Y7 Digital and Tech track policies announced

Calling for policy changes in digital education, social media and digital empowerment

Y7 Digital and Tech track policies announced

After collecting thousands of young people’s thoughts, views and experiences across the world, the G7’s youth engagement group, the Y7, released their communique. Tech and Digital delegates have put together policy suggestions to be presented at the Y7 14th-15th May. These will then be presented to the world leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK on June 11-13th, 2021. 

“Young people are expected to live an increasingly large proportion of their lives online, to socialise, learn, and work in cyber. COVID-19 has only accelerated this. We envisage a world where all young people are equipped to navigate the internet in a safe and successful way, and where the benefits of digital are felt by all of society.”

The suggested policies focus on:

Digital Education

By 2030, Y7 delegates call for G7 leaders to implement:

  1. Achieve universal internet connectivity by 2025 on their territories and empower multilateral donors to increase their investments to ensure global universal access to broadband by 2030.

  2. Recruit, train and equip educators with the capability to teach digital literacy and digital skills at all levels of education.

  3. Embed digital literacy in all curriculum areas for all learners to equip young people to engage safely and productively in a digitally transformative world.

Digital Empowerment 

By 2030, Y7 delegates call for G7 leaders to implement:

  1. Establish a Youth Council for the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) comprised of youth delegate(s) representing each member country and acting as the youth voice on AI.

  2. Secure fair representation of all, including historically underrepresented and excluded groups, in technology industries, by forging private-public partnerships to provide funding, mentoring and life-long learning, particularly in post-secondary education.

  3. Establish a minimum youth representation quota of 30% of members under 30 in public technology bodies, and encourage private companies to do the same.

Social Media

By 2030, Y7 delegates call for G7 leaders to implement:

  1. Increase data protection transparency by empowering the Global Privacy Assembly to provide common international approaches to high standards of data protection regulation, including compelling seals of quality for privacy policies.

  2. Design policies to keep companies accountable for harassment, misinformation and disinformation happening within their platforms, building on the commitments made by G7 digital ministers.

  3. Address the growing issue of internet addiction amongst young people by compelling social media platforms to develop corporate social responsibility that increases user control over suggestion algorithms and time management.

You can read the Y7 full communique here. We also interviewed Digital and Tech delegate, Fabio Boniolo, you can read that here.

Do you agree with these policy suggestions? Let us know in the comments below!

Header Image Credit: Marvin Meyer

Author

Elle Farrell-Kingsley

Elle Farrell-Kingsley Kickstart Team

Elle is a journalist and presenter interested in all things tech, current affairs, politics, and policy. She is also a sci-fi and dystopian fiction author and when she's not writing, she's taking part in her local MMA classes or travelling.

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