The 8th Russian Internet Governance Forum has officially opened in Innopolis, Tatarstan. This is the first time the forum is taking place outside Moscow, which reflects the new trend mentioned by Director of the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ Andrey Vorobyev. “This year’s trend is active involvement of the youth in internet governance. This is why we selected Innopolis, the youngest and most innovative Russian city with the youngest population, as the host city for this forum. This city has been attracting major internet events. It is not a coincidence that the first regional internet governance forum is also taking place here,” Andrey Vorobyev said. The issue of modern technology and communications development in the Republic of Tatarstan was discussed by Dmitry Vandyukov, First Deputy Minister of Informatization and Communications of Tatarstan. Some 2.8 million people in Tatarstan are mobile internet users. In total, 76 percent of the republic’s population use the internet and 79 percent use electronic services, which is the highest percentage across Russia.
“We are happy to host the Russian Internet Governance Forum in Tatarstan,” Vandyukov said. “I hope it will spread the republic’s image in terms of the digital economy and the development of electronic services. This forum aims to provide a platform for a dialogue between the authorities, the industry and international organizations in internet governance. The forum will take into account current changes in the world and the increasing share of digital technology in all industries, from manufacturing to finance technology, as well as communication between residents of various countries and the state.”
Innopolis Mayor Ruslan Shagaleyev spoke about the contribution of Innopolis residents, both students and employees of resident companies, to the development of the Russian internet. The city is actively developing the Internet of Things, and is building new, modern communications networks. “It is our job to determine what place Russia will have in the world in the development of high technology, in the nearest future,” he stressed.
Foreign speakers focused in particular on protection of human rights online and combating cyber threats. “Now you all have a unique opportunity to become co-authors of a new reality. Expansion of new knowledge and experience at the global level gives us more and more opportunities for development. But it is important to look at the new opportunities through the perspective of human rights. For example, one of the important aspects of the internet is protection of privacy, and we all must look after this,” said Patrick Penninckx, a representative of the Council of Europe.
Bruce McConnell of the EastWest Institute called for stopping information wars between the West and the East. He believes that hacking, publication of stolen documents and fake news result in the militarization of the internet. Representative of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Chengetai Masango commented that the global IGF is glad to see initiatives to hold forums at regional and national levels.
The 2017 forum was largely attended by young professionals and students. Thus, many speakers spoke in depth about internet governance and the role of international organizations in this. ICANN Vice President Mikhail Yakushev spoke about ICANN. “ICAAN is an independent organization without any links to the US government. We are extremely interested in Russia’s voice being heard when it comes to internet governance issues,” he said. He also mentioned interaction between ICANN and the internet community. “The internet community includes all of you. It includes all the people who are interested in how the internet will be developing, those who are ready to contribute to its development,” Yakushev said.
Sergei Grebennikov, Director of the Regional Public Center of Internet Technology, spoke highly of the organization of the Russian forum in Tatarstan and wished the participants productive and intensive work at the event. “We must forget the word ‘internet’ and speak about the digital transformation of everything around us,” he said.
Right after the forum opened, an awards ceremony took place for the winners of the 2nd IP&IT Law Russian Youth Contest on Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law. The contest was organized by the Coordination Center and IP Club and with support from the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications. This year, the IP&IT Law contest winners received a very important award: the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) decided to present its medals to the first and second place winners, Vera Glonina and Igor Rumyantsev.
Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev presented the Order for Services to the Internet (Virtuti Interneti) to Sergei Plugotarenko, Director of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications. Traditionally, the order recipient gives a lecture to the forum audience. Sergei Plugotarenko’s lecture was dedicated to the history of relations between the state and the internet industry.
