The 13th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2023) has started its work in Moscow. More than 500 participants have registered for the Forum, almost half of them are in the hall, the rest are watching the stream on the RIGF 2023 website, participating in Zoom discussions, asking questions in the broadcast chats on the YouTube channel of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.

Speaking at the opening, Andrey Vorobyev, Director of the Coordination Center, noted that the Russian Internet Governance Forum is the largest national forum in the region of Eastern Europe and North Asia, and throughout the years of its work, the Forum has been addressing the most pressing problems of the global and Russian information space. This year, one of the main topics of RIGF is be the Global Digital Compact, which is designed to find a compromise between the interests of states, corporations and users, while preventing network fragmentation.

“Attempts to divide the network can have dire consequences both for the Internet itself and for the economies of all countries and civilization as a whole. The role of the Internet today can hardly be overestimated, and the digital contract is the way to ensure that the interests of states and cultures are taken into account when regulating the network. Therefore, even in a difficult political situation, work on the Global Digital Compact does not stop,” Andrey Vorobyev said.

Chengetai Masango, Head of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat, added that the RIGF 2023 program is rich and the format of the forum allows representatives of all stakeholders to be involved in the discussion of Internet Governance issues. “Active discussion on these issues allows us to identify opportunities and potential threats, as well as to develop norms and ethical frameworks that shape our digital present and future,” he added. “Many of the issues discussed at RIGF 2023 will be on the agenda of the 18th Global Internet Governance Forum, and we invite the Russian Internet community to take an active part in its work.”

Alexander Khinshtein, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, stressed that today there is no need to explain the role of the Internet in the life of the country and the development of the economy, and what importance the state pays to the development of digital technologies. “One of our main tasks, and it will be discussed at RIGF, is the security of the digital environment and the Internet. Today, this is more relevant than ever, given the foreign policy situation, the unprecedented growth of cyberattacks and IT crime. We are also actively working on changing the basic laws, and I hope that concrete ideas and proposals will be heard from industry participants and users today,” he added.

Sergey Plugotarenko, General Director of ANO Tsifrovaya ekonomika, also noted that platforms and formats that allow Russia to remain integrated into the international agenda are more important today than ever. “Today, one of the key tasks for the state and business is the development of import-substituting products and services. In Russia, the concept of the Technology Leadership Center will be developed in the spring, the purpose of which is to provide support for domestic technologies, leaders and solutions through the development of import substitution and digital technologies, market analytics, international cooperation, assistance in marketing, promotion and replication. We plan to launch a pilot project in the summer. The purpose will be to collect the best practices of import substitution in various industries, to develop services for replication and promotion of the created domestic software within the framework of the RFP both within Russia and abroad,” Sergey Plugotarenko noted.

Vadim Glushchenko, General Director of the ANO Center for Global IT-Cooperation, noted that Russia has enormous potential in technology development, and it is important to position and show itself on international IT platforms, such as, for example, IGF 2023, which is going to be held this autumn in Kyoto (Japan).

The Forum continues to work - watch the online stream or follow our publications!