YOUthDIG 2022 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, Trieste — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 18–20 June 2022 the sixth YOUthDIG met in Trieste — the second consecutive year there, and this time the parent EuroDIG 2022 (20–22 June) was fully in-person again. Thirty young people recruited from across Europe arrived after an online preparation phase.
The Youth Messages 2022 covered AI, the future of social media, sustainability and ICTs, and cryptocurrency — with bold, numbered demands such as a European-based and owned social media platform and a minimum of 1% of GDP for research into sustainable ICTs for learning.
Their call to move AI accountability from transparency to contestability — users empowered to challenge outcomes — anticipated the core of subsequent AI-regulation debates, and the platform proposal captured Europe's rising digital-sovereignty mood.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on YOUthDIG 2022 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, Trieste 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 2022 — Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance, Trieste
Dates	18–20 June 2022 (preceded by an online phase of virtual meetings)
Venue	Trieste, Italy
Theme	Regional governance themes
Outcome	Youth Messages 2022 in four themes — Artificial Intelligence in a Natural World, Envisioning the Future of Social Media, Sustainability and ICTs, and Navigating the Cryptocurrency Waters — presented at 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. AI in a Natural World — From Transparency to Contestability

Sessions: Youth Messages theme 1, 'Artificial Intelligence in a Natural World'

The messages demanded a change in the scope of the accountability debate 'from transparency to contestability, where users are also included as stakeholders' — putting the ability to challenge AI outcomes at the centre [1]
Bias and data gaps across gender, race, geography and disability should be addressed by exposing the methodology behind data collection and processing [1]
Societal impacts of AI systems should be forecast openly and collaboratively through multistakeholder impact assessments [1]

2. The Future of Social Media — a European-Based and Owned Platform

Sessions: Youth Messages theme 2, 'Envisioning the Future of Social Media'

The headline proposal: develop a European-based and owned social media platform that facilitates democratic participation and keeps users in control of their personal data — digital sovereignty in youth form [1]
They called for a cross-border framework that encourages social and discourages antisocial behaviour online, as a basis for further legislation [1]
Flagging of misleading content and verification of credible content should be done jointly by moderators and users, backed by media literacy mechanisms against fake news [1]

3. Sustainability and ICTs — 1% of GDP for Learning Technologies

Sessions: Youth Messages theme 3, 'Sustainability and ICTs'

European countries should allocate 'a minimum of 1% of their GDP to research and adaptation of innovative and sustainable ICTs for learning purposes' — a rare hard number in a youth communique [1]
Against the overproduction and overconsumption of data services and devices, the 3R approach (reduce, reuse, recycle) should become an integral element of internet governance and digital policy decision-making [1]
ICT deployment in nascent sectors — administration, agriculture, retail, justice, healthcare — should be critically forecast, and the digital, socioeconomic and environmental dimensions of platform and remote work, which hit youth hardest, debated intergenerationally [1]

4. Navigating the Cryptocurrency Waters — From Financial Literacy to Progressive Taxation

Sessions: Youth Messages theme 4, 'Navigating the Cryptocurrency Waters'

In the year the crypto boom collided with environmental criticism, the messages paired digital financial education in secondary schooling and national literacy strategies with more research funding for energy-efficient mining [1]
Most striking was the distributive demand: consider progressive taxing of gains from cryptocurrencies to address the inequalities the technology causes [1]
They also urged KYC and anti-money-laundering tools at major exchanges, and youth-friendly language explaining how the platforms work and what guarantees are — or are not — present [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. How was it organised?

A. An open call recruited 30 young people from across Europe with travel grants, a programme designed by an alumni team, and an online phase followed by three days onsite — Trieste for the second year running.

Q. What was the boldest recommendation?

A. Build a European-based and owned social media platform — a direct answer to dependence on US giants. Also: at least 1% of GDP for sustainable learning technologies, and consider progressive taxation of crypto gains.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Moving AI accountability from transparency to contestability — the right to challenge outcomes — is one step ahead of most national AI governance frameworks, and worth borrowing.

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 2022 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.