In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, access is power—but not all access is equal. Youth across Asia Pacific, especially from rural, remote, and marginalized communities, continue to face systemic barriers to full digital participation. From weak infrastructure to linguistic exclusion, the digital divide is shaped by where we live, the languages we speak, and the policies that govern us.
This interactive session brings together youth advocates and industry experts to explore how AI, particularly in education and governance, can either entrench or help dismantle these divides. Are emerging technologies being designed with inclusion in mind, or are they leaving entire communities behind?
We will examine critical gaps in digital accessibility, from tools that ignore the needs of persons with disabilities to multilingual platforms that fail to accommodate linguistic diversity. At the same time, we’ll unpack how digital literacy, ethical design, and career pathways in AI can be more inclusive, particularly for underrepresented youth.
Youth are often on the frontlines of digital innovation—but remain at the margins of decision-making. This session will ask: How do we move from consultation to co-creation? How can youth—especially those most affected by inequities—gain real power in shaping digital futures? And how do we build meaningful, intergenerational feedback loops that center equity, governance literacy, and local context?
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 07:30-08:15 UTC
Format:
- Introduction (5 mins)
- Breakout group discussion (40 mins)
Moderators
Bea Guevarra, Head of Program Development, NetMission.Asia
Rupam Barui, Asia Pacific yIGF 2025 Organizing Committee Member
Breakout Group Facilitators
Ankita Rathi | Nawal Munir | Dean Mark M. Molde | Bea Guevarra | Rupam Barui
Guest Speakers
Athena Tong, Visiting Researcher, University of Tokyo & Researcher and Program Lead, China Strategic Risks Institute
Karlina Octaviany, AI Advisor for the "Fair Forward - Artificial Intelligence for All " at GIZ
Muhammad Asad Ul Rehman, Cybersecurity Consultant
Surabhi Srivastava, Media Innovation Director, RNW Media
Aristheo Lacuna, Co-chair, National Association of Social Enterprise Educators and Administrators
Rex Wallen Tan, General Manager, Princeton Assessments and Training, Inc.
Julian Antonio Laspoña, IT Coordinator, Southville International School and Colleges
1. As AI becomes more advanced in generating synthetic content, what safeguards should be in place to manage the risks of deepfakes? What practical solutions, such as technical tools, education campaigns, or policies, have shown promise?
2. How can we protect democratic processes from AI-driven misinformation? What can youth, industry, and governments do together to help the public resist manipulation during important social and political moments?
3. What steps can industry and governments take to make AI education and careers more accessible to rural and underrepresented youth? What examples already exist that could be scaled up in the region?
4. How do we move beyond symbolic youth participation in AI policymaking? What specific shifts in policy, funding, or institutional design are needed to empower marginalized youth as real co-creators?
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our digital lives, its impact on mental health, online safety, access to opportunities, and civic participation is more profound than ever. While AI holds great potential to address social challenges and foster innovation, it also risks deepening existing inequalities, enabling algorithmic discrimination, and undermining digital well-being—especially for youth.
Building on the Asia Pacific yIGF 3-Year Blueprint and NetMission’s Asia Pacific Policy Observatory’s recent report “Asia Pacific’s Digital Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Youth-Led Analysis”, this session brings together youth leaders, industry experts, and policy stakeholders to explore how intergenerational collaboration can shape inclusive and rights-respecting AI futures. Anchored in the Asia-Pacific context, we’ll examine local efforts and regional cooperation that tackle algorithmic accountability, bias mitigation, and the urgent need for safer digital spaces for young people.
We will also discuss how to better prepare the next generation for AI-driven societies through governance literacy, ethical mentorship, and cross-sector support. Parental awareness, culturally appropriate interventions, and digital sovereignty will be explored as part of the collective responsibility to ensure no one—especially youth from rural or marginalized communities—is left behind.
This session aims not just to identify problems, but to co-develop tangible strategies for regional youth engagement in shaping AI policy, digital safety, and social equity across diverse local contexts.
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 08:15-09:15 UTC
Format:
- Introduction (5 mins)
- Panel discussion (20 mins)
- Q&A (5 mins)
- Open Floor (25 mins)
- Closing remarks (5 mins)
Moderator
Jenna Fung, Head Coordinator, Asia Pacific Youth IGF
Guest Speakers
Dikchya Raut, Digital Rights Lawyer and Tech Policy Researcher
Amisha Mittal, Research Analyst, Pranava Institute
Discussion Questions
For panel
1. What youth-led initiatives in the Asia-Pacific have successfully addressed algorithmic bias, and what lessons can we apply more widely?
2. Can you share concrete examples of collaboration between youth, policymakers, and industry on online safety, mental health, or digital literacy in the region?
3. What proven methods exist for including youth from rural, marginalized, or linguistically diverse communities in AI policy discussions?
For open floor
4. What practical steps can governments, industry, and youth jointly take to make AI systems more transparent and accountable?
5. What community-based or culturally tailored approaches could improve digital well-being and online safety for youth in your own context?
6. What forms of mentorship or intergenerational support would best prepare young people for an AI-driven future?
7. If you were to design a regional initiative, what cooperation models would best help scale youth-led projects across Asia-Pacific?
In today’s digital world, young people are constantly engaging online — sharing content, ideas, and personal data — often without full awareness of where that data ends up, who profits from it, or how it shapes their digital identity and autonomy. But as surveillance intensifies and powerful tech corporations consolidate control over the internet’s core infrastructure, youth are increasingly disempowered in determining the terms of their own participation.
In response, governments across the Asia-Pacific have begun to tighten digital regulation — often in the name of national sovereignty. While these moves are framed as necessary safeguards, they raise urgent questions about personal freedom, access to information, and digital self-determination. For example, Nepal’s proposed social media law requires local registration or face platform blockage, chilling youth participation. Similar policies in Australia, Canada, and the UK mirror a growing global trend: the centralization of power at the expense of individual agency.
Meanwhile, tech giants from the U.S. and China continue to dominate the digital space — shaping content, collecting data, and deploying opaque algorithms that influence what youth see, think, and share. The lack of transparency and accountability in these systems makes it harder for young people to exercise informed consent, resist manipulation, or build alternatives.
This panel brings together youth leaders and regional stakeholders to explore these intersecting threats to digital autonomy. How do we balance regulation with rights? How can we push back against corporate consolidation? And what would it look like for digital policy frameworks to truly reflect youth voices, values, and leadership?
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 11:25-12:25 UTC
Format:
- Introduction (5 mins)
- Panel discussion (40 mins)
- Q&A and Roundtable discussion (10 mins)
- Closing remarks (5 mins)
Moderator
Nawal Munir, Strategic Content & Research Manager, NetMission.Asia
Speakers
Archit Lohani, AI Safety, Online Harms & Platform Governance Researcher
Dmitry Kuznetsov, Researcher at Critical Infrastructure Lab & NetMission Advisory Board member
Dr. Nur Adlin Hanisah Shahul Ikram, PhD in Data Privacy
Policy Questions
1. How can APAC governments protect children online while safeguarding their fundamental rights to digital participation and access to information?
2. As data localization and sovereignty efforts rise, how can APAC countries promote cross-border digital collaboration that supports youth education, creativity, and innovation without undermining national interests?
3. How should APAC nations coordinate their regulation of Big Tech to consistently protect youth data and rights, while overcoming the challenges of fragmented digital governance across the region?
The overarching theme for IGF 2025 Youth Track is ‘Focus on Multistakeholder Approach to Governing Digital Tech’. The main objective is to unpack several issues related to multistakeholder approach to Internet governance of importance to youth and for youth.
This interactive roundtable brings youth and senior experts together to explore global regulatory trends, from strict compliance models to rights-based safeguards on online safety; and explore intergenerational collaboration in safeguarding information integrity on social media, tackling age verification, regulation, and regional perspectives on mis- and disinformation.
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 10:25-11:25 UTC
Format:
- Welcome and introduction (5 mins)
- Setting the scene by an expert speaker (10 mins)
- Open Breakout group roleplay discussion (20 mins)
- Open floor ‘theatre’ (20 mins)
- Closing remarks (5 mins)
Moderator
Herman Johansen, UN IGF Secretariat
Bea Guevarra, Asia Pacific yIGF Local Hub (Manila)
Jenna Fung, Asia Pacific yIGF 2025
Speakers
Sølve Kuraas Karlsen, Leder Tenk, Skoleavdelingen til Faktisk.no
Samik Kharel, Independent Journalist
Breakout Group Facilitators
Nawal Munir, Asia Pacific yIGF Local Hub (Islamabad)
Dean Mark Molde, Asia Pacific yIGF Local Hub (Manila)
Sanjina Kshetri, Nepal YIGF
Ankita Rathi, Asia Pacific yIGF
Discussion Questions
1. What are the top issues that concern them most?
a. What forms of misinformation, disinformation, or algorithmic manipulation
most affect different generations in their daily lives?
b. How do challenges such as deepfakes, online scams, or biased content influence
trust in social media across regions and age groups?
2. What are some youth-led, grassroots or community-led solutions?
a. What innovative initiatives are young people, community groups, or grassroots
organizations creating to combat false information and strengthen media
literacy?
b. How can these solutions be shared, scaled, or connected with the experience of
older generations to have a greater impact?
3. What actions should different stakeholders take?
a. What responsibilities do different stakeholders have in supporting intergenerational
collaboration for information integrity?
b. How can policies, regulations, and platform practices be shaped to protect
users while encouraging cooperation across generations?