On November 12, the TASS press center hosted a news conference on the Russian Internet Week (RIW 2019), which will take place on December 12–13 at the World Trade Center.
The news conference was attended by Leonid Levin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications; Yevgeny Novikov, Aide to the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation; Anna Serebryanikova, President of the Association of the Big Data Market Participants; Sergei Plugotarenko, Director of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) and Andrey Vorobyev, Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
The speakers noted that this year RIW had the task of becoming the central platform for dialogue between the state and businesses, which is reflected in the forum’s program and its special events. Starting from 2019, RIW will have the status of the most important professional GR event in the IT industry.
In his opening remarks, Leonid Levin explained how a dialogue between the internet industry and the state would be built at the RIW platform. He noted that the Russian IT industry needed to set up a self-regulation system and become more consolidated. “Self-censorship is an important element of the self-regulation system, which, in particular, can often be found in the global social networks. In addition, the IT industry must develop shared standards,” Leonid Levin said.
RAEC Director Sergei Plugotarenko described in detail the program of the upcoming Week. This year, the program includes only thematic sections with conferences, which will help the participants to move freely at the event choosing the themes and speakers they are really interested in. More than 5,000 visitors and over 35,000 online viewers are expected to take part in the RIW 2019 events. There are special zones and events for holding business discussions or signing agreements and memorandums (B2G and G2B networking).
Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev said that the center’s projects and the .RU ccTLD, which is marking its 25th anniversary this year, would be presented at the Russian Internet Week. He also noted that the celebrations would reach a culmination at RIW 2019, and the results of all the anniversary events would be reviewed.
“Over the past 25 years the internet has come a long way, from a scientific experiment to a tool, which is inseparable from our everyday life, work, and entertainment. It is a crucial agent of socialization, and simultaneously an economic driver, and the main source of information. The internet is an essential part of many industries and underpins various processes in many fields, even those traditionally considered remote from digital technology. Transportation, industry, medicine, the media could not function without it. It would also be impossible to manage air and sea traffic, global finance and supply chains without the internet. It is becoming a network for devices, the number of which will soon surpass the number of users. Over these years, we have witnessed the emergence of an entirely new phenomenon, which has an even more interesting path ahead of it. We will watch this with great interest,” Andrey Vorobyev said.
The Russian Internet Week, the largest high-tech conference and exhibition in Russia, has been held since 2008. This time, RIW will bring together major industry players with their projects, investors, and officials for the 12th time. RIW has proven to be an expert and education platform for a constructive professional dialogue, cross-industry communication, a dialogue with the government, and exchange of experience and achievements in the IT sphere.
