Raneem Zaitoun’s interest in digital governance grew from experiencing Lebanon’s electricity crisis. Frequent power outages also disrupted Internet access, making it harder for people to work remotely, study online and run businesses. The experience showed her that connectivity depends not only on technology, but also on the systems and governance that support it.
Before joining the Internet Society’s Youth Ambassador Program, Zaitoun was an International Telecommunication Union regional youth envoy and had experience developing policy recommendations. She wanted to build a stronger understanding of the technical foundations behind those proposals. The program gave her training in how the Internet works, including its architecture and resilience, and introduced her to the Internet Impact Brief, a framework for assessing whether policy proposals support the Internet’s fundamental properties.
Zaitoun says that combining technical understanding with policy experience has shifted her focus toward the intersection of technology and diplomacy, where she can assess whether commitments are practical to implement.
She is applying that approach to artificial intelligence governance. As a digital youth representative with the Information and Communications Technology Council and an Internet Society Youth Ambassador, she supports work on Canada’s digital economy. She also founded Noven, an AI governance research platform for institutional investors, which works to translate governance commitments into implementation mechanisms and procurement criteria.
Her current research examines Canada’s AI for All strategy and what would be needed to move from voluntary commitments to binding legislation with clear compliance standards and accountability mechanisms. Zaitoun argues that governance can help guide AI toward beneficial outcomes rather than simply hoping for them.
She also advocates for young people to have a meaningful role in digital policy discussions, particularly those concerning AI. In her view, effective governance requires governments, industry, civil society and young people to contribute their different perspectives to the same process.
At the 2026 World Summit on the Information Society Forum in Geneva, Zaitoun joined the Internet Society delegation in discussions on Internet resilience, capacity building and inclusive AI governance. She hopes to continue working on evidence-informed digital governance in national and multilateral institutions, connecting international commitments with practical implementation.
Sources: Internet Society.