WSIS x Generation Connect Youth Prize
Exchange, Dialogue and Exhibition of Youth-led ICT Projects and Initiatives
The Prize is about collecting visual representations of challenges, new ways of understanding the global and local digital ecosystems and challenges for the meaningful inclusion of youth. Submissions are to be submitted in a form of a short video, series of images, posters, or any other graphic representation of the digital inclusion of youth projects and initiatives.
Winner of the WSIS x Generation Connect Youth Prize
Valentin Gloor, Switzerland
Connect App
The Connect App aims to bring two important key elements closer to youth in order to achieve the SDGs.
First, education is the key to development. The app provides UN articles on general issues and current affairs. Knowledge about these articles can be tested in various games against opponents from all over the world. At the same time, cross-continental cohesion is strengthened. UN-coins can be collected as rewards in the games. These can be used to unlock new games or specials.
UN-coins can also be won by collecting data. This combats the problem that there is too little data in many regions, making it difficult to identify problem areas and monitoring SDG progress is often not possible. Youth collect readily available data such as class sizes in their school or the number of water connections in their village. This large amount of data can then be analysed by the UN and makes it possible to provide much more accurate aid and monitor developments.
The dissemination of education and the collection of statistically important data is packaged in a playful way in this app, so that young people are happy to actively participate.
Finalists of the WSIS x Generation Connect Youth Prize
Clara Brown and Fiona Brown, Canada
Our Future World, Our Digital Creation
We live in a world of evolving technology, where endless possibilities for the future are now open to youth. Digital transformation is happening rapidly, and youth are vital to improve our world through meaningful engagement in technology. Depicted are some of those possibilities, what we would do with a world we could shape and model to make a better future for everyone. A world made by youth, our creation. These three images were created using these keywords: youth, technology, metaverse, diverse, future on deepai.org, an Artificial Intelligence image generator, and are key messages of the roles youth will continue to play in the digital sector. Each image represents the theme “Digital future through meaningful engagement of youth” and are visions for what our group hopes to see for youth in digital engagement spaces. In an ever-evolving world, youth are taking the lead.
Natalie Tercova, Czech Republic
CyberWise: Effective Cooperation Between Academia and Stakeholders
In their research, young scholars, such as Ph.D. students, explore various topics related to the opportunities and risks that increasing digitalization brings. However, they do not always succeed in passing on their findings, and their valuable insights end up where they started—a great shame.
Therefore, I propose creating a "CyberWise" program to connect young academics with stakeholders. Together, they would debate new scientific findings and how to communicate them to the general public and apply them in practice.
I propose this project based on my own experience as a Ph.D. student who is repeatedly informed that effective collaboration between the academy and policymakers is not feasible. Yet I believe it is.
