History
The idea for community of young people who help each other to create positive change through information and communication technology (ICT) emerged in 2002 out of the momentum created during the ITU Youth Forums in order to lead real positive change.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has demonstrated great foresight when it decided to invest in the future of ICT by establishing the Youth Program with the ITU Youth Forum as its flag event. The event, running in parallel with the ITU Telecom Forum, brings together young men and women from all over the world to engage in discussions about ICTs, their regulatory, business, and social aspects. Moreover, the Youth Forum is designed to support development of leadership and entrepreneurial skills among the youth, which makes it a particularly empowering event.
For many of us, participation in the Youth Forum was literally a life-changing experience. Many Youth Forum alumni, ventured into social and business enterprises upon returning to their own countries. Others continued to study and develop professionally in ICT-related fields growing into professionals who are already starting to play pivotal roles in the telecommunication industry. Most of us, however, wanted to continue to communicate and saw that we can help each other to make this world a better place, using what the modern communication technology can offer these days. This is how the idea of Human Network was born, because at the end of the day these are the people who lead the change and technology is there to help us to do it better.
The initial discussions of the idea of Human Network started back in 2002 and the early versions of the concept as well as foundation efforts belong to a large group of friends including Ayesha, Clarry, Dima, George, Jenny, Lisa, Michelle, and Michael, who soon were joined by many others including Amna, Bernard, Cathy, Dan, Farah, 'Gbenga, Glenn, Justin, Laetitia, Oula, Ran, Shatu, and Zolnamar.
Our website first came to life around 2004 thanks to Lisa and then to Zolnamar, however most of the work and communication among the peers happened through less "sophisticated" means. Nevertheless, many inspiring projects in different parts of the world came out of sharing knowledge and experience and we felt that much more can be achieved with improved communication. This is why now, in 2009, we are launching a new version of the Human Network website aiming to showcase more of the work led by young men and women around the world, to share our expertise with each other, and to seek opportunities for cooperation in our countries and around the world.
People behind this website and many of its members are alumni of the ITU Youth forum in one point of time. We felt we would like to leverage our experience in order to create real and tangible impact on the world we live in, through entrepreneurship and innovation with the ICT, their thoughtful diffusion, and their responsible use. This is why we aim to grow our membership beyond the Youth Forum alumni and invite like-minded youth to join something that we believe can grow into an influential movement.
Below, you can find a list of declarations drafted by the young people during the ITU Youth Fora. They offer insight into what concerns and what inspires these different cohort of emerging leaders. If you feel you share our passion to creating change through thoughtful use of ICT, please take a look at the various you can keep in touch with what we do.
Youth Forum - ASIA TELECOM 2008, Bangkok
Youth Forum - AFRICA TELECOM 2008, Cairo
Youth Forum - WORLD TELECOM 2006, Hong-Kong
Youth Forum - ASIA 2004, Busan, Korea
Youth Forum - Africa TELECOM 2004, Cairo
Youth Forum - World TELECOM 2003, Geneva
Youth Forum - Asia TELECOM 2002, Hong Kong
Youth Forum - Africa TELECOM 2001, Johannesburg