Expanding the Asia Pacific Internet Governance AcademyYien Chyn Tan

The Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) is expanding! To leverage the success and broaden the reach of this annual capacity-development program, we're excited to share that APIGA is expanding to the local level, with four local events happening in 2024.

APIGA is a highly reputable program focused on Internet governance (IG) and targeted at youths aged 18-35 from the Asia Pacific region. Past data shows that one in four APIGA alumni continue to participate in IG forums locally, regionally, and globally.

Together with our co-host, the Korea Internet and Security Agency, we agreed that the local-level program - "Local APIGA" - will complement the annual Regional APIGA in South Korea. Select participants from Local APIGA events will be directly admitted to the Regional APIGA.

The expansion enables more youths from across our region to participate in and benefit from the APIGA workshops. The existing Regional APIGA is highly competitive, with an average acceptance rate of the top 7 percent of each cohort's applications. Local APIGA would also address language barriers in selected economies, providing opportunities for participants to better learn and express views in their primary languages.

Over the past year, APIGA co-hosts and partner organizations have been exploring Local APIGA opportunities with several local hosts across the region. The inaugural Local APIGA was held by the National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association in Taipei 20-21 April 2024, and it was a success with 26 highly engaged participants.

Other Local APIGA events in 2024 will be held in:

• Kathmandu, Nepal, 30-31 August, hosted by Federation of Computer Association Nepal.
• Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, 8-9 October, hosted by Pengelola Nama Domain Internet Indonesia.
• Melbourne, Australia, 20-21 November, hosted by .au Domain Administration Ltd.

If you have connections to youth groups and are interested in developing IG youth leaders, you can find more details about hosting a Local APIGA event on our website.