Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said they are “incredibly grateful” in a series of phone calls that they surprised a group of young leaders with.
The Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF), a new initiative that aims to give young people the tools they need to advocate for the changes they want to see in technology, has the Archewell Foundation, run by Prince Harry and Meghan, as a member of its advisory committee.
Photo: RT Youth Power Fund
$2 million will be given to 26 youth-led initiatives to support their efforts to create a more inclusive, equitable, and accountable technology ecosystem.
Harry and Meghan can be seen beaming as they call to congratulate some of the young leaders who have been selected for the inaugural cohort in the video released by the RTYPF.
The Duchess, who turns 42 on Friday, looks chic in a coordinated ensemble and wears delicate gold earrings, while the Duke sports a smart-casual look in a pair of brown chinos and a white shirt.
One of their calls ends with Harry saying, “Thank you for doing everything that you do, our kids especially are incredibly grateful.”
Meghan continues, laughing, “They don’t know it yet, but they will!”
Trisha Prabhu of the app Rethink Citizens, which aims to identify and stop cyberbullying before any harm is done, responds to Harry by saying: “This is amazing; this is precisely why we do what we do. The Youth Power Fund was established for precisely this reason.
Photo: RT Youth Power Fund
The father of two has previously advocated for online safety and appeared virtually at the Global Child Online Safety Toolkit hosted by the 5Rights Foundation in May 2022.
At the time, he said, in reference to his desire to protect Archie and Lilibet, “My kids are too young to have experienced the online world yet and I hope that they never have to experience it as it exists now – No kid should have to.”
“My two little ones are still in the innocence stage,” he continued. Sometimes I think I can permanently protect them from the dangers that they might encounter online, but I’m learning better.
“My wife and I are concerned about raising our children in a world where they are treated as digital experiments,” my wife says.
Photo: REUTERS
Emma Leiken, co-founder of RTYPF and member of Omidyar Network’s Responsible Technology Team, stated: “Societies around the world are grappling with significant issues like the youth mental health crisis and the deterioration of our information environment. Online, who and what can we believe? Can you really feel safe and supported in an online environment? What innovative programs can we design alongside young people rather than for them?
“These questions touch on issues ranging from platform accountability to cybersecurity, privacy, digital literacy, data equity, algorithmic bias, and digital well-being. That’s what this fund’s grantees will tackle.”
