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Youth attending the launch of the Next Generation Leaders programme look to themselves to provide leadership of the Internet

GENEVA, Switzerland–7 October 2009–Insights from youth attending the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World Conference in Geneva, gathered via a poll, show that they considered future leaders of the Internet were far more likely to emerge from educational institutions than from industry, government, or technical communities. Leadership, for this group, is a bridging role relying on education to combine and complement commercial, policy, or technological advances.

Their view of leadership positions the youth to address and find solutions to over-arching concerns such as privacy and security, which they ranked as a far greater concern today than censorship, government regulation, or over-commercialisation.

The poll took place at the launch of a new Internet Society (ISOC) programme designed to identify and promote future leaders such as the talented youth selected for this global conference.

“The Internet Society’s Next Generation Leaders programme offers a unique opportunity to advance potential Internet leaders, and the results of this poll indicate the importance of balanced education for leadership,” said Bill Graham, responsible for strategic global engagement at the Internet Society. “We want to provide the world’s next generation of Internet leaders the opportunity to accelerate their careers.”

“We have specifically designed our programme to prepare young professionals for leadership, bridging the boundaries between business, technical development, policy, and governance on local, regional, and international levels. It is based on specialized coursework, introductions to current high-level leaders, and project work. Graduates will have a great opportunity to advance their careers faster than they could on their own,” continues Graham.

Candidates in the programme will also have the opportunity to apply for ISOC’s existing representation programmes, such as ISOC Ambassadorships to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) or ISOC Fellowships to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

This programme is made possible through generous support from Nominet Trust.

For more information about joining or supporting the Internet Society Next Generation Leaders programme, see: http://isoc.org/leaders/