Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, addressed the participants of the Forum with a welcoming speech. He noted that it is the new generation of young talented specialists who will have to decide what the Internet of the future will be like. This, in turn, will serve Russia's achievement of technological sovereignty, a goal set for us by our President, V.V. Putin.
More than 400 people took part in the Forum offline, and thousands of viewers joined online, highlighting the growing interest of young people in the development of the Internet and digital technologies.
During the opening of the Forum, the award ceremony of the "For a Safe Digital Childhood" of the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment was also held, celebrating projects aimed at improving digital literacy and creating a safe online environment for children.
The sessions covered a wide range of topics: digitalization of science, its prospects and challenges ("Many Numbers From Nothing: the Internet and Science"), the role of the Internet in maintaining traditions and shaping the modern cultural environment ("Return to the Origins: Russian Digital Cultural Code"), the impact of the digital environment on interpersonal relationships ("Loneliness on the Web: the New Generation and Socialization"), as well as a new wave of digital entrepreneurship and e-commerce ("I Myself: I Myself: Low-Risk IT Merchantry").
One of the significant events of the Forum was a master class from TASS, where young specialists learned about current trends in digital media, the specifics of working with new content formats and analytics tools in the media industry.
Vadim Glushchenko, Director of the Center for Global IT Cooperation, said: "Our Forum is part of the ecosystem of the United Nations digital cooperation, so the issues we are discussing today largely overlap with topics of concern to young people around the world. As a technologically advanced country, Russia has digital solutions that we can share with our like-minded people. That is why on June 5-6 Nizhny Novgorod will host the first ever Global Digital Forum, which will bring together hundreds of experts from all over the world for an equal dialogue about a common digital future."
Traditionally, within the framework of the Forum, the Youth Digital Ombudsman and the Center for Global IT Cooperation awarded the annual Digitalization for Good award. The purpose of the award is to identify and support young people (including IT specialists) who have made a special contribution to the protection of rights, clarification of duties and responsibilities of citizens in the digital space; and increasing the level of digital literacy.
Moreover, the Youth RIGF award was presented at the closing ceremony for the best technology project or product created by young professionals between the ages of 18 and 30. The winner received the opportunity to participate in a professional acceleration program in one of the international IT parks - partners of the Center for Global IT Cooperation. The winner of the special Youth RIGF award for the best youth technology project was Alena Samsonova for the Tekhlidery.rf project. She launched the Telegram channel, “Techleaders.rf”, to cover scientific and digital initiatives, turning it from a news resource into an authoritative IT media outlet.
The organizers and participants expressed their desire to continue holding the forum annually, providing young people with a platform for dialogue, discussion of new ideas and implementation of projects that contribute to the development of the IT industry in Russia and the world.
