Registration for the 16th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2026) will close on April 3rd. Over 700 applications have already been submitted for the hybrid event, which will take place in Moscow from April 7th to 8th.
The two-day program features nine sections covering a wide range of topics, including international cooperation in building an information society, the application of artificial intelligence, online child safety, preserving cultural codes and linguistic diversity in the global digital environment, digital transformation in healthcare, and other pressing issues.
High-ranking participants at the RIGF 2026 opening ceremony include Tatyana Matveeva (Head of the Presidential Directorate for ICT Development), Anton Gorelkin (First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, Chairman of ROCIT Board), Alexander Shoytov (Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation), Chengetai Masango (Head of the UN Internet Governance Forum Secretariat Office), Alexey Rogdev (General Director of the Internet Technical Center), and Andrey Kuzmichev (Head of the Runity Group). Andrey Vorobyov, Director of the Coordination Center for .RU/.РФ Domains, will moderate the opening.
Andrey Vorobyov emphasized that the forum’s themes, such as AI utilization, online child safety, digital healthcare transformation, and the development of national languages on the internet, are relevant to society as a whole, not just internet experts. He expressed confidence that RIGF will serve as a platform for productive dialogue and the development of practical solutions.
The plenary session, “WSIS+20: A Quarter Century in Building the Information Society. From Words to Action?”, will kick off the program. Participants will discuss the principles underlying international digital cooperation today, key areas of disagreement, and whether the potential for meaningful dialogue persists in a rapidly changing international context.
The forum will continue with a foresight session titled “AI as a Trigger for Breaking Conventional Processes: What it’s Already Changing and How it Will Transform Governance, Economy, and Society by 2035.” The focus will be on transitioning to adaptive models of AI regulation and a new architecture of responsibility among governments, platforms, and developers.
The section “Preserving Cultural Code and Linguistic Diversity in the Global Digital Environment” will bring together experts to discuss how to ensure the representation of national languages and cultural codes in the online space, and which digital technologies can serve as tools for protecting linguistic diversity, transmitting traditional knowledge, and fostering a sustainable cultural environment on the global network.
The first day of the forum will conclude with sessions on “Digital Transformation of Russian Healthcare: New Roles, Data, and the Future of Medicine” and “The Future of Children’s Digital Safety: New Approaches to Risk Prediction.”
The second day will open with the section “Sovereign Clouds: Evolution from a Marketing Term to a Contractual Requirement,” where participants will analyze how “sovereign clouds” are moving from declarations to practical standards that ensure data control without reliance on foreign vendors.
The forum will then host the “Virtuti Interneti” award ceremony, recognizing contributions to the internet sphere, followed by a lecture from this year’s laureate. The award, established by the Coordination Center in 2010, honors representatives from the internet community, business, science, and government who have made significant contributions to the development of Runet and the global internet.
The session “How Countries Regulate Generative AI: Evolution of International Approaches” will continue the discussion on AI regulation, seeking balanced regulatory formats amidst the absence of unified global approaches and limited enforcement practices.
The forum will conclude with sessions on “Russian Business: A New Architecture for Digital Promotion” and “Recoding Diplomacy: How the Internet Changes the Language of Global Communications.”
Key speakers include Elizaveta Belyakova (Alliance for Child Protection in the Digital Environment), Alexander Bolkhovityanov (Yandex), Alexey Borodin (Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications), Alexey Goreslavsky (ANO “Internet Development Institute”), Artur Lyukmanov (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Igor Sviridov (FGBU “NII “Integral””), Timur Tsybikov (FADN of Russia), and other prominent experts.
Additionally, the forum will feature theses reflecting young specialists’ perspectives on the discussion topics, as well as a presentation of the collection of expert articles “Internet Today and Tomorrow – 2026,” prepared by the Coordination Center and the Competence Center for Global IT Cooperation.
