Raneem Zaitoun is one of the honorees selected for the 2023 World Internet Conference (WIC) Global Youth Leadership Program. Having worked for tech giants such as Microsoft, and been involved in the startup ecosystem in Canada as well as in other countries, she believes it is her experience working with emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain that has helped her to be selected for the program.
Participating in dialogues and forums at the WIC, she said she learned a lot about the digital future from the speakers and industry stakeholders, and also learned more about China's initiatives and steps on the road to a more digitally cooperative world.
As a youth leader, Zaitoun believes that it is very important to remove digital illiteracy, and has put forward suggestions such as organizing seminars, setting up scholarships, and creating innovation hubs to enable younger generations to enhance their digital literacy skills.
The World Internet Conference (WIC) was established as an international organization on July 12, 2022, headquartered in Beijing, China. It was jointly initiated by Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT), China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), Alibaba Group, Tencent, and Zhijiang Lab.