Asia Pacific Youth IGF issues 2025 Declaration on Meaningful Youth Participation

The Asia Pacific Youth Internet Governance Forum (yIGF) 2025 has published its Declaration on Meaningful Youth Participation, marking a significant regional intervention in the WSIS+20 review and broader internet governance debates. The document is the product of several months of collaboration among young people across the Asia-Pacific region and was finalised during a live discussion and editing session at the yIGF 2025 event.

The Declaration argues that youth must be treated as active contributors to digital governance rather than future stakeholders who are occasionally consulted. It frames meaningful participation as structural, adequately funded and integrated into decision-making processes at national, regional and global levels. Young participants describe themselves as the generation that will live the longest with the consequences of today’s digital policy choices, underscoring the need for reforms that give them sustained roles in governance systems.

The text lays out a set of guiding principles centred on digital inclusion, linguistic justice, gender equality, intersectionality, sustainable digital infrastructure, accountability and transparency. These principles support three thematic pillars that structure the Declaration’s calls to action.

The first pillar calls for youth as structural partners in digital governance. Proposed measures include establishing Youth Advisory Councils in processes such as WSIS and the IGF, formalising youth delegate roles across governance levels and providing long-term funding for Youth IGFs, youth-led research and innovation. The text also emphasises the need for grants and stipends to ensure participation from diverse socioeconomic and linguistic backgrounds.

The second pillar focuses on innovation with equity and trust, arguing that digital systems must be people-centred, rights-respecting and inclusive. The Declaration calls for Youth Technology Policy Labs, regional innovation hubs and the development of open-source and culturally grounded AI models. It also stresses transparency in algorithmic systems used by public authorities, expanded digital rights education and youth-led audits to strengthen accountability, particularly in rural and marginalised communities.

The third pillar sets out a vision for meaningful and equitable connectivity. It frames global connectivity as a fundamental right and calls for independent monitoring of network quality, shutdowns and affordability. The Declaration highlights the need for multilingual reporting mechanisms, expanded digital skills programmes, gender-responsive policy measures and fair digital labour conditions. It also links connectivity to broader economic opportunities, including support for youth entrepreneurship and social innovation.

The Declaration ends with a collective call to governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations to move beyond consultation toward shared governance with youth. It urges institutionalised youth representation, stable investment in youth-led policy work and intergenerational collaboration based on partnership rather than symbolism.

According to the Asia Pacific Youth IGF, meaningful inclusion of youth strengthens the legitimacy, fairness and resilience of digital governance systems, and is essential to shaping a sustainable and inclusive digital future.