The Dynamics of Meaningful Youth Participation: Mapping the Purpose of Participation of Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance Participants

This study investigates how youth are navigating the regional and global Internet governance spaces using the Pyramid of Participation framework as proposed by the author, which is built on Arnstein's ladder. By understanding how youth participate in these spaces, this study seeks to understand the dynamics of meaningful youth participation by using the Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance (YOUthDIG) as an exploratory case study. The findings reveal that The Pyramid of Participation outlined in this paper provides a visual framework for decision makers to reflect on where and how participants engage with the process. This Pyramid of Participation also acknowledges that when there is no meaningful participation, that participants will choose to discontinue their participation and this motivation requires reflection on where we can enhance processes and change attitudes to ensure a better informed group of stakeholders and empowered actors.