The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), led by Park Gi-tae, and the Hwarang Youth Foundation, headed by President Park Yoon-sook, have launched the Global AI Youth Parliament (aiassembly.one), a transnational digital democracy platform that enables young people around the world to propose, discuss, and develop global policies using artificial intelligence.
The platform was officially introduced during an inaugural ceremony held on June 27, 2026, marking the launch of the first recruitment campaign for Global AI Youth Assembly members.
The initiative is the first major project to emerge from the two organizations’ shared vision, announced during a joint seminar in March, of cultivating the next generation of global youth leaders in the AI era. It is designed to move beyond traditional policymaking structures centered on national legislatures and international organizations by enabling ordinary citizens to use AI to propose policies, participate in international public dialogue, and help shape solutions to global challenges.
The Global AI Youth Assembly will focus on issues that require international cooperation, including climate change, armed conflict, AI ethics, the digital divide, historical distortion, cultural heritage protection, and sustainable development. Participants will use generative AI to analyze these challenges, draft policy proposals and legislation, and transform their ideas into digital content such as posters, videos, and social media cards to encourage discussion among global audiences and build international campaigns.
The platform launches with support for four languages—Korean, English, French, and Spanish—allowing young people from different countries to collaborate, exchange ideas, and develop joint projects without language barriers.
VANK and the Hwarang Youth Foundation described the initiative as both a new model of AI-powered public diplomacy and an experiment in digital democracy. By expanding policymaking beyond governments and international organizations to include citizens worldwide, the platform aims to create opportunities for anyone to contribute to solving global issues through AI.
Participants will complete a four-stage program under the theme, “A Great Mission That I Design and Accomplish.” The program begins with identifying policy ideas before using AI to develop detailed policy proposals and legislative drafts. Participants will then produce digital content to promote their ideas, expand global campaigns, and ultimately take on leadership roles by serving as “AI Members of Parliament” or “AI Secretaries-General of International Organizations.”
During the inauguration ceremony, Park Gi-tae delivered a keynote lecture titled “The AI Era: A Time When Anyone Can Design Policy.” He introduced examples of citizen-led policy initiatives, including proposals to incorporate Korea’s independence movement and independence activists into the nation’s passports and currency, as well as campaigns promoting the international adoption of the Equal Earth world map projection, which more accurately represents the relative sizes of countries.
“National competitiveness in the AI era will depend on the questions we ask AI and the values and policies we build into its knowledge base,” Park said. “We hope to develop the Global AI Youth Assembly into a digital democracy platform where ideas originating in Korea can evolve through collaboration with global citizens and where our shared values are accurately reflected in the AI systems of the future.”
Park Yoon-sook, President of the Hwarang Youth Foundation, said that creative participation by global citizens is becoming increasingly important alongside the roles of governments and international organizations.
“We will actively support young people around the world in becoming the next generation of global leaders who work together to solve the common challenges facing humanity,” she said. “When AI technology is combined with the creativity of young people, it creates new possibilities for addressing global issues beyond national borders.”
Founded in 2000, the Hwarang Youth Foundation is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing future global leaders under the philosophy of “Changing the World Through Service and Leadership.” It currently operates a worldwide network of approximately 7,500 young people across 57 branches in 19 countries.
Building on the launch of the Global AI Youth Assembly, VANK and the Hwarang Youth Foundation plan to expand AI-based policymaking initiatives, global campaigns, and digital citizenship education, with the goal of empowering young people not only to participate in policymaking but also to become policy creators shaping the future of society.