hospital, he stressed that young people need access to data platforms and systems. "We need to draw on the wisdom of older generations while harnessing the technological capabilities and enthusiasm of the younger generation."

Redefining the future of work in the age of AI

Technology may replace humans in performing tasks, but it cannot replace human judgment, empathy, or the ability to ask the right questions.

The special youth dialogue on AI brought together six WIC global youth leaders from government agencies, legal and ethics research institutes, and the business sector to discuss youth positioning and career opportunities in the AI era.

WIC global youth leaders engage in a special youth dialogue on AI at the Youth and Digital Future Forum during the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 5. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

WIC global youth leaders engage in a special youth dialogue on AI at the Youth and Digital Future Forum during the 2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 5.

"Data center capacity in Africa accounts for only 0.6 percent of the global total," said Nuwoe Kellen, chief of staff and principal budget analyst of the Liberian Legislature. She noted that by 2030, about 2,000 to 3,000 digital skills jobs would be needed to remain competitive. The starting point, she said, should be teacher training. This would help students avoid accepting AI-generated information at face value and instead learn to assess and verify information while preserving their creativity.

"We are not just users of AI; we are also creators of AI," said a legal and ethics expert in new technologies at the Law and Internet Foundation from Bulgaria. Referring to UNESCO's AI competency framework, she identified three key pillars: understanding, applying, and creating. "Critical thinking, empathy, collaboration, and creativity — these soft skills are what distinguish us from machines." Her advice to young people was simple: Stay curious.

"We do not lack talent. Talent is everywhere. What we lack is resources and tools. In some places, what is missing is even internet access," said Marco Mendieta, president and founder of Misión Ecuador Foundation. He suggested looking at employment from a different perspective: Rather than simply seeking better jobs for people, young people should "create new opportunities and jobs for themselves and for those around them."

"When you actually put AI into practice, you realize that these positions require people with higher-level skills to make decisions that AI cannot," said Hassan Al-Shama, founder and CEO of SupraOS and Hylman Group. He cautioned that AI is good at generating answers, but "once an answer is wrong, that error can lead to a chain of further mistakes." The ability to make such judgments, he said, "can only come from human experience."

"AI gives people enormous power to shape the future, so we must exercise greater caution," said Antonino Emanuele Scurria, an MSCA PhD student at Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He outlined several steps for young people: First find their direction, then set their goals, and work steadily toward them. "Determination alone is not enough. We also need patience and courage."

"On the one hand, AI may take many people's jobs and lead to unemployment. On the other, if used well, it can also create many new jobs," said the CEO and founder of Surplus Indonesia. He introduced an AAC framework — Accept, Apply, and Create. His platform helps redistribute food nearing its expiration date and imperfect food products. "Even an application that may seem modest can create thousands of jobs."

From a seat at the table to shaping the future

Bringing young people to the table is only the beginning. The ultimate goal is to enable them to share opportunities and take responsibility together.

The WIC Global Youth Leadership Program was launched in 2023 as an ongoing initiative of the WIC. It regularly selects outstanding young people in the global internet sector and organizes activities including conferences, study tours and research workshops, keeping participants engaged with the latest developments in internet technology, industry, and governance. It also provides an international platform for young people to learn from one another and exchange experiences.

The WIC plans to further improve the program's mechanisms and use initiatives and platforms such as the WIC Program for Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace and the WIC Digital & AI Academy to support and fund youth leaders in organizing activities, conducting research, and strengthening their capabilities. The aim is to provide young people worldwide with broader opportunities to realize their potential.

"Think globally, focus on action, and face challenges with courage." These were the qualities Ren identified in this year's selected youth leaders.

The digital future belongs to young people, but that does not mean they should simply wait to witness it. By participating in rule-making, driving technological innovation, and building international partnerships, they can move beyond being onlookers in the digital age and become shapers of the future.