The RIGF 2024 work program continued with the section “Inclusivity is a New Reality”. The moderator of the section, Sergey Grebennikov (RAEK), recalled that an inclusive approach makes it possible to make digital products and resources accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. “But we should not forget that inclusion is a story connected not only with physical capabilities, but also with language barriers and problems with access to the network,” Sergey Grebennikov said.
Roman Daoud (Notamedia) spoke about the criteria for accessibility of websites and mobile applications and the principles of developing sites for people with disabilities. “There are more than 11.5 million adults and children with disabilities in Russia, which is every 12th resident of the country. This is a very large audience, and one cannot help but take their interests and capabilities into account,” the speaker said.
Participants discussed the issue of multilingualism of the Internet and the implementation of Universal Acceptance of non-Latin domain names and email addresses, which is given much attention in the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
“From my point of view, digital inclusion is providing all people with equal opportunities to connect to the Internet and fully use it. And the aspect of multilingualism implies that such equal opportunities should be provided to all people, regardless of what language they speak or what their native language is,” Maria Kolesnikova, Chief analyst of the Center and Chair of the Russian Working Group on Universal Acceptance, said.
Also participating in the discussion were Alexey Lyubimov (Digital Business Department, VTB (PJSC)), Maxim Smirnov (JetStyle), Yulia Atanova (DIT Moscow), Alexander Shtang (Artemy Lebedev Studio), Natalya Perepelkina (Netology).
At the “Ecology and Sustainable Development” section, experts, together with moderator Irina Gaida (Skoltech), talked about how technology can help reduce environmental damage: tools for monitoring and assessment, the use of existing and the creation of new technologies and solutions for environmental protection.
The impact of digital transformation on the environment and the role of technology in achieving sustainable development goals was discussed by Maria Olkhovskaya (SPLAT GLOBAL), Olesya Sukhanos (MegaFon), Mikhail Yulkin (CarbonLab) and Alexander Bulkin (Skoltech).
The moderator of the “Data Management and Trust” section, Karen Kazaryan (ANO “Digital Economy”) invited participants to think about how data management mechanisms could be structured and how they could be implemented.
“Now a new national project “Data Economy” is being prepared, and in connection with this they are increasingly talking about the need to use the collected data, including in government administration. At the same time, it is proposed to significantly strengthen data protection, since users’ trust in data processors, in particular, as a result of leaks, has been seriously undermined,” Karen Kazaryan said. He noted that there is often a lack of an overall picture of where what data is being used, and this prevents its effective use.
Particular attention at the section was paid to issues of trust and trusted intermediaries, regulatory regulation of data management processes. The speakers agreed that the key task here is to find new legal mechanisms that would ensure the free and yet secure exchange of data between all participants in the ecosystem, and also protect the rights and interests of data subjects and owners.
The discussion was attended by Gleb Shuklin and Marat Takhaviev (Big Data Association), Maria Saikina (RAEK), Alexander Yukhno (IGSU RANEPA), Irina Levova (Institute of Internet Research).
The final section of the forum was called ““The Golden Mean”: the balance of private and public.” Moderator Alexander Partin (Privacy Advocates) noted that in the process of developing approaches to regulating information technology when private, public and economic interests collide, there are many participants whose interests need to be balanced. The section participants analyzed different situations of conflict of interest and tried to find solutions for all scenarios.
The section was attended by Sofia Zalutskaya (IP/IT), Holger Zscheige (Infotropic Media / European Association of LegalTech in Russia), Alexey Muntyan and Alena Gerashchenko (Privacy Advocates), Sergey Votyakov (PIKS Robotics).
Summing up the forum, Director of the Coordination Center Andrey Vorobyev noted that the Forum continues to fulfill the task of a platform for dialogue between different stakeholders. He also invited all participants to the 17th International Conference of Administrators and Registrars of National Top Level Domains in the CIS Countries, Central and Eastern Europe, which will be held on September 5-6, 2024 in Minsk (Belarus).
Thus, the RIGF 2024 has finished its work! Presentations from forum speakers will soon be published on the website rigf.ru.