The Internet Economy Forum opened on December 21. It brought together over six months of research from a wide range of industry experts. The experts, from major Russian companies and related agencies, created a roadmap of ten main directions for the development of the Internet and other electronic services. The forum was organized by the Institute of Internet Development and the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ.
The forum was opened by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Vyacheslav Volodin. He said that the state would do everything it could to see “that the development of the Internet would remain self-regulated.” This is especially important today as the Internet is no longer just a means of communication and information: “The Internet is not just media but it’s also healthcare, education, commerce and many other traditional sectors of the economy.”
Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov talked about the importance of increasing the role of the Russian Internet in terms of the national economy. He said it was important to develop a document including a specific action plan for the further development of the Internet in Russia. Such a document will be developed following the forum. The forum will include themed roundtable discussions where the participants will present their initiatives. During the central discussion panel, to be held on December 22, the second day of the forum, the experts will create an action plan for Internet development in 2016.
The director of the Coordination Center, Andrey Vorobyev, was a co-chair of the discussion, “Internet + Society.” The participants discussed a range of measures that should be adopted to develop the information society, to ensure public Internet security, to create the most favorable environment for the use of state e-services and to form and develop network infrastructure.
Andrey Vorobyev pointed out that the Internet had always been a self-regulated system, and that the state now actively supported the industry, interacted with it and leads the ongoing dialogue. “The Coordination Center is a good example of self-regulation. Now the state, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, has become a co-founder of the Coordination Center, so the state will be more actively involved in making important strategic decisions related to the development of Russian domains,” Mr Vorobyev said.
Leonid Levin, Chairman of the Board of the Regional Public Center for Internet Technology, State Duma deputy and Chairman of the Committee on Information Policy, IT and Communications, noted the growth of public digital literacy. He discussed the importance of assisting users in protecting themselves and their interests in the digital environment and improving media literacy.
The Coordination Center also participates in Internet + Exhibition held as part of the forum. The center’s interactive stand, Internet + Society, presented information on the development of Russian domains. An information video at the stand shows data on the growth of .RU and .РФ. The stand is very popular with the forum participants.
