Undergraduate and graduate students, post-graduate students, recent graduates and anyone who is interested in the field of information technology and the issues of the Internet governance, aged under 30, may take part in the event.
Youth RIGF will give a chance to network with leading IT experts, to talk round the future of the Internet as well as to take part in one of four sessions where speakers and participants will discuss the hottest development trends not only the Internet, but also the information technology in general in Russia and worldwide:
The whirl of the DarkNet: how to protect yourself from the "the powers of darkness" of the World Wide Web
"Create impossible to download": the national content
How deep is your fake: online fake technologies
IT volunteers and infosecurity: digital innovations for the benefit of the society
A separate interactive master class will be held by the team of the Youth Digital Ombudsman (YDO), formed following the results of the first Youth Russian Internet Governance Forum. It will deal with threats to the information and worldview security of young people in the cyberspace domain.
"Every year we try to select topics taking into account not only the international agenda set by the UN Internet Governance Forum, but also Russian specifics and, of course, the opinions of the participants of our forums, so that they have the opportunity to ask competent experts all the questions of concern and above all to share their ideas. The task of the Forum is to sweep our young people along with the topic of the Internet and IT and add "new blood" to the Russian expert community in this area," said Vadim Glushchenko, Director of the Center for Global IT Cooperation. He added that young people are nearly interested in the development of the Internet and digital technologies, and want their voice to be heard. Youth RIGF provides them with such an opportunity.
This year, the Forum will also host a competition for "For a Safe Digital Childhood" award of the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment (the Alliance). The prize will be awarded in three categories: "Online Safety Lessons" – for teachers, "Adults and Children on the Internet" – for parents and "Best Youth Project" – for children aged from 14 to 18. The award ceremony will be held on May 12, 2023 at the Forum site. As a result of the competition, adults will be awarded valuable prizes, and children will have a unique opportunity to complete an internship in one of the Alliance companies.
Moreover, a "Digitalization for the Greater Good" joint award of the Center and the YDO will be awarded within the framework of the Forum. The purpose of the award is to find and reward active young people who are engaged in improving digital literacy among young people, as well as protecting their rights in an online environment. An application for participation in the competition for the award may be submitted on the Forum's website from March 21.
Youth RIGF is being held as many as for the third time and is inextricably linked with the Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF), which, in turn, is a nationwide initiative within the framework of the Global IGF. Just as in the last year, the event will be held in a hybrid format.
The Forum registration form, agenda and additional information about the awards and the event are available on the website: http://youth.rigf.ru/.