The ITU Global Youth Summit was held in Varadero, Cuba, from 11 to 13 March 2025 under the theme “Empowering youth voices in ICTs for an inclusive connected future”.

     The Summit brought together youth representatives from different regions and countries around the world, fostered global intergenerational dialog, and served as a platform for sharing international experiences in the field of telecommunications/ICTs.

     The Summit was held in a face-to-face format with the participation of ITU members, youth envoys of the Connected Generation initiative and invited youth representatives from UN thematic initiatives and other international organizations. Delegations from more than 30 mostly developing countries attended the Summit, with a total attendance of more than 400 participants. The event was also attended by high-level speakers, including Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, President of the Republic of Cuba.

     The Summit featured many interactive sessions on topics such as telecommunication/ICT development, cybersecurity, e-health, addressing e-waste, building innovative telecommunication/ICT business models, and others.

     At the closing plenary session, Ernesto Rodriguez Hernandez, First Deputy Minister of Communications of the Republic of Cuba, presented the main telecommunication/ICT challenges and opportunities identified by the youth during the Summit. The key areas for which challenges were identified were: building secure and sustainable infrastructure, developing digital skills for all young people, and bridging the digital divide. Among the opportunities, youth highlighted: continued support for public-private partnerships for telecommunication/ICT development projects, the use of technology to protect the environment, and the use of telecommunication/ICT for education.

     In addition to the delegations of the Communications Administrations of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications, CIS region was represented by Ulyana Stolyarova (Russian Federation), Generation Connect Youth Envoys initiative and ITU Youth Council member, who actively participated in the Summit sessions, in particular she:

- moderated the session on ICT economy and innovative business models, presented an overview of key challenges for the CIS region in the field of cybersecurity at the session on youth regional initiatives,
- gave a speech at the closing of the Summit, in which she emphasized the importance of involving young people in the work of ITU through ITU Member delegations, the commitment to the principles of non-discrimination in the work of the Union, and the need to support young people.