Read this quarter’s Intermedia here

Kindly sponsored by our Members

“I was inspired and encouraged by my colleagues to enter the competition. Digital regulation is a topic that I have been working on for a while and last year’s topic was a good match with my interests and knowledge. The promotion of the article after the competition was a great benefit that helped me grow my network and connect with people that have similar interests.”
Andreea Antuca, Future Leaders’ Competition 2021 winner

What is this initiative?

The Future Leaders’ Competition, now in its fifth year, and supported by the Members of the IIC, encourages and promotes original thought in the areas of communications and policy.

What do you need to do?

This year entrants are asked to produce an essay, submitted electronically, on the following:

Across the Metaverse: Policy priorities 

Oxford Reference has defined ‘the metaverse’ as a virtual representation of reality implemented by means of virtual reality software.

This world of augmented reality and virtual reality brings technologies that could offer new ways of communicating and interacting. But as with digital platforms and artificial intelligence, the emerging ‘metaverse’ challenges policy-makers and regulators to encourage innovation in products and services, while watching for content and conduct that might be harmful to users or other businesses. Will there indeed be a whole new ‘metaverse’ or just an adaptation of current business and social practices?  Are the policy issues limited to the use of digital assets and biometric data, or is there more to consider?

In this essay, we want you to create a picture of how you see this world evolving and to consider whether steps should be taken now to help shape its future, or whether the sector should be left to develop without direct policy intervention.

Hear from the Chair of this year’s judging panel, Derek Wilding, for a further explanation of this year’s topic:

Chair of the judging panel

Derek Wilding (Prof)

Derek Wilding (Prof)

Co-Director, Centre for Media Transition, University of Technology, Sydney

Vice-Chair of the judging panel

Andrea Millwood Hargrave

Andrea Millwood Hargrave

Chair, IIC Future Leaders Competition

Judging panel

Samson Leo

Samson Leo

Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer, Fazz Financial Group and Xfers
Sajda Ouachtouki

Sajda Ouachtouki

Senior Manager, Engagement, Global Public Policy, The Walt Disney Company
Sara Bannerman (Dr)

Sara Bannerman (Dr)

Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance; Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia, McMaster University
Maria Ramstedt

Maria Ramstedt

Director Government & Industry Relations, Ericsson

Podcast: Winner from 2020

Sofía Mancialla, founder of Sección Legal, the first Mexican digital marketplace for legal services, is the winner of the 2020 IIC Future Leaders’ Competition. Here she speaks with her mentor, Emanuele Vadilonga, Director of Regulatory Affairs Europe, BT Global Services, on why she entered the competition and how winning the competition has impacted her professional life and her personal development.

Listen to the podcast

Podcast: Previous Winners

In this podcast, previous winners of the IIC Future Leaders’ Competition, Tim Hogg from the UK and Angel Fu from Australia speak about how they prepared for the competition and their experiences on winning the competition.

Listen here
Back to the top

The IIC is the world's only policy debating platform for the converged communications industry

We give innovators and regulators a forum in which to explore, debate and agree the best policies and regulatory frameworks for widest societal benefit.

Insight: Exchange: Influence

We give members a voice through conferences, symposiums and private meetings, as well as broad exposure of their differing viewpoints through articles, reports and interviews.

The new website will make it easier for you to gather fresh insights, exchange views with others and have a voice in the debate

Take a look Learn more about our updates
Please upgrade your browser

You are seeing this because you are using a browser that is not supported. The International Institute of Communications website is built using modern technology and standards. We recommend upgrading your browser with one of the following to properly view our website:

Windows Mac

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of browsers. We also do not intend to recommend a particular manufacturer's browser over another's; only to suggest upgrading to a browser version that is compliant with current standards to give you the best and most secure browsing experience.