By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
Future Leaders Competition is back for its ninth year and the International Institute of Communications(IIC) has announced the topic for this year’s Competition. This is according to a heads-up our reporter obtained over email from Director-General, International Institute of Communications, Lynn Robinson.
As per the heads-up, the competition provides international exposure to ambitious young professionals, aged 18 – 35 years old.
This year the IIC is asking young professionals to produce an essay on the following topic:
- Effective emergency preparedness: safeguarding ICT systems and infrastructure from disruption.
- Do you find the current policies designed to protect national and international communications systems from disruption to be sufficient? Is anything more needed – why and how might it be achieved?
What can you win?
A lot is lined up to be won and this is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and skills as you build your career. With so much talent in the ICT sector the IIC hopes to encourage submissions from across the digital ecosystem.
Accordingly, the Chair and Vice-Chair of this year’s judging panel have been announced:
*Chair, IIC Future Leaders Competition, Principal, Millwood Hargrave Ltd, Andrea Millwood Hargrave
*Vice-Chair, IIC Future Leaders Competition, Partner, Koan Advisory Group, Vivan Sharan,
Here is what 2025 winner, Sarvjeet Pal, had to say: “The IIC’s work around digital policy is truly commendable. Last year’s theme, ‘Grabbing your attention: media plurality and the digital ecosystem,’ aligned perfectly with my interest in algorithmic governance and media diversity. As a postgraduate student in public policy, with half-baked confidence in my writing, I took a leap of faith and submitted my draft after rigorous debate and discussion with my co-author. The competition’s result, however, changed my perspective entirely: it gave me confidence in my writing, and opened doors to connect with senior policy professionals in the media policy space. To all upcoming participants: put in everything you’ve got, this competition will be a milestone experience. Wishing you the very best of luck. Long live the movement toward making the digital public sphere more inclusive, accessible, and safe!”
