On 9 October 2019, CENTR held its 62nd General Assembly (GA) in Brussels, Belgium.
The overarching theme of the day was the importance placed on building a trusted European domain space, and a call for greater collaboration between all internet stakeholders to help achieve this.
The morning session was dedicated to internal matters, including the approval of next year’s budget and strategy. This year was a particularly exciting year for CENTR given its 20th Anniversary, and 2020 will be no less stimulating, with many exciting new projects lined up! Another highlight of the morning was the approval of brand new statutes which are the result of many months of hard work and input on behalf of the CENTR Secretariat and its members. Finally, we would like to announce that CNNIC is no longer an Associate Member of the CENTR community, and we look forward to seeing them again in other international fora.
As with last October’s GA, half the day was focused on EU policy, with a joint session with the High Level Group on Internet Governance (HLIG). There were many fascinating updates from the European Commission, ICANN, CENTR members and governmental representatives. Topics included the national cooperation between governments and ccTLDs, cybersecurity and EU policy developments. Huge emphasis was placed on the importance of ccTLDs in helping frame policy discussions with their expertise and they were encouraged to continue playing their vital role in shaping policy. The day ended with an inspiring keynote speech from Maria Farrell on the Internet of Values.
