About Us

What We Do

We organize events, promote opportunities in Internet governance to youth, and coordinate youth engagement in the fields of Internet governance, telecommunications and Internet policy, and broader domestic digital policy.

Our History

Youth IGF Canada was initially conceived in the Fall of 2018 by a group of University of Toronto undergraduate students. Youth IGF Canada was originally started following youth being contacted by a cybersecurity youth consortium organized by Global Youth IGF. It was originally envisioned as a student club opposed to national network. Youth IGF Canada ran throughout 2019 and provided a research project presentation at Canadian IGF in 2019 (funded by the Internet Society). Youth IGF Canada dissolved in early 2020, before the pandemic, following the graduation of the University of Toronto students. 

It was resurrected by Dana Cramer in June 2023 where she began building its capacity and relations with the broader multistakeholder domestic and international Internet communities. From August 2023, Executive Council members began to propagate Youth IGF Canada. In February 2024, an expansion of the Executive Council led to the 18 members which now organize and coordinate Youth IGF Canada’s goals along our mission and vision.

Our Future

We organize our work around Audacious Goals. For 2025, we have the following Audacious Goals:

  1. Have Youth IGF Canada publicly operating in both of Canada’s official languages (English and French)
  2. Host the 2025 Canada Youth IGF in Montréal, Québec.
  3. Send a delegation of Canadian youth to the Global IGF.
  4. Achieve recognition status as an organization at various international multistakeholder fora.
  5. Complete an initiative on digital/media literacy for combatting mis/disinformation for youth.
  6. Letter writing campaign to K-12 schools in Canada to fulfill section 11(d) of the Global Digital Compact.
  7. Promote virtual Girls and Women in ICT days.
  8. Enter into a joint-venture partnership to host regular webinars on Internet governance.
  9. Teach Canadian youth how to submit interventions to regulators on the future of Canadian digital policies/regulations.
  10. Develop a Grassroots Community Infrastructure (i.e., handbook, listserv, learning platform, etc.) to have a 2026 provincial chapters of Youth IGF Canada (e.g., Youth IGF Canada – British Columbia Chapter).
  11. Undergo a documentation procedure for records retention and project management across all Youth IGF Canada files to ensure sustainability and resiliency for the organization for years to come.

As we progress through our goals, we work to add additional pieces for their accomplishment. 

Our Team

We are spread over five Canadian provinces. We believe in diversity, inclusivity, and openness. We are a ‘big tent’ organization.

Headshot of Dana Cramer

Dana Cramer

President, CEO, Coordinator

Toronto, Ontario

Dana Cramer leads Youth IGF Canada. She is Canada’s leading young Internet leader. Dana is a PhD Candidate studying Internet governance and telecommunications policy in the Toronto Metropolitan University and York University joint-graduate program in Communication and Culture. She is a CIGI Digital Policy Hub fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Dana is a 2024 Global Youth Ambassador with the Internet Society, becoming one of a handful of Canadians to hold this achievement. She has also held an ARIN52 Fellowship with the American Registry for Internet Numbers and was a NextGen@ICANN79 participant and a current ICANN81 Fellow with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

In her academic life, Dana was a Top 10 finalist of the 2023 International Institute of Communications Future Leaders Network Competition for her essay on systems mapping ways privacy policies can enhance cybersecurity frameworks. In 2020, Dana won the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Prize for Excellence in Policy Research for an essay on publicly owned fibre-optic infrastructure for reducing digital divides in the transport services broadband market. When she won the CRTC Prize, she was the youngest winner in its history. She has published in areas of Canadian telecommunications policy (Journal of Digital Media and Policy) and white papers for policy leaders on the algorithmic platformization effects on Canadian communications and cultural policies. She also has a long track-record in peer mentorship, Board governance, and leadership initiatives.

She is a lover of cooking, spin classes, and Saint Bernards – especially her Saint Bernard puppy, named Maple, who grounds her while she’s off trying to make a better Internet for people in Canada.

Headshot of Mira Gillis.

Mira Gillis

COO

London, England (Windsor, Ontario)

Headshot of Julianna Kowlessar.

Julianna Kowlessar

Director of Engagement and Programming

Toronto, Ontario

Headshot of James Caldwell.

James Caldwell

Director of Advocacy

Glen Levit, New Brunswick

Headshot of Skylar Johnson.

Skylar Johnson

Treasurer

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Headshot of Luzalen Marcos.

Luzalen Marcos

Web Master, Librarian, Records Keeper

Toronto, Ontario

Headshot of Hammad Khan.

Hammad Khan

Accessibility, Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Decolonization/Development (AIDED) Coordinator

Edmonton, Alberta

Headshot of Shannon Thom.

Shannon Thom

Growth Coordinator

Toronto, Ontario

Headshot of Laine McCrory.

Laine McCroy

Grassroots Community Coordinator

Toronto, Ontario

Headshot of Wyatt Jerome.

Wyatt Jerome

Grants Writer

Edmonton Alberta

Headshot of Emanuel Lukawicki.

Emanuel Lukawiecki

Sitting Member, International Organizations

Ottawa, ON

Headshot of Bianca Solamis.

Bianca Salamis

Executive Member

Vancouver, British Columbia

Headshot of Jared McGill.

Jared McGill

Executive Member

Surrey, British Columbia