Building a Responsible Digital Future for Youth

A Multistakeholder Action Framework for Youth Digital Well-Being, Safety and Agency

RDY is an independent initiative registered under the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

In an era in which digital technology and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly embedded in learning, social life, work and daily life, young people require more than mere access to technology. They require a digital environment that safeguards their physical and mental well-being, ensures their safety, respects their agency, and enables their meaningful and inclusive participation in decision-making.

What kind of digital future can genuinely support the growth and development of young people? And how should governments, technology companies, educators, civil society and youth themselves share responsibility for shaping it?

Guided by these questions, Responsible Digital for Youth (RDY) has been officially selected as an Affiliate Session of Digital@UNGA 2026, to be convened during the high-level week of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The session underscores the importance of youth digital well-being, safety and agency, and seeks to advance a youth-centered, multistakeholder action framework through cross-sectoral and intergenerational dialogue.

Event Information

  • Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
  • Time: 09:00–10:30 EDT (New York); 14:00–15:30 BST (London); 21:00–22:30 HKT (Hong Kong)
  • Format: 90-minute virtual session via Zoom
  • Designation: Official Affiliate Session, Digital@UNGA 2026
  • Theme: A Multistakeholder Action Framework for Youth Digital Well-Being, Safety and Agency

From ITU–UNDP Collaboration to a People-Centered Digital Future

Digital@UNGA is an international digital cooperation platform jointly convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Held alongside the United Nations General Assembly, it brings together governments, international organizations, the private sector, research institutions, civil society and youth to examine how digital technology can advance human well-being and sustainable development.

ITU contributes expertise in global connectivity, digital technology and digital transformation, while UNDP draws on its mandate in human development, inclusive growth and on-the-ground development practice, with particular attention to translating technological progress into opportunities that are genuinely accessible to all. Together, the two agencies bridge technological development and social need, in support of a digital future that is more inclusive, trustworthy and people-centered.

The platform builds on the SDG Digital events convened in 2023 and 2024, and was relaunched under the name Digital@UNGA in 2025, in line with the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the direction set by the Global Digital Compact. Its overarching objective is to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation reach every region, generation and community — leaving no one behind — and to translate shared vision into action through partnership. Learn more about the background of Digital@UNGA

Digital@UNGA 2026: Building a Digit'all Future — Together

Digital@UNGA 2026 is convened under the theme "Building a Digit'all Future — Together," organized around three pillars — Innovation, Inclusion and Future — linking emerging technologies, digital participation, youth leadership and cross-sectoral collaboration.

The flagship event will be convened on 21 September at United Nations Headquarters in New York, comprising high-level dialogue, innovation showcases, partnership-building and action commitments. Affiliate Sessions, independently organized by a range of institutions, extend this agenda into diverse regions and areas of expertise, broadening participation through in-person, virtual and hybrid modalities. Learn more about Digital@UNGA 2026

Responsible Digital for Youth forms part of this official Affiliate Session programme. Grounded in the everyday digital realities of young people, the session seeks to connect inclusive development with international discourse on responsible technology, and to identify concrete modalities for collaboration.

Why Address Youth Digital Issues During the UN General Assembly?

UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly, comprises all 193 Member States and serves as the Organization's principal deliberative, policymaking and representative organ. Each year, during the Assembly's high-level week, world leaders and policymakers convene to address shared global challenges, affording international organizations, businesses, civil society and youth a valuable opportunity for concentrated exchange. Learn more about the UN General Assembly

2026 marks the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, with the General Debate scheduled for 22–26 and 28 September. This session, convened on 25 September, falls squarely within this pivotal period of international policy dialogue and cooperation. Official UN Schedule

Addressing youth digital issues at this juncture matters because it brings the lived experience of young people into a wider global conversation. From schools and households to technology platforms and public policy, the digital environment young people navigate cuts across sectors and transcends national borders, demanding a coordinated response from a broad range of stakeholders.

Our Core Themes: Well-Being, Safety and Agency

This session is organized around three interconnected dimensions situated at the nexus of what a responsible digital environment requires.

Digital Well-Being examines how technology can support young people's physical and mental health, learning, relationships and quality of life. Discussion will address how digital products, content and usage patterns can help young people build healthy digital habits, and what support families, schools and platforms can provide.

Safety examines whether young people are effectively protected against cyberbullying, harmful content, privacy violations and AI-related risks. Discussion will cover product design, digital literacy, reporting mechanisms and support services, and how responsibility can be shared among relevant duty-bearers and stakeholders.

Agency examines whether young people have the capacity and opportunity to understand technology, exercise choice, express their views and influence decisions that affect them. This includes understanding how personal data is used, recognizing content and recommendation systems, and participating in the design of digital products, education programmes and public policy.

The session underscores the importance of positioning young people as co-designers of the digital future, in line with the principle of meaningful youth participation. Youth should not merely identify the challenges they face, but also have genuine opportunities to help shape, implement and evaluate the solutions.

Who We Seek to Bring Together

A responsible digital environment depends on the engagement of all parties able to contribute lived experience, drive institutional change and translate commitments into action. This session seeks to convene:

  • Youth representatives and youth organizations — contributing diverse backgrounds and lived experience to help frame issues and propose actions.
  • Government and public policy practitioners — bridging policy domains such as digital development, education, youth affairs and child protection.
  • Technology companies and platform representatives — sharing practices and responsibilities relating to AI, social platforms, education technology and product safety.
  • Educators and researchers — offering expertise in digital literacy, mental health, youth development and technology ethics.
  • Civil society and international organizations — contributing experience in rights protection, social inclusion and cross-border cooperation.
  • Foundations and corporate sustainability practitioners — exploring resources to support future education, research and pilot initiatives.

Speakers and participating institutions will be announced as confirmations are finalized.

Questions for Speakers

Speakers are invited to reflect on the following questions in their interventions:

1. What kind of responsible digital environment do young people need in order to reconcile well-being, safety and agency?
Which needs and voices remain insufficiently addressed at present? In your view, what is the most pressing tension between protecting young people and respecting their choices? Please draw on your own experience, observations or professional practice in responding.

2. In your view, what responsibilities should different stakeholders bear in building such an environment, and how can the meaningful participation of young people be ensured?
How should youth, governments, technology companies, educational institutions and civil society organizations work together, in this regard? Which current practices most urgently need to change, and what support is currently lacking? How can youth participation be made to genuinely shape decisions?

3. If these responsibilities were translated into action, what concrete initiative would you propose as a priority?
What would this initiative change, and who would drive it forward? How could you or your organization take part, and what partnerships or resources would it require? Over the next six to twelve months, how would you assess whether it has genuinely improved young people's digital lives?

Format: Youth Perspectives, Cross-Sectoral Dialogue and Action Synthesis

The session's modalities comprise a 90-minute interactive virtual dialogue, combining youth experience-sharing, a cross-sectoral panel discussion, participant Q&A, and a synthesis of action directions.

The session will open with an overview of its background and shared objectives, followed by youth perspectives that frame the discussion around the needs and expectations arising from everyday digital life. A cross-sectoral panel will then bring together participants from a range of fields to respond, exchanging practical approaches and addressing implementation challenges, with an interactive Q&A drawing in broader input from participants.

The session is expected to convene approximately 15 experts and 10 student contributors.

The session will close with a synthesis of shared concerns and priority actions, laying the groundwork for further development of the framework and continued collaboration. The meaningful and continuous participation of young people will remain central throughout — from framing the questions, through the dialogue itself, to the synthesis of outcomes — and the session is intended to feed into a global youth digital action framework for the coming year.

Expected Outcomes: A Foundation for Continued Collaboration

The purpose of this session is to build shared understanding across sectors and to propose concrete directions for future collaboration. Anticipated outcomes include:

  • Identifying shared priorities: pinpointing the most pressing issues within youth digital well-being, safety and agency.
  • Advancing a draft action framework: compiling possible actions, potential partners and next steps.
  • Connecting partners: identifying collaboration opportunities in education, research, youth engagement and product improvement.
  • Establishing a basis for continued dialogue: refining recommendations through follow-up youth consultations and partner discussions.

It is hoped that this dialogue will serve as a starting point for sustained collaboration, giving the ideas raised here an opportunity to evolve into concrete initiatives, tested against youth experience and real-world outcomes.

Complementary Sessions Within the Same International Platform

The Digital@UNGA 2026 agenda spans education, technological innovation, rights protection and global governance, situating this youth-focused dialogue within a broader collaborative context.

"Education Systems in the Age of AI: What's Changed, What's Next?", co-organized by UNESCO, UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), ITU and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, examines the transformations AI is bringing to education systems — closely related to youth learning and educational transformation.

"AI for Global Progress: An Innovation Showcase", organized by Google Cloud, presents a showcase of AI innovation, contributing a technology-application and implementation perspective to the broader agenda.

"Q-Lab: Agentic AI and Youth's Digital Wellbeing", organized by NYU GovLab and the Sync Digital Wellbeing Program, focuses directly on agentic AI and youth digital well-being, resonating with this session's attention to the quality of young people's digital lives.

"Responsible AI for Child Protection", organized by Just Rights For Children (JRC), Athena Infonomics and APLYD, connects responsible AI with child protection, addressing questions of safety and protective mechanisms.

"Youth Evidence to AI Governance: Building a Digit'all Future With the Next Generation", organized by SDG Youth Connect, examines how youth experience and evidence can inform AI governance, echoing the importance of youth participation and agency.

Collectively, these sessions reflect the many dimensions of digital cooperation. The distinct contribution of Responsible Digital for Youth lies in bringing well-being, safety and agency together within a single action-framework discussion, exploring how different sectors can jointly support young people. View the official session schedule

Organizers and Partners

In accordance with the official Affiliate Session programme, this session is co-organized by the Global ESG Leadership Organization (ESGIN), in close collaboration with the following partners:

  • Responsible Digital Youth Advisory Council
  • Future Intelligence Institute for Youth (FIY)
  • Future Intelligence Hub
  • Global SDGs Alliance

We extend a cordial invitation to partners committed to youth, education, technology and sustainable development to join this dialogue, and to work together toward a digital future in which young people can participate safely, grow in health, and exercise genuine agency.