YOUthDIG 2019 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, The Hague — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 16–18 June 2019 the third YOUthDIG convened in The Hague — now expanded from two days to three, combined with online preparation meetings: the template the programme still uses. Sessions ran at Leiden University College The Hague and the House of Europe.
The Youth Messages 2019 came in two clusters — Digital Ethics & Inclusion, and Cybersecurity, Trust & Privacy — including the cohort's own invention 'SAPA', an algorithm to replace some online ads with information about Council of Europe opportunities for young people.
Welcomed by the City of The Hague and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, with a visit to the Ministry of Justice and Security, this was the edition where the 'city of peace and justice' put its administration behind youth participation.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on YOUthDIG 2019 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, The Hague draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	YOUthDIG 2019 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, The Hague
Dates	16–18 June 2019 (arrival on the 15th; expanded to a three-day track from this year)
Venue	The Hague, Netherlands — sessions at Leiden University College The Hague and the House of Europe
Theme	Regional governance themes
Outcome	Youth Messages 2019 in two clusters — Digital Ethics & Inclusion, and Cybersecurity, Trust & Privacy — feeding into EuroDIG and the global IGF

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. From Two Days to Three — the Programme Comes of Age

Sessions: Overall programme (16–18 June) and 2–3 online preparation meetings (April–June)

The first three-day edition allowed a staged build-up: human rights (day 1), cybersecurity and literacy (day 2), expert dialogue and message drafting (day 3) [1][2]
Fellows' duties were codified — 2–3 online preparation meetings, joining EuroDIG session organising teams, serving as remote participation moderators — institutionalising the shift from learners to co-organisers [1][2]
The agenda was explicitly 'shaped by former YoutDIGers', starting the alumni cycle in which each cohort designs the next edition [1][2]

2. Digital Ethics & Inclusion — 'SAPA', Turning Ads into Opportunities

Sessions: Youth Message cluster 'Digital Ethics & Inclusion' (drafted 18 June, afternoon)

The signature proposal was the cohort's own 'SAPA' (Smart Active Participation Algorithm): replace some of the ads users see while browsing with information about Council of Europe initiatives, suggesting age-appropriate opportunities — and make it a top priority for multistakeholder discussion [3]
Hate speech, fake news, privacy and cyberbullying are 'not sufficiently discussed and taught at schools', they argued, envisioning a curriculum enforced by regulation [3]
They also called for harmonising states' ethics codes on algorithm design, an Internet Governance youth ambassadors programme for teenagers, and strengthening existing youth parliaments [3]

3. Cybersecurity, Trust & Privacy — Make Anonymity a Viable Option

Sessions: Youth Message cluster 'Cybersecurity, Trust & Privacy' (cybersecurity workshop 17 June, House of Europe)

To 'reclaim privacy of the many', governments should act proactively rather than reactively — fostering public discussion and mainstreaming digital literacy in basic education — while the private sector should 'make anonymity a viable option' [3]
IoT was framed as a key pillar of cybersecurity, in continuous exponential development with growing capabilities and threats, demanding awareness-raising and updated curricula on IoT security [3]
Regulators should encourage technology to be open source to foster transparency — one of the cohort's boldest asks [3]

4. The Hague Context — the City of Peace and Justice Turns Out

Sessions: Opening (16 June, 9:10, Leiden University College The Hague) and visit to the Ministry of Justice and Security (17 June)

Salima Oualite of the Municipality of The Hague and Arnold van Rhijn of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy opened the programme — city and state welcoming the cohort together [2][4]
Day two included a local partner visit to the Ministry of Justice and Security, putting fellows inside the machinery of the international city of justice [2][4]
The parent EuroDIG 2019 was itself hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs with ECP, the Municipality and .nl registry SIDN — the youth pre-event was formally embedded in the national host set-up [2][4]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What changed with this edition?

A. The length. It grew from two days to three, combined with online preparation meetings from spring — the format still in use. The alumni cycle, where former participants design the programme, was also codified this year.

Q. What's the most interesting proposal in the messages?

A. 'SAPA' — an algorithm that would swap some online ads for information about Council of Europe opportunities for young people. Also notable: make anonymity a viable option, and encourage open-sourcing technology for transparency.

Q. Why should I care?

A. The Hague model — city hall and ministries opening the event and a justice-ministry visit built into the schedule — is a blueprint for how a host government can take a youth meeting seriously.

What Is YouthDIG? (for first-time readers)

YouthDIG is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2019 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.