About yIGF South Asia

The name of this forum is the Youth Internet Governance Forum – South Asia, referred to as yIGF South Asia.

A South Asia where young people are informed, empowered, and structurally included as equal partners in all levels of internet governance – local, national, regional, and global – and where the internet serves as a genuine driver of inclusive development, dignity, and human flourishing for all communities in the region.

To build a vibrant, multi-stakeholder youth community across South Asia that meaningfully participates in internet governance processes, bridges the gap between youth perspectives and policymakers, and shapes a digital future that is open, inclusive, equitable, and rights-respecting for all.

1. To promote and encourage open, inclusive, and substantive dialogue on internet governance issues among all stakeholders, with particular emphasis on youth participation across South Asia.
2. To support and ensure the proper organisation and conduct of the annual yIGF South Asia event.
3. To act as a bridge between national youth IGF initiatives in South Asia, the APrIGF community, APyIGF, and the global UN IGF community.
4. To raise awareness of, build capacity for, and promote deeper understanding of internet governance issues among the youth of South Asia, with particular focus on digital inclusion and the urban-rural divide, artificial intelligence governance, data privacy and protection, freedom of expression and digital rights, cybersecurity, and the climate and environment dimensions of digital infrastructure.
5. To identify emerging internet governance issues of specific relevance to the South Asian context and bring them to the attention of relevant national, regional, and global bodies.
6. To create structured opportunities for South Asian youth to share experiences, best practices, and policy recommendations across national boundaries.
7. To facilitate a multi-stakeholder exchange of ideas, foster cross-sectoral collaboration, and build lasting networks among internet governance practitioners in South Asia.
8. To represent and amplify South Asian youth perspectives at the APrIGF, the UN IGF, and other relevant international forums.

yIGF South Asia operates as a sub-regional youth initiative complementary to the following forums and processes, while maintaining organisational independence:

• The United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF) – the global apex forum within whose principles yIGF South Asia operates.
• The Asia Pacific Regional IGF (APrIGF) and Asia Pacific Youth IGF (APyIGF) – the recognised regional forum to which yIGF South Asia contributes South Asian youth perspectives.
• National Internet Governance Forums (NIGFs) of South Asian nations – Bangladesh IGF, India IGF, Maldives IGF, Nepal IGF, Pakistan IGF and Sri Lanka IGF – with which yIGF South Asia builds complementary linkages.
• Youth IGFs established within the region, including India Youth IGF, Nepal Youth IGF, Bangladesh Youth IGF, and Pakistan Youth IGF, whose operating principles, governance model, and decade of experience directly informed the founding document.