Tech Policy
Youth Ambassadors 2026
Elevating youth-informed perspectives into active technology policy debates.
Technology is moving fast and young people live with its consequences the longest.
Yet youth input into critical tech policy debates remains limited.
The Tech Policy Youth Ambassadors program creates a mentored, professional pathway for young people to contribute directly to national and global tech policy conversations.
Delivered by the Tech Policy Design Institute (TPDi) and supported by the LEGO Group, all outputs of the program are independently led and owned by the Youth Ambassadors.
The case for youth-informed tech policy
Technology is reshaping our world, including education, labour markets, and civic life. Yet the young people – some of the most affected by these systemic shifts – are rarely embedded in the formal processes that govern technology and its impacts on our lives.
Youth participation mechanisms exist in many countries but they are often consultative. Structured, accountable pathways for incorporating youth perspectives into tech policy design are still uncommon.
As UNESCOs 2026 Lead with Youth Report notes:
‘Young people are not passive beneficiaries waiting to inherit the future. They are rights holders and partners who must help design it, together with other generations.’
Tech policy decisions made today will shape the rights, safety and opportunities of younger generations for decades.
The Tech Policy Youth Ambassadors program works with young adults aged 18–25 who are embedded in youth communities and positioned to engage meaningfully with younger cohorts.
Ambassadors elevate informed perspectives from those communities into formal technology policy processes, including insights from under-18 cohorts, particularly those aged 8–12.
This structured pathway strengthens the legitimacy and long-term resilience of technology governance in Australia and globally.
Enno Hendel-Dunn speaking at Tech Futures 2025 at Parliament House
Introducing the inaugural cohort of Tech Policy Youth Ambassadors
Kick off meeting for 2026 Youth Ambassadors and TPDi Mentors: Zoe Hawkins, George Trigenis, Johanna Weaver, Meredith Hodgman, Rachael Burns and Bianca Kendrick (left to right)
We are excited to announce the inaugural cohort of the Tech Policy Youth Ambassadors Program.
The strength of applications made this a difficult selection, with an exceptional number of thoughtful, capable young Australians motivated to shape tech for the benefit of humanity.
Join us in welcoming the selected ambassadors:
Rachael Burns is a lived experience mental health and disability advocate and Founder of Integrity Initiative, focused on advancing dignity, human rights and system-level change grounded in lived experience.
Bianca Kendrick is Youth Programs and Policy Adviser at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation in Melbourne, working directly with young people to strengthen digital safety and advance a rights-based internet.
George Trigenis brings an economics and policy lens, with experience in Queensland Youth Parliament, focused on how technology adoption and AI shape productivity and opportunity for younger generations.
How the program works
The program selects a national cohort of 18–25-year-olds and supports them through a structured, mentored pathway into live tech policy at the Federal level.
Ambassadors:
- receive one-on-one mentoring from TPDi experts
- contribute to active research on tech policy issues, including AI and Digital Duty of Care
- engage with national and international policy actors
- participate in active Federal parliament processes
- synthesise perspectives from younger cohorts within their communities
- co-design and deliver a youth-led international Virtual Assembly in September 2026.
Focus topics will not be prescribed in advance. Themes, format and priorities will be informed by the Ambassador cohort themselves, in dialogue with peer youth networks and global institutions. TPDi will provide mentoring, but all outputs will be at the independent discretion of the Ambassadors.
This creates a platform for youth-informed policy dialogue.
The experience
The program is designed to build capability, confidence and professional networks that extend beyond the 2026 cohort and into future policy engagement.
Ambassador operate at the intersection of youth communities and national tech policy. They:
- develop fluency in tech policy design
- work directly with TPDi researchers and policy leaders
- translate perspectives from younger cohorts within your community into structured policy inputs
- engage with senior policymakers, multilateral institutions and global youth peers
- co-create the priorities and format of the inaugural international Virtual Assembly.
Ambassadors not only observe policy conversations, they actively contribute to them.
The impact
Youth-informed perspectives generated through the program will contribute to:
- TPDi research and policy frameworks
- national public forums and roundtables
- government and multilateral discussions
- a youth-led international Virtual Assembly in September 2026.
The Assembly will be shaped by the Ambassadors themselves and will connect Australian youth leaders with global peers and institutions in technology governance.
Ambassador Activities
On Tech Mirror, TPDi’s podcast, Youth Ambassadors Bianca Kendrick, George Trigenis, and Rachael Burns asked questions of Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind about Australia’s Draft Online Privacy Code.
They discuss how the proposed privacy code will work and how it will shape and benefit young people’s privacy in the future, with the potential for positive spillover for all users regardless of age. Listen to the episode and provide your input on the draft code – consultations open until 5 June 2026!
Youth Ambassadors Bianca Kendrick and George Trigenis peer reviewed TPDi’s Research Spotlight: Earning trust – unlocking AI Adoption for Australians, injecting an invaluable youth perspective into the research.
The research reveals 85% of Australians support government regulation of AI, and 70% say they would embrace AI more if strong rules were in place – signalling that regulation is not a barrier to adoption and productivity, but the condition for it.
➡️ Read the Research Spotlight
➡️ Read the Media Release about the Spotlight launch
➡️ View the photos from the Spotlight Launch
Youth Ambassadors George Trigenis spoke on the panel at the launch of TPDi’s Research Spotlight: Earning Trust – unlocking AI adoption for Australia.
The panel featured speakers role-playing the four Australian AI personas identified in TPDi’s research. The format was designed to explore how different Australians are approaching AI adoption, trust and regulation George ably represented Australia’s “Self-Assured Adopters” (12%).
➡️ View the photos from the Spotlight Launch
➡️ Read the Research Spotlight
➡️ Read the Media Release about the Spotlight launch
Supported by The LEGO Group
The Tech Policy Youth Ambassadors Program is sponsored by The LEGO Group.
TPDi’s independence is our most valuable asset. As a registered not-for-profit, our work is supported by external funding. We only accept funding from entities that agree to be disclosed publicly and commit to respect and promote TPDi’s independence.
For this program, TPDi will provide mentoring, but all outputs will be at the independent discretion of the Ambassadors.
Follow this link to learn more about TPDi’s funding model.
