Registration for the 16th Russian Internet Governance Forum is coming to an end

Registration for the 16th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2026) will end on April 3. To date, more than 700 applications have already been submitted.

Over the course of two days, nine sections will be held on international cooperation in building an information society, the use of artificial intelligence, the safety of children online, the preservation of cultural code and linguistic diversity in the global digital environment, the digital transformation of healthcare and other relevant issues.

The opening of RIGF 2026 will be attended by Tatiana Matveeva, Head of the Presidential Administration for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies and Communications Infrastructure, Anton Gorelkin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, Chairman of the Management Board of ROCIT, Alexander Shoitov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Head of the Office The Secretariat of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Chengetai Masango, the Director General of the Internet Technical Center, Alexey Rogdev, and the head of the Runiti Group, Andrey Kuzmichev. The moderator will be the Director of the Coordination Center of the .RU/ domains.Russian Federation Andrey Vorobyov.

The work program will be opened by the Plenary Session "WSIS+20: a quarter century in Building the Information Society. From word to deed?" The participants will discuss the principles on which international cooperation in the field of digital development is based today, where the key lines of disagreement lie, and whether there is still potential for meaningful dialogue in a rapidly changing international context.

The forum will continue with the foresight session "AI as a trigger for breaking down familiar processes.": what is it changing today and how will it change governance, economy and society by 2035." The focus will be on the transition to adaptive AI regulatory models and a new responsibility architecture between government, platforms, and developers.

In the section "Preservation of the cultural code and linguistic diversity in the global digital environment", experts will discuss how to ensure the representation of national languages and cultural codes in the online space, which digital technologies can become a tool for protecting linguistic diversity, transferring traditional knowledge and creating a sustainable cultural environment in the global network.

The first day of RIGF 2026 will end with the sections "Digital transformation of healthcare in Russia: new Roles, Data, and the Future of Medicine" and "The Future of Digital Child Safety: New approaches to risk forecasting."

The second day will open with the section "Sovereign Clouds: Evolution from a marketing term to a contract requirement", where participants will analyze how the "sovereign cloud" moves from declarations to practical standards that ensure data control without dependence on foreign vendors.

The forum will continue with the Virtuti Interneti Award ceremony and a lecture by this year's laureate. The award was established by the Coordination Center in 2010 and is presented to representatives of the Internet community, business, science and government who have made a significant contribution to the development of the Runet and the global Internet.

The session "How countries regulate generative AI: the evolution of international approaches" will continue to discuss the regulation of artificial intelligence and the search for a balanced regulatory format in the absence of unified global approaches and limited law enforcement practice.

The forum will end with the sections "Russian Business: a new architecture for digital Promotion" and "Recoding Diplomacy: how the Internet is changing the language of global communications."

"The topics of the Russian Internet Governance Forum reflect how society lives today, both in a digital and real environment. The use of AI, the safety of children in the digital environment, the digital transformation of healthcare, the development of national languages on the Web – these topics concern even those who are generally far from the Internet. RIGF unites those who shape the digital future: experts, practitioners, government and business representatives. I am confident that the forum will become a platform for a meaningful dialogue that will allow us to work out practical solutions," said the director of the Coordination Center for .RU/ domains.Russian Federation Andrey Vorobyov.

Among the key speakers of RIGF 2026 are Elizaveta Belyakova (Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment), Alexander Bolkhovityanov (Yandex), Alexey Borodin (Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications), Alexey Goreslavsky (ANO Institute for Internet Development), Artur Lyukmanov (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia), Igor Sviridov (Federal State Budgetary Institution "Research Institute"Integral"), Timur Tsybikov (FADN of Russia) and other experts.

In addition, the forum will feature abstracts reflecting the views of young professionals on the topics of the forum's discussions, as well as a presentation of a collection of expert articles "The Internet today and Tomorrow — 2026", prepared by the Coordination Center and the Competence Center for Global IT Cooperation specifically for RIGF 2026. The detailed program of the forum is available on the RIGF 2026 website.

The Russian Internet Governance Forum is hosted by the .RU/ Domain Coordination Center.The Russian Federation and the Competence Center for Global IT Cooperation. The general partner of the forum is the Internet Technical Center, the strategic partner is RosNIIROS, and the partner is Runity.