Our Digital Future – Edmonton / Milan

From 08:00 on November 29 until 08:00 November 30, 2019, 50 young minds will collide at Studio 96 in Edmonton to debate social relations in the digital age; technologies shifting everything from how we communicate with loved ones, to date and forge new friendships.

In the format of a 24-hour hackathon (or “Thinkathon”) participants will create short videos, social media campaigns, and recommendations to be shared with Canadian and European policy makers.

Youth now wield enormous, yet disorganized, power. In the 2019 federal election, for the first time in Canada, millennials made up the largest single bloc of eligible voters.

The government of Canada has made youth engagement a priority, just appointing to Cabinet a new Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.

Meanwhile, policymakers continue to grapple with the privacy, security, and ethical implications of technological disruption.

These youth dialogues aim to engage youth (18-30) in the political life of their countries and help ensure their voices are included. The event is part of a series of 6 – “Our Digital Future – C’est ICI!” – being organised in 6 Canadian and 6 European cities between now and the end of 2020.

Below are a few impressions from the first Thinkathon (Montreal and Brussels) held in October 2019.

The project is organized by the Goethe-Institut, ThinkYoung and Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi NDG and funded by the European Union as part of its program, “EU-Canada Youth Transatlantic Civil Society Dialogues.”

For more information about the youth dialogues, contact:
Marcel Sangsari, Press and Information Agent, Goethe-Institut, +1 613 265-5207
marcel.sangsari.extern@goethe.de