RIGF 2021 updates: New speakers and the 1st Youth Russian Internet Governance Forum

New speakers have been added to the program of the 11th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2021), to be held on April 7-9, 2021. The session Regulating: Data Sovereignty will include Mikhail Yakushev (Higher School of Economics), Nikolai Dmitrik (Lomonosov Moscow State University), Bertrand de La Chapelle (Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, France), Natalya Velikorodnyaya (MTS), Sarkis Darbinyan (Digital Rights Center) and Alexandra Orekhovich (Internet Initiatives Development Fund). The session is scheduled for April 7, the first day of the forum.

On April 8, Yevgenia Dmitriyeva of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation will moderate a session called Digital Platforms: The Rules of the Game. Participants will include Vladimir Gabrielyan (Mail.Ru Group), Vadim Glushchenko (Center of Competences on Global IT Cooperation) and Alexei Goreslavsky (Dialogue). That same day, Nikolai Zubarev from the non-profit organization Digital Economy will moderate another session on building a system of trust in supply chains.

The list of speakers has also been updated for the session User Agreements with Internet Platforms: How Can the Rights of Russian Users and the State’s Interests Be Protected?, scheduled for April 9. Anna Dupan from the Higher School of Economics will moderate the session and will conduct a discussion involving Yuliana Bikbulatova (Higher School of Economics), Yelena Zayeva (Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service), Karen Kazaryan (Russian Association for Electronic Communications), Roman Krupenik (Yandex) and Dmitry Magonya (Art de Luxe).

On April 6, 2021, the 1st Youth Russian Internet Governance Forum (Youth RIGF 2021) will precede the adult forum’s opening ceremony at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.

The forum has a long tradition of holding youth events one day prior to the official RIGF opening ceremony. The most outstanding speakers of the Russian Internet Governance Forum have given lectures to students of universities and technical schools and have also held seminars and workshops in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. This year, young people will gather for their own forum, and they will be able to speak with IT experts, take part in one of the four sessions, discuss the future of the internet with famous bloggers, and offer their own ideas for a youth statement that will be formulated following the forum.

Undergraduate and graduate students, recent alumni and everyone under 30 years interested in the IT sector are invited to attend. The preliminary program and registration form are posted on the website.

On March 21 and 28 and on April 4-5, a special course for young people interested in the development and use of the internet and related technology will be held as webinars prior to RIGF. Participants will receive detailed information about the subject matter of the RIGF sessions and will team up with invited experts to outline the main points proposed for the youth statement at the 1st Youth RIGF event. A preliminary program and registration form are posted on the website. Applications will be accepted until March 18. The 11th Russian Internet Governance Forum, due to be held online, is organized by the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, with the support of the Russian Ministry for Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. More information is available here.

RIGF 2021 participants must register in advance. Attendance is free.

We look forward to seeing you at the RIGF 2021 and Youth RIGF events!