At the closing ceremony, the State Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan Koichi Watanabe addressed the participants. He thanked the organizers for the preparation and successful holding of such a large-scale event. Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa and UN Deputy Secretary-General Li Junhua also spoke at the closing ceremony, recording a video message for the participants.
In just 5 days, about 300 sessions were held at the Forum, in which more than 8 thousand experts took part online and offline. At the site, the participants had the opportunity to communicate with representatives of different countries and professions, one way or another connected with the Internet.
Among the topics discussed at IGF were data governance, protection of freedom and human rights, AI and emerging technologies, cybersecurity, cybercrime, digital inequality and inclusivity, and much more.
The Russian delegation, as last year, was represented at the Forum at a high level. On October 8, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Grigory Borisenko held bilateral meetings with UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua and Head of the IGF Secretariat Chengetai Masango. During the talks, the Deputy Minister reiterated Russia's readiness to hold the 20th anniversary IGF at a high level in 2025. "We are open to dialogue with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the IGF Secretariat in order to prepare as effectively as possible for this important and responsible international event," Grigory Borisenko said.
On October 10, Elizaveta Belyakova, Chairperson of the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment, spoke at the session entitled: Bridging the Gap Between International Negotiations And Practical Experience In Responding To Cybercrime. "Do not forget that the most vulnerable group of Internet users for intruders are children. Creating a safe digital environment for a child and protecting children from cyber threats, which have only been gaining momentum lately, are one of the reasons why the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment was created in Russia," the Chairperson shared. During the report on "Cybersecurity, Cybercrime And Online Security", Elizaveta Belyakova outlined practical measures to ensure the safety of children on the Internet and gave examples of projects that have already been launched in Russia.
The Center for Global IT-Cooperation along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, ANO Dialog, the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment, the Coordination Center of TLD .RU/.РФ and the School of International Information Security participated in the organization of a number of important sessions of the Forum, to which the international expert community and the participants themselves showed great interest. The sessions organized by the Center are devoted to the fragmentation of the Internet, the development of metaverses, the role of youth in IT, deepfakes and other relevant topics.
Speaking at the session on fragmentation, "Scramble for Internet: you snooze, you lose", Director of the Center for Global IT Cooperation Vadim Glushchenko drew attention to the fact that preventing Internet fragmentation is an important part of the initiative of the UN Secretary-General on the creation of the Global Digital Compact. In his opinion, the upcoming intergovernmental negotiation process should lay down general principles that are designed to define fair criteria of responsibility for global digital platforms, and give states the opportunity to independently manage national segments of the Internet.
The next Internet Governance Forum will be held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The outcomes of IGF 2023 will be reflected in the final document, which will be available on the official website of the Forum.
