On December 12, the Russian Internet Week, RIW 2019, kicked off at the World Trade Center in Moscow. For the 12th time, RIW will be attended by over 6,000 major industry players, investors, and officials. During the Runet’s anniversary year, the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ has become the special partner of the main internet industry event.
RIW 2019 was opened by RAEC Director Sergei Plugotarenko, ROCIT Director Sergei Grebennikov and Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev. Sergei Plugotarenko said that over the 12 years of its existence, RIW had become a platform for dialogue within the industry, and today it had also become a place for open discussion with the state. “The volume of the internet economy has reached five trillion rubles per year, and this is quite a good share of the overall Russian economy,” Sergei Plugotarenko noted.
In his speech, Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev drew attention to the fact that 2019 was an anniversary year for the Russian internet segment and .RU. “We began celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ccTLD in April and we are concluding the celebrations with a digital December. Over this time, more than 50,000 people took part in the celebrations, including the RIW 2019 participants. More than 5,000 have already watched the Coordination Center’s movie Internet for All, and we are now finishing the premiere screenings in the regions. At the beginning of 2020, everyone will be able to watch the movie via the center’s official channels. Our next year will also mark an anniversary: the second Russian ccTLD, .РФ, will celebrate its 10th birthday next May. The Coordination Center is preparing a large educational program and invites everyone to join,” Andrey Vorobyev said. He also emphasized that it was important to establish relations of trust between the internet and the state and reminded everyone that to date this topic was being discussed at the highest international level events, such as APrIGF held in Vladivostok in July, the global IGF in Berlin and other forums and meetings.
The RIW 2019 participants received greetings from Russian State Duma Deputy, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Technologies and Communications Leonid Levin, who noted that a direct dialogue between the industry and the state was necessary. “It is extremely important that the state acts not as a digital controller but rather as the initiator and source of inspiration for the internet and digital technologies. At the Global Internet Governance Forum that took place in Berlin in November, it was noted that today, preserving the internet’s open and transparent character must be combined with countering new challenges, such as, primarily, terrorism, drug trafficking and child pornography, and that state agencies play an important role in this fight,” Leonid Levin said.
The Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ traditionally supports the Russian Internet Week, and this year the center became the forum’s special partner. Accredited registrars hold contests and quests at the Coordination Center’s stand. Visitors can get a map and embark on a quest with six tasks from the registrars. After collecting six stamps on the map, indicating they have successfully completed the tasks, participants will receive gifts from the registrars and a prize from the Coordination Center to mark the anniversary of .RU. Pictures can be taken in the beautiful Coordination Center photo zone throughout both days of RIW 2019. In addition, on the first day of RIW, the Coordination Center’s stand will host the award ceremony of the DOT Journalism contest, and on the second day, a meeting of the participants in the Netoscope project. In addition, on the second day everyone will be able to attend the workshop held by the Coordination Center and the Online Patent company.
