On May 13, Moscow hosted the II Youth Russian Internet Governance Forum (Youth RIGF 2022), organized by the Center for Global IT-Cooperation with the support of the Center for International Promotion.
More than 400 people took part in the forum offline. Also, more than 80 thousand participants joined the forum events on the VKontakte social network. The Forum brought together students, PhDs and young specialists interested in Internet Governance and information technology. The event was also attended by representatives of government agencies, the scientific community and business, cybersportsmen and developers, as well as members of the Youth Council of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
Participants of the “Captured by the World Wide Web: Content and Algorithms” section discussed the development of domestic social networks, the features of the algorithms of popular services, methods of counteracting destructive content and fake news.
At the same time, there was a discussion on the future of esports and the gaming industry “Esports epidemic: the growth of the gaming industry in the world”. During the section, industry representatives assessed the impact of international sanctions and spoke about the pressure on Russian esports.
The Forum also did not bypass such a hot topic as the metaverses. As part of the section “We all live in the matrix: the future of metaverses”, representatives of VKontakte, Sberbank, the Higher School of Economics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and Immergity, a company specializing in VR and AR technologies, discussed the development of digital worlds, their impact on the global economy and the future of technologies of virtual and augmented realities.
Another section of Youth RIGF 2022 “Choose a Career From a Young Age: New Demands of the Old Labor Market” was devoted to the topic of training personnel for the Russian IT industry and the transformation of the labor market, the professions of the future, and the prospects for the implementation of the youth in IT.
Two master classes were organized between the main sections of the forum. One of them was held by Dmitry Gulyaev - Youth Digital Ombudsman, elected at last year's Youth RIGF. He talked about how to recognize fakes on the Internet and how to deal with them. At the same time, a Girls in ICT master class, dedicated to the promotion of IT professions among girls and the prospects for choosing an education and profession in the growing ICT sector, has taken place.
Interesting developments from the IT industry were presented in a comprehensive conference Youth RIGF 2022 program in addition to sections and master classes. So, for example, MTUCI students created a VR stimulation that allows them to travel into the past and get to know the creator of the radio, Alexander Popov, and his invention. Barista robots poured coffee and mixed non-alcoholic cocktails on the site, a mechanical dog from Sberbank entertained the guests, and a special robot from the same Sberbank disinfected the site.
At the stand of the TASS news agency, everyone could study the job market in the media, as well as to play popular computer games in the eSports zone. Forum guests could play Hearthstone online, and compete in a dance duel in Just Dance on the site.
Also within the framework of the forum, the winners of three prizes were awarded by the jury, which included the Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ Andrey Vorobyev. Thus, the virtual environment created by the Altterra team from the Don State Technical University was recognized as the best international youth IT project. Their project is something similar to the metaverse, but the structures and environment in it can be built by the users themselves. Currently, Altterra has recreated virtual campuses where lecturers are already giving lectures.
The winner of a special nomination from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics “The Best Educational IT Project” was awarded to student Maxim Uryvaev, who invented the CommunityFinder application. It allows you to find people with similar professional interests.
Arevik Martirosyan, post-graduate student of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received the main prize "For Contribution to International Cooperation in the Sphere of IT". Arevik is the founder of the School of International Information Security, a permanent partner of the Coordination Center’s Youth Council. The School is a unique scientific and educational project, the purpose of which is to form youth diplomacy in the field of international information security. Members of the School take part in the activities of the UN Open Ended Working Group. During the existence of the project, students of the School have become representatives of many constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as more than 40 countries of the world.
“International information security and Internet governance issues are areas that are just emerging in Russia, and therefore the younger generation has great chances to succeed in them. Young people have every opportunity to take part in this process. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The one who does nothing makes no mistakes. Mistakes are the means to success. Go ahead!” - Arevik said.
The Youth Internet Governance Forum is part of the Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF), part of the UN Global Internet Governance Forum ecosystem. The first Youth Internet Governance Forum in Russia was held last year at Skoltech, one of its organizers was the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
