eSafety Youth Council and Technology Leaders Forum

The eSafety Youth Council (‘the Council’) was formed in 2022 to ensure young Australians have a say in policies and programs around online safety. Following its call for key technology companies to show greater accountability and responsibility, the Council engaged Capire to help plan and facilitate an in-person forum to discuss young people’s experiences online. 

Objectives and approach
Capire worked closely with the Council to determine the forum agenda and to help Council members develop their stories to share on the day. The objectives were to:

• create a forum for constructive conversation and respectful listening
• hear different perspectives on young people’s experiences online
• explore opportunities for future engagement between the Council and industry leaders
• identify priorities, actions and next steps.

Industry leaders from Meta, Google, Snap, Microsoft, TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest attended.  The forum centred around two discussions:

• What are the online experiences of young Australians?
• How can the technology industry and young Australians have an ongoing and constructive dialogue?

Outputs
The forum was well received by both the Council and industry leaders. One Council member commented: “I really loved being able to speak on the panel and have everyone listen to us – the tech companies were engaged and cared about what we shared.”

Discussions were captured in a summary report, which was provided to the eSafety Commission and industry leaders. The companies represented committed to an ongoing dialogue with the Council.