St. Petersburg is hosting the SPIC 2019, the St. Petersburg Internet Conference, on May 30-31. The Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ experts traditionally attend the event.
Mikhail Anisimov, Deputy Head of Information Department at the Coordination Center, addressed the plenary meeting that opened the SPIC 2019. He pointed out that the conference was the launching pad for a series of regional events all timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Russian national domain .RU and the Runet’s anniversary. “On April 7, we started celebrating the .RU’s anniversary in Moscow whereas now the celebrations are moving to St. Petersburg and to the Russian regions. They will continue in Altai in June where young IT-volunteers will hold a convocation during Electronic Week. Later in the summer the 25th anniversary of the national domain will be discussed in Dagestan while in the fall the topic will again be discussed at the Far Eastern Internet Conference in Khabarovsk and the Ural Conference in Izhevsk,” Mikhail Anisimov said.
The participants of the panel, 25 Years of Runet: The Anniversary Viewed by the Industry, which Anisimov moderated, discussed the changes the internet has undergone throughout the last quarter of a century. Sergei Plugotarenko, Head of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC), gave a detailed account on the progress of internet conferences and how their participants have changed. RAEC Chief Analyst Karen Kazaryan spoke about the evolution of measurement methods and the various metrics currently used by researchers. Viktoria Bunchuk, Head of Social Projects at the Coordination Center, reported during the panel discussion on the how the industry is maturing, citing as an example the awareness and involvement of Russian journalists in covering topics and events surrounding the works of DOT Journalism contest participants. RAEC press service head Yekaterina Demkina, Wikimedia.ru executive director Stanislav Kozlovsky and Regional Public Center of Internet Technology (ROCIT) Director Sergei Grebennikov also attended the panel.
The panel moderator Mikhail Anisimov presented to the participants the film, Internet for Everyone, which will be released shortly. Its release will mark the 25th anniversary of the national domain .RU and Runet’s anniversary. The film is being produced by the Coordination Center together with the Social Cinema Foundation. The film’s premiere is scheduled for the fall of 2019. The participants and guests at the panel were shown the film’s trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNXPisd6c_4 and also learned about other video materials prepared by the Coordination Center for the national domain’s anniversary. “The key topic of our film is inclusiveness, a story about the internet, which is not only accessible to everyone but which can also make an individual’s life better and more fulfilling. I think this is the main challenge facing those who develop the Runet and the national domain: making the net useful for people, helping them to live and grow,” the moderator added.
Guests of the SPIC 2019 can also visit the stand of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ which will feature accredited registrars who offer games and contests for conference visitors. Meanwhile, staff members of the Coordination Center will offer an opportunity to all those interested to take part in a game called Learn the Internet, Manage It! and identify their level of knowledge of internet technologies, cyber-security rules and the history of the internet. Contest winners will receive prizes and presents from the Coordination Center and registrars. Welcome to SPIC 2019!
