Youth IGF AI Foresight Capacity‑Development Programme 2026

Responding to the WSIS+20 Resolution

This programme is delivered by the UN IGF Secretariat with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It operationalizes paragraph 102 of the WSIS+20 Resolution 80/173, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2025.

We call upon the Forum to reinforce its intersessional work, support national and regional initiatives, and apply innovative, open, inclusive, transparent and agile collaboration methods... Paragraph 102, WSIS+20 Resolution 80/173 (UN General Assembly)

What is Strategic foresight?

Strategic Foresight is an approach for systematically thinking and acting in a long-term and anticipatory way under conditions of uncertainty. Instead of forecasting, which makes predictions based on historical data, foresight scans the horizon for emerging changes that may not show up in official datasets for some time. Instead of building strategies that are based on a single vision of the future, foresight builds strategy based on very different scenarios for the future that capture the uncertainty we face.

For Internet and AI governance, where technology evolve faster than any forecast, these skills are especially valuable. Foresight equips young leaders to anticipate emerging risks and opportunities, design more resilient governance approaches, and facilitate richer, forward-looking dialogue within their own Youth IGF communities.

Alternative futures

Good foresight informs decisions by considering alternative scenarios for the future, including futures that might be challenging or provocative.

Decisions that work across multiple futures

Promotes decisions that are effective under multiple scenarios and decisions that open up different options for action as circumstances change.

Diverse voices and data sources

Many of the changes you least expect will come from your peripheral vision - get informed by what is happening in the streets, by people from different socio-economic classes, and by “unusual suspects.”

Objective of the programme

This four‑session programme aims to equip Youth IGF organizers, and other active contributors to Youth IGFs and the IGF Youth Track, with practical foresight knowledge and workshop methodologies to strengthen future oriented dialogue on digital and AI governance within their local Youth IGF communities.

Learning objectives:

Obtain basic futures literacy and foresight skills to embrace future uncertainty.
Identify and map relevant drivers for the future of AI governance in their own context.
Apply strategic and systemic thinking to existing AI governance scenarios.
Acquire skills and tools to integrate foresight into Youth IGF programming.

Programme structure:

Sessions 1–3 (October 2026): Online (1 hour each)
Session 4 (December 2026): Hybrid session during the Global IGF (online and onsite)

Timeline

Spring 2026

Call for interest

Applications under review

Members of the Youth IGF community express interest in joining the programme.

Selected applicants will receive invitations in June.

Sessions 1–3 · October 2026

Online Sessions

Online · 1 hour each

Three online sessions introduce futures literacy, driver mapping, and strategic and systemic thinking applied to AI governance scenarios.

Session 4 · December 2026

Hybrid session at the Global IGF

Online and onsite

A final hybrid session during the annual Global IGF meeting, where participants bring foresight methods into Youth IGF programming. After the session, certificates will be awarded to participants.

Selected participants

Priority will be given to current Youth IGF organizers. Active participants and contributors to Youth IGFs and the IGF Youth Track are also eligible and encouraged to express interest. Selection is further guided by the objective of achieving balanced regional representation and gender diversity.

Applications are currently being reviewed. Selected participants will be displayed here.

Youth IGF AI Foresight Capacity‑Development Programme 2026