In a digitalised and digitally connected world, indeed, no man is an island. Systems aren’t islands either. Not only information and technology systems, but also organisations – local, regional, and global. Connection and cooperation are hardly a matter of choice, but rather represent an imperative, particularly in industries that are dependent on swift adjustments under the weight of shifting habits and the burden brought by rapidly innovating technologies
From the perspective of an average user, DNS is static, IP addresses have a purpose to serve, the whole universe behind the use of the internet is regarded as something that just is. And yet, just like any other field in information technology, this part also changes, adjusts and progresses to serve the needs of billions in a digitalised world, and that is the part where cooperation is irreplaceable.
During the year that’s now behind us, international, regional and local meetings and conferences returned to their physical form, although internetenabled technologies made continuous communication possible the entire time. Belgrade was the hotspot for internet professionals last autumn, as the host of major events and meetings.
RNIDS had the pleasure, along with SOX, to be the local host of the fiveday RIPE 85 conference in October. RIPE is the Regional Internet Registry, serving Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, providing global internet resources and related services (IPv4, IPv6 and AS number resources). However, over 500 experts from all over the world gathered in Belgrade not only to discuss possible improvements to protocols and IP policies, but also cyber security, internet and digital policies, and even the environmental impacts of modern technologies.
Hosting such events is invaluable for a national domain name registry, not only in terms of the advocating of Serbia’s digital capacities, but also as a way of reconfirming our strategic approach to cooperation – as a means to learn, grow and succeed in turbulent times
Such events not only provide lessons of best practices to take home, but their meetings also result in recommendations and the introduction of action plans. To have under one roof so many engineers and businesspeople, but also policymakers, is to witness all over again how forceful the community is and to confirm that the tower called the digital world would not be built so quickly without exchange and cooperation.
It wasn’t only RIPE members that met in Belgrade. Members of DNSOARC, an organisation with high authority for matters of DNS operation, analytics and research, attended a meeting hosted by RNIDS and SOX in Belgrade during October. Over the course of this two-day meeting, the hottest topics related to DNS security and operation were discussed by high profile experts from Europe and United States. RNIDS’s dear guests also included members of the CENTR community engaged in the technical development of European national domain registries, who also joined the meeting and shared their insights and progress achieved to ensure the domain name system operates smoothly across Europe. And even this was not the end: as national internet, network and telco operators gathered in November at the RSNOG conference, which was supported by RNIDS for the eighth time.
Hosting such events is invaluable for a national domain name registry, not only in terms of the advocating of Serbia’s digital capacities, but also as a way of reconfirming our strategic approach to cooperation – as a means to learn, grow and succeed in turbulent times.