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What makes CENTR a Community with a capital C?

News 24-03-2022

On 16 March 2022 we held our online 2022 CENTR Annual General Meeting (AGM). Part of the morning was dedicated to internal matters, including the approval of CENTR’s Position Development Process review and Board elections, and the second half focused on the area of DNS abuse and security, with several projects presented by CENTR members.

During this meeting, I and my fellow Board member Philip Du Bois (.be) were re-elected to the Board of Directors. We are also delighted to have been joined by Byron Holland (.ca) who replaces David Fowler, who will be retiring later this year. I will continue as Chair of the Board, and Philip has taken up the post of Treasurer. I would like to take this opportunity firstly to thank members for their continued trust in us - I couldn't be more proud and honoured. Secondly, I would like to express immense gratitude on behalf of the entire community to David for his term on the Board.

The situation in Ukraine was one of the main topics on the agenda, and the General Assembly discussed both the suspension of the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ (CCTLD RU) and how to support our colleagues in Ukraine. The CENTR Secretariat and its members continue to offer help and support to our colleagues in Ukraine.

At the same time, following an extraordinary meeting by the CENTR Board of Directors, where the Board decided to temporarily suspend CCTLD RU's membership, the General Assembly discussed the matter during this AGM and decided to maintain the suspension for the foreseeable future.

In the history of CENTR, we have never experienced such a delicate situation. Both Board and members alike were keen to underline the sensitivity and difficulty in making this decision, as the suspension of a member is an extreme action to be taken with great caution. It is almost impossible not to take into account that the suspension, though it targeted an organisation, affected people, our colleagues with whom we have been working for many years and who have become our friends.

As I previously reported, we are facing new EU regulatory requirements and initiatives that could potentially impact our industry. CENTR is an opportunity for us to speak in one voice and be heard.

As somewhat lonely creatures, having the possibility to openly discuss and share technical, legal, policy and security issues of our daily work is of great importance to ccTLD registries. While this happens on a daily basis in our working groups, a content rich AGM demonstrates yet again the importance of CENTR as a trusted platform for exchange.

But CENTR has always been much more than talking business. We are people, colleagues, and also friends. A strongly connected community, and this meeting once again proved our sense of unity.

Published By Barbara Povše
Barbara Povše is the head of Register.si and chairman of the CENTR Board of Directors.