The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed that their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are "incredibly grateful" as they surprised a group of young leaders during a series of phone calls.
Prince Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation is on the advisory committee for the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF), a new launch which aims to empower young people to advocate for the changes they want to see in tech.
26 youth-led initiatives will receive a total of $2 million to support their work to build a more inclusive, equitable and accountable technology ecosystem.
In the video shared by the RTYPF, Harry and Meghan can be seen grinning as they call to congratulate some of the young leaders, who have been chosen for the inaugural cohort.
The Duchess, who will celebrate her 42nd birthday on Friday, looks elegant in a tonal ensemble, with delicate gold earrings, while the Duke is dressed smart-casually in brown chinos and a white shirt.
At the end of one of their calls, Harry says: "Thank you for doing everything that you do, our kids especially are incredibly grateful."
Laughing, Meghan adds: "They don't know it yet, but they will!"
Responding to Trisha Prabhu of Rethink Citizens, an app that aims to detect and stop cyberbullying before the damage is done, Harry says: "This is amazing, this is exactly why we do what we do. This is exactly why the Youth Power Fund was created."
© RT Youth Power FundThe father-of-two has previously spoken out about online safety and made a virtual appearance at the 5Rights Foundation’s Global Child Online Safety Toolkit in May 2022.
Speaking about his desire to protect Archie and Lilibet, he said at the time: "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."
He added: "My two little ones are still of the age of innocence. Sometimes I feel I can keep them away from the online harms that they could face in the future forever but I am learning to know better.
"As parents, my wife and I are concerned about the next generation growing up in a world where they are treated as digital experiments."
© RT Youth Power FundEmma Leiken, RTYPF Co-founder and Responsible Technology Team at Omidyar Network, said: "Societies globally are wrestling with major issues like the youth mental health crisis and the decay of our information environment. What and who can we trust online? Can online spaces be truly safe and affirm wellbeing? And what new systems can we create with, instead of for, young people?
"These questions touch on issues ranging from platform accountability to cybersecurity, privacy, digital literacy, data equity, algorithmic bias, and digital well-being and that's what this fund's grantees will tackle."
