One of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s big issues is internet safety, responsibility and accountability. Which is why Archewell teamed with the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund this year to bring more young people to the issue of making tech safer, fairer and more equitable. This week, the RT Youth Power Fund released a video of the Sussexes calling some of the people who were leading initiatives which will be joining the fund.
Even though Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2, might be too young to appreciate it, Meghan and Harry have made promoting internet safety one of their main charitable endeavors since moving to the US in 2020. The couple recently helped the Youth Power Fund make its official launch by calling up a few of the 26 different honorees who in total will receive $2 million to help fund their projects, and on Wednesday, the fund shared some snippets from those conversations.
“It was a complete surprise. I had no idea I would be speaking with them,” Emma Lembke, the cochair of internet safety advocacy organization Design It For Us, told Vanity Fair. “The duke and the duchess, and all of their work, have been pivotal in moving so many social issues forward and bringing visibility to a lot of important areas, and specifically responsible tech.”
Both Lembke and her fellow cochair Zamaan Qureshi are rising college juniors, but they already have years of experience in advocating for better policy and design when it comes to tech aimed at young people. In February, Lembke became one of the youngest people to ever testify in front of Congress on the subject of technology.
“It’s felt like such a long journey, and it’s just been so inspiring and exciting to see momentum pick up over the past few months,” Lembke said. She added that the Youth Power Fund was a sign that stakeholders from across generations want to talk about how the internet can be better for its younger uses. “I think it will benefit society at large, and it will continue to build a digital ecosystem that will benefit us all.”
Receiving funding alongside Lembke, Qureshi, and Design It For Us, are 25 more organizations working on issues relevant to Gen Z’s experience with technology, from responsibility in designing AI, protecting human rights, improving access to education, and using tech to address social and environmental challenges, among others. “The fund is bringing together a huge number of movers and shakers in the responsible tech youth power movement—and it really is a movement,” Qureshi added. “These are young people who have a huge amount of ambition, and it’s an honor to represent that cohort.”
[From Vanity Fair]
I’m including the video below – it’s nice to see them in their garden. For those devoted Sussex-watchers, I believe they’re sitting on Meghan’s outdoor bench, the one she had in Toronto, moved to London and then Windsor, then packed and brought to Montecito. I love how much she loves that piece of furniture. They look happy and rich! It was cute to see how excited these kids were to talk to H&M. I like how the coverage is really centering the kids too.
Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund Announcement from RT Youth Power Fund on Vimeo.
Screencaps from the Vimeo video.
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