Introductory information

In the context of efforts to better engage youth, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched and therefore calls for proposals for its Youth4Cyber initiative that is intended to develop a global network of student-led associations in universities, mobilize activities relating to cybersecurity, with the help of ITU and partners. So, if you are eligible for this and have an innovative plan/project, it is a great opportunity to submit.

Brief details

Submission deadline: 5 July 2021

Organizing institution: International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Target audience: Youth

Benefits/Awards

The top ten proposal submitters shall receive benefits such as:

• The top 10 contributions will be featured in an official ITU publication. The authors will receive an invitation to pitch their work during an online award ceremony on International Youth day (12 August 2021), which will bring together the ITU Member States and other stakeholders, and to become Youth4Cyber Ambassadors within their relevant educational institutions.
• The authors of the three (3) best proposals will be invited to the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-21) Youth Summit.
• The winner of the competition, selected during the youth summit, will be awarded an exclusive paid researching experience at ITU with the cybersecurity division of the Development Sector to further work on and expand his/her solutions or projects.

Objective

The overarching goal of the project is to:

• Instruct youth in their cybersecurity professional journey by forming a global network of students and young people as active agents;
• Empower them to recognize and be passionate about cybersecurity challenges across disciplines, while allowing them to enjoy fun, explore and contribute with knowledge and ideas; and
• Ultimately, make them ready to valuably contribute to the leadership of tomorrow in this field.

Similar opportunities 

1. UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2021/2 International Photo Contest
2. ADB Technology Innovation Challenge for Building Disease-resilient and Energy-efficient Air-conditioning Systems
3. ILO-HRSF International Cartoon Competition on “Forced Labor and Modern Slavery”

Who are eligible?

Youth and secondary vs university students between the ages of 18-26 from across the world are invited to submit their innovative projects/proposals under the topic of “the future of cybersecurity”.

How to submit your proposal?

All applicants should submit their proposals using the template and attaching a CV and scanned copies of each of the author’s ID cards in a single Pdf File to youth4cyber@itu.int before the deadline.

Useful links:

​Instructions: Call for contributions​​ 

Template: Youth4Cyber Submission

For further details please refer to the official announcement on the ITU’s website.