From Awareness to Action: What We Learned at the Youth Digital Rights Summit’s Strategy Sessions
The Youth Digital Rights Summit brought together young leaders, policymakers, and advocates for a series of fast-paced community dialogues and strategy sessions focused on tackling online harms in Canada. Acknowledging that awareness alone was not enough, participants stressed that real change required organized, sustained strategic action led by youth and community collaborators.
Understanding the Root of Online Harm
Participants heard that online harm does not begin with a single comment. It begins much earlier, at the level of narratives and systems of power. Algorithms amplify harmful content, often taking things out of context and escalating harassment before individuals have a chance to respond. These harms disproportionately impact racialized individuals, women, gender-diverse communities, and those in public-facing roles.
Reporting harmful posts and seeking moderation cannot be the only method to address online harms, speakers stressed. Social media companies and other online platforms must work to shift the systems they create that enable harm.
Moving Beyond Awareness: Youth as Policy Actors
The community dialogues during the Summit emphasized the importance for young people to move from an awareness approach to direct engagement in policy and decision-making spaces. Young people should not just see themselves as users of digital platforms as they are experts in their own lived experiences.
Practical pathways included:
Writing policy briefs and submitting them to government consultations
Meeting with Members of Parliament and engaging across all levels of government
Participating in committees or applying as witnesses in legislative processes
Building collective advocacy efforts, such as coordinated letter-writing campaigns
One speaker with legislative experience noted that what’s “written down” can only be changed through formal processes. Youth voices must be present in those processes to influence outcomes.
The Power of Organizing and Engaging Government: Opportunities and Realities
Across the sessions, organizing emerged as one of the most powerful tools for change. Whether through advocacy campaigns or peer mobilization, youth participants were reminded that individual voices become significantly stronger when amplified collectively.
This includes:
Building networks of like-minded individuals and organizations
Creating pressure through coordinated outreach (e.g., mass emails, campaigns)
Directly contacting ministers responsible for online harms policy
Advocating for youth-specific consultations and formal feedback mechanisms
Learning from international approaches while recognizing Canada’s unique context
At the same time, youth were cautioned not to rely on a single tactic. Letter-writing campaigns can be effective, but they must be part of a broader strategy that includes storytelling and coalition-building.
Collective organization to effect policy change must be intersectional in nature. Online harms are not experienced equally, and effective solutions must reflect the realities of those most impacted, particularly racialized communities, migrants, and women experiencing technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
However, policy changes can take time and there are many challenges towards creating change. While Canada continues to develop updated online harms legislation, progress can be slow due to competing priorities, concerns about freedom of expression, and varying levels of political will.
Accountability and Corporate Responsibility
Data can be used in driving change. Collecting and sharing evidence about online harm and its impact on youth can make the issue more visible and harder for decision-makers to ignore.
Tech companies must be held accountable, including examining gaps between corporate promises and actual practices, applying pressure through investors, regulators, and public campaigns, and advocating for enforceable standards for companies rather than simply voluntary commitments.
Rethinking Digital Spaces, Navigating Challenges, and Sustaining Momentum
Beyond policy, the Summit examined how young people can actively shape digital culture. Participants emphasized the importance of engaging ethically online through the content we share, the way we communicate, and how we show up in digital spaces. They highlighted the value of critical media literacy, fact-checking, understanding the lasting effects of online content, and promoting thoughtful, responsible behaviour, especially amongst peers.
While the Summit highlighted many opportunities, it also surfaced real challenges. Youth voices are often dismissed in formal spaces, policy processes can be slow, and engaging with online harms can take a toll on mental health. Building support systems and working collectively, recognizing different roles within movements, practicing resilience and celebrating small wins, and continuing to push for systemic change, even when progress feels slow were all noted as ways that youth advocates could ensure a level of self and collective care when working in the digital realm.
As Jane Bailey, Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa noted, “Meaningful change requires persistence, and the belief that systems can be transformed.”
The Youth Digital Rights Summit demonstrated that young people are not only aware of the challenges in digital spaces, they are ready to lead solutions. With the right tools, support, and opportunities, youth can play a transformative role in shaping a safer, more just digital future.
The Youth Digital Rights Summit was made possible through the generous support of:
Youth Take Charge Program — Canadian Heritage
Supporting youth leadership, civic engagement, and opportunities for young people to shape Canada’s future.
Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF)
Advancing racial equity, anti-racism, and systemic change across Canada — including in digital spaces where discrimination and hate increasingly show up.
We are deeply grateful for their commitment to strengthening youth voices and advancing safer, more equitable digital environments nationwide.