Georgia Youth Internet Governance Forum (YOUTH IGF GEORGIA)

Charter

  1. General Terms

1.1 This document is the Georgia Youth Internet Governance Forum (YOUTH IGF GEORGIA) charter.
1.2 This charter defines the authority of the forum’s members, outlines the forum’s leadership structure, and establishes the procedure for electing the forum’s steering committee (MAG – Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group).

1.3 Georgia Youth Internet Governance Forum is an unregistered non-profit organization founded following the present charter by the signatory parties, which include youth organizations interested in Internet governance, universities, students, and state and private sector representatives.

1.4 The Georgia Youth Internet Governance Forum promotes the equal participation of young people and interested parties in Internet governance-related dialogue, discussions, negotiations, and the process of developing strategies, and it creates a neutral space for interested parties to advocate for issues related to Internet governance.

1.5 Members of the Forum, realizing the importance of joint participation of young people and other interested parties in the direction of advocacy and discussion of issues related to Internet governance, invite all interested parties to participate in the aforementioned process;

1.6 All the signatories of this document represent the founding members of the forum;

 

  1. Vision
    2.1 The Georgia Internet Governance Youth Forum represents a free and open platform that offers interested parties the opportunity to participate in debates, negotiations, and decision-making processes about Internet Governance (IG), digital rights, information and communication technologies (ICT), and digital policy issues. At the local, national, regional, and international levels, the Forum assists in the development of a robust and inclusive online environment.

 

  1. Mission
    3.1 The Georgia Internet Governance Youth Forum initiative promotes the process of dialogue between interested parties and renews young people’s participation in ongoing discussions between the state, private sector, civil society, and experts in the field.
    3.2 The forum contributes to the development of multifaceted Internet governance engagement models in Georgia.
    3.3 The forum promotes transparency in decision-making and consultations related to Internet governance, as well as raising awareness about Internet space and digital rights and ensuring the equal participation of young people in discussions about Internet governance issues.

 

  1. The Georgia Youth Internet Management Forum’s fundamental principles
    4.1 Strengthening democratic processes and the rule of law, as well as encouraging young people to participate in democratic processes
    4.2 Internet-based youth initiatives promoting the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms;
    4.3 Improving Internet governance processes by ensuring full participation of all stakeholders, including youth;
    4.4 Encouraging young people to participate in the process of harmonizing international regulations and national legislation;
    4.5 Promoting young people’s participation in the process of dialogue aimed at protecting consumer rights;
    4.6 Ensuring young people’s participation in the process of Internet universal applicability, security, reliability, sustainability, and reliability
    4.7 Advocating for youth initiatives aimed at establishing decentralized and socially responsible approaches to internet governance;
    4.8.     Youth participation in the process of introducing digital initiatives and new technologies.
    4.9 Encouraging young people to participate in internship programs, professional courses, and projects of supporting organizations.

 

  1. Governing bodies of the Youth Internet Governance Forum

The general assembly of the forum members, the steering committee, and the advisory council of experts in the field oversee the management and operation of the forum.

 5.1 The general assembly of forum members;

5.1.1. The general assembly of the forum’s members shall be convened at the request of the members, not less than once a year.

5.1.2. The forum’s general assembly approves the action plan and the implementation timeline developed by the steering committee and the advisory council.

5.1.3. No later than seven days prior to the assembly, the forum members will be informed of the date and the agenda of the assembly.

 5.1.4. The general assembly of the forum convenes a joint meeting of the forum members and the forum steering committee upon necessity.

 5.2 Steering Committee of the Forum

5.2.1 The Forum’s Steering Committee establishes the main principles and directions of the Forum’s activities and oversees the Forum’s long-term viability.

5.2.2. The steering committee is made up with maximum 12 members, elected for a minimum of two years, including the forum coordinator and two co-coordinators (organizational direction and programmatic direction), elected for a one-year term from the committee.

5.2.3. The steering committee elaborates the action plan of the forum and presents the action plan to the general assembly of the forum for approval.

5.2.4.  The Steering Committee oversees the implementation progress of the action plan of the Forum.

5.2.5. The steering committee is in responsible for providing forum members informational updates concerning the forum administration process in the electronic form.

5.2.6. At least once every two months, the Steering Committee remotely updates the Advisory council and the General Assembly on the status of the Forum’s tasks.

5.2.7. The steering committee attends the forum’s general assembly’s joint session.

 

5.3.  Forum Advisory council

5.3.1. The Forum’s Advisory Board is made up with up to 12 invited members, one of whom is elected Chairman of the Forum’s Advisory Council.

5.3.2. The Advisory council supervises the Steering Committee’s activities in achieving the Forum’s goals.

 

  1. Forum Membership

6.1. Participation in the forum is voluntary and sponsorship is based on public funds.

6.2. Voting on the matters discussed during the general assembly is open to forum members.

6.3. Full members must be between the ages of 16 and 35 to join and actively participate in all forum activities.

6.4.  Every forum member is required to update their contact information at least once a year, and also before the forum members’ annual meeting.

6.5. Forum participants are free to express their opinions on legal and other topics without being constrained by the agency presenting the issue’s official stance. Individual viewpoints expressed by forum participants, however, should not be regarded as the official position of the relevant organizations.

 

  1. Youth Internet Governance Forum Day

7.1. The Georgia Youth Internet Governance Forum is supervised by the forum’s organizing committee.

7.2. A week before the event, the Forum Steering Committee confirms with the Organizing Committee every aspect of it, including the location, speakers, and any other organizational or logistical concerns. Those communication programs that are suitable for efficiency requirements are used for communication between the forum organizers;

7.3. The forum’s organizing committee creates a list of tasks for the event’s day. The checklist and the documentation outlining the organizational tasks should be available online to all members of the Forum Steering Committee and the Organizing Committee.

7.4 Complex setup issues are being addressed under a predetermined plan.

 

  1. Forum Venue

8.1. The forum organizers select the venue for the event based on the price, the requirements of the speakers, the size of the forum, and the amount of the budget.

 

  1. Forum agenda and program

9.1 All interested parties should be able to contribute to the creation of the forum’s agenda.

9.2 The event’s program should be as focused on local issues as possible, allowing all interested parties and parties with opposing viewpoints to express their views.

9.3 The event agenda should not be overburdened and should ideally include a list of issues to be discussed in one day.

9.4 During the comments and discussions, the agenda of the event, as well as the speeches, should be considered.

9.5. The event agenda should include a summary session of the forum, which will summarize the discussions held within the framework of the forum.

The forum organizers will prepare a summary report based on the summary session.

9.7. The summary report is prepared by the forum’s steering committee, with input from the forum’s organizing committee, and is approved by the forum’s general assembly.

 

 

  1. Signatures of the parties