Community. One word, four syllables, a myriad of meanings. For GÉANT in particular, the word community means so much, and every one of those meanings is enormously positive: a community of NRENs with common values; a collaborative community for good; a community of equals who share knowledge for the benefit of all; and a collective community that moves forward as one – in our case, for the benefit of European research, education, innovation, inclusion, and ultimately society. And what is society, if not a collection of communities?
This edition of our magazine is the biggest yet, which suggests to me that our community is busier and more collaborative and ambitious than ever. Regular readers will know we often have a theme for each edition of our magazine. By now, it should be abundantly clear this is the community edition! So, as many of us gather together either physically in Brighton (hopefully not under umbrellas to reinforce the stereotypical British weather…) or virtually via the TNC25 online platform, let’s celebrate this incredible community and the exciting future that lies ahead of it.
Speaking of an exciting future, our expanded features section includes an interview with GÉANT CEO Lise Fuhr; explores the views of our Executive team; and suggests how GÉANT could position itself for a rapidly changing landscape. We also look at new special interest areas such as AI and Time and Frequency Networks; and how Europe is bidding to become the AI Continent and what it means for the GÉANT community.
And on the topic of celebration, we mark ten years of the In the Field website which – thanks to a community of marcomms experts around the world – helps to shine a light on the great societal impact the R&E community delivers year after year across the world. We also celebrate the GÉANT Community Award winners, HEAnet’s Ronan Byrne and GÉANT’s Nicole Harris, who have done so much for this community and – proud team moment – our very own Cathrin Stӧver who is the extremely deserving recipient of this year’s Vietsch Foundation Medal of Honour.
Behind every session, every meeting, every coffee-break chat, we hope the TNC25 theme of ‘Brighter Together’ is at the forefront of your mind and remains so when we’re all back at our desks after this week’s conference. That is how we will deliver on the exciting future of this community, for all of society.
