SEEDIG Youth School

Class of 2018

About the Youth School

The SEEDIG Youth School is a capacity development initiative targeted at students originally from, or residing in a country in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area.

The purpose of the programme is to offer regional youth a space to learn, network, exchange ideas, and prepare to actively participate in SEEDIG and other Internet governance processes. Another goal is to encourage more youth to become long-term contributing members of SEEDIG and broader Internet governance and digital policy processes.

SEEDIG Youth School | Outcome

At the 2018 edition of the SEEDIG Youth School, students had to prepare a debate on Internet business models. They were divided into two teams: Team Cyberton (representing Internet users) and Team Digitalia (representing Internet companies). The two teams had the task to come up with a new Internet business models in which there is a better balance between the interests of Internet companies and the rights and interests of end-users. The models developed by the students are presented below.

A. Team Cyberton

The Internet business model prepared by the Team Cyberton – which represented Internet users – is the following:

1. Users give away their personal data and allow the Internet company to use/sell their data for marketing purposes and/or to third parties. The Internet company shall pay individual users for their data being collected and processed with consent.

a. The scope of data for which the consent is given shall be specified in advance.

b. Users shall be entitled to monetary compensation for the sharing or selling of their data. The compensation shall be proportional to the annual revenues earned by the Internet company, based on individual users’ data, in the users’ country of residence.

c. If the data is misused, the Internet company shall pay for the damages suffered by individual users.

d. If the Internet company wants to share or sell users’ data, it shall first ask users for consent. If individual users agree to their data being collected and processed, they shall be entitled to monetary compensation. Users shall see customized ads based on their profiles.

2. Users enjoy free services of the Internet company, but do not allow for their data to be used for marketing purposes and/or selling to third parties.

a. Users shall see general ads.

b. Users’ data is not shared with or sold to third parties. User data is only stored for a limited period of time so the Internet company can identify its users and provide them with the services they have registered to.

Children under 18 shall enjoy free services only. They shall not be offered any paid option. They shall not be shown any ads.

B. Team Digitalia

The Internet business model prepared by the Team Digitalia – which represented an Internet company – is called EMONA (Easy Monetising Network Assets). The model originally had three options for users:

1. Free: Free registration, non-customised general ads, data collection without processing.

2. Freemium: Users pay for using the platform; the platform does not show ads, and it does not process the users’ data.

3. Super Premium (offered to Free users after a period of time): Users are paid for their data being used for marketing purposes or sold to third parties (i.e. advertisers). They shall be entitled to a monetary compensation that shall be determined in accordance with the scope of information the users agree to be collected, processed and/or shared with third parties and proportional to monthly or annual revenues. Users shall see customised ads.

Team Digitalia’s goal was to encourage users to become Super Premium users as more data means more money. The model is considered sustainable for an internet company, as in every option it earns revenue.

C. Cyberton + Digitalia Hybrid Business Model

After long debates and negotiations, Team Cyberton and Team Digitalia have agreed on a hybrid business model, as described below.

1. Free registration, non-customised general ads, data is collected without being used for profiling or being sold to third parties.

2. Users are paid for their data being used for marketing purposes or sold to third parties. The amount of payments shall be determined in accordance with the amount of information users agree to share. Users see customised ads.

a. If users’ data is intentionally or unintentionally misused, the Internet company shall pay damages to users.

b. If the Internet company wants to sell users’ data, it shall ask them first for their consent. If users agree, they shall be entitled to monetary compensation for the sharing or selling of their data.

Testimonials

The SEEDIG Youth School it is one of my best workshops, the initiative is awesome, and the experience is priceless. I met a lot of interesting people and experts on different topics with different perspectives and opinions. I learned a lot about Internet governance and the activities in this region, where I plan to get more involved thanks to this programme.

If I could describe the SEEDIG experience in few words, I would say it was a mind-blowing, full of positive vibes, intensive learning process and well-organised event. To all the youth who chase to be involved on the field of Internet governance and aim to have an impact on their community, the SEEDIG Youth School is one of the best ways to start, and it must be experienced. With the best regards to the team and the participants of 2018’s meeting, I will keep this experience as one of my favourites.

I enjoyed the fact that despite coming from a social sciences background, I was able to get actively involved and share roles and responsibilities with all the other peers at the 2018 SEEDIG Youth School. Round tables and informal talks on the topic of Internet governance and artificial intelligence were particularly interesting for me. SEEDIG’s willingness to engage with individuals and organisations representing various stakeholders with a diverse level of involvement and skills was an important precondition for the productive dialogue in Ljubljana.

The fourth annual meeting of SEEDIG in Ljubljana this year was absolutely amazing! I was involved in this conference as part of the Youth School, and on this occasion, I learned a lot of new things. I volunteer in a feminist NGO, so I very much get in touch with civil society, I advocate for human rights through activism, but this time I had to look at everything from the perspective of the private sector. Believe me or not, together with our team, we did a great job. I have a background in social sciences, and before I got to the conference I did not have much idea about blockchain, cybersecurity, privacy by default, and so on and so forth. For this reason, I thought I would not be able to actively participate in the discussions of the days that followed. To my surprise, I managed to get involved a lot and to understand and learn many new things. I met wonderful people, I stayed in touch with some of them, I made friends. At the same time, after this conference, we realised that almost everything that surrounds us and almost all daily activities are somehow related to the governance of the Internet. We should get more involved because the fundamental rights we have offline should count as much in the online environment.

Every presentation had something to offer. I had many informative and fun conversations with the other attendees, and left with a long list of ideas for both short- and long- term improvements back home.

The SEEDIG Youth School was a great experience for me. Besides learning so much from a great number of experts on different Internet-related topics, I got to meet and exchange experiences with them, and I am now able to call some of them my friends today.

Minel Abaz, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Adela Alexandru, National School of Political Science and Public Administration, Romania
Anja Češarek, Law University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dervish Demaj, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania
Vjosa Fusha, University for Business and Technology, Kosovo*
Lea Hrubenja, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

Nikoleta Krstić, University of Ljubljana, Serbia
Marko Paloski, Ss.Cyril and Methodius, North Macedonia
Efthymia Papadopoulou, National and Kapodistrian Universiy of Athens, Greece
Mirko Savković, University of Glasgow/Dublin City University/Charles University of Prague, Serbia
Tadej Skok, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Gentjana Visoçi, University of Tirana, Albania

Programme

09:00 – 10:30 | Introductions & Setting the scene (Joint session with the Fellowship Programme)

Welcome & introductions from SEEDIG core team
Students and fellows introductions
Overview of the day and the overall SEEDIG meeting

10:30 – 12:00 | Simulation: Preparing an IGF meeting

The students will simulate, at a small scale, the process of building the programme for an IGF meeting.

13:00 – 16:00 | Debate: Internet business models

Students are divided into two teams: Team Cyberton (representing Internet users) and Team Digitalia (representing Internet companies). The two teams will have the task to come up with a new Internet business models in which there is a better balance between the interests of Internet companies and the rights and interests of end-users.
Read more details about the debate.

16:00 – 17:30 | Internet governance under the magnifying glass (Joint session with the Fellowship Programme & SEEDIG newcomers)

Internet governance: why, what, how?
Key organisations and processes in the Internet governance ecosystem
Debate

In addition to the dedicated session on 22 May, the Youth School programme also involves full participation in the SEEDIG meeting on 23–24 May.

What does the SEEDIG Youth School offer?

Online preparatory meetings, in advance of the SEEDIG 2018 meeting

During these meetings, you will get to know each other and will learn the basics of Internet governance, digital policy, and related topics. If these terms sound vague or fancy, don’t worry! During the Youth School, together we will dissect the jargon and see what these concepts really mean. As a participant and student, you will also learn more about SEEDIG and other Internet governance processes across the region and the globe.

A half-day or full-day event dedicated to you, on 22 May

During this event, you will get to meet some of the key participants of SEEDIG 2018. You will also explore in more depth at least one of the topics that will be discussed at SEEDIG – at your choice. As Youth School 2018 students, you will create this year’s youth messages to be presented at the annual SEEDIG meeting. So you will be all set to join discussions on regional and global digital policy!

Participation in SEEDIG 2018

Youth School students will be among many other actors – from SEE and beyond – who will share their expertise and experiences on various Internet-related topics at the two-day annual meeting. All you have to do is to raise your hand and make your point. No comment is silly, and no question is stupid. 🙂