Communications professionals from NRENs across Europe and the world came together in Helsinki, Finland, for the Special Interest Group on Marketing and Communications (SIG-Marcomms) session held right before TNC26. The meeting centred on a key question: what does it take to move from communications as a reactive function to communications as a strategic force? What followed was a rich programme spanning crisis communications, strategic influence, and a series of lightning talks showcasing the breadth of work happening across the community.
Crisis communications in practice: what holds up under pressure
The meeting opened with what could be considered the hardest test of any communications function: a crisis. The session asked not just what processes and plans look like on paper, but what actually holds up when things go wrong.
Two presentations explored real-life experiences. Zoë Fischer (GÉANT) and Davina Luyten (Belnet) shared lessons drawn from both crisis management exercises and real incidents, reflecting on seven real-word challenges and what those experiences taught their teams about preparation, decision-making under uncertainty, and the role of communications in keeping stakeholders informed and trust intact. Richard Tatnall (Jisc) followed with more lessons learned from Jisc’s own incident and tabletop exercises and practical observations about what works and what doesn’t.
The presentations explored a key point: process is necessary but not sufficient – or, as Richard put it “templates work until they don’t”. The human capacity – and this is where communications adds the most value in a crisis – to remain clear-headed and decisive is what makes the difference.
Making the shift from execution to influence
The meeting continued with a panel discussion with three practitioners who have each, in their own national context, navigated the transition from doing communications to shaping it strategically. Ela Yazdani (CANARIE), Stela Tsirakis Toti (RNP), and Lonneke Walk (SURF) with Jane Gifford (AARNet) moderating a conversation that was both candid and practical.
The panel explored what it actually looks like for communications professionals to operate more strategically, not just delivering outputs but influencing outcomes and shaping plans. The discussion touched on how to build credibility with technical and leadership stakeholders who may not naturally see communications as a strategic function, and how to navigate complex or highly technical environments where the communications professional may be the only person in the room thinking about how a decision will be perceived externally.
The session offered no right or wrong solution, but it did offer something perhaps even more valuable: the feeling that others in the community are working through the same questions, and that the conversation itself is a key step in building the answer to these questions.
Lightning Talks
The meeting closed with a rapid-fire series of lightning talks. Meredith Lovelace (Internet2) opened with findings from a brand audit exercise that asked a deceptively simple question: “who are we to you?” after a decade without a full brand review. Through a five-phase process combining 70+ interviews and 150 surveys, Meredith and her team uncovered some gaps and she shared their plan to fight internal assumptions and close the distance between brand narrative and web content, while improving the digital experience.
Rosanna Norman (GÉANT) followed with a presentation on GÉANT’s 2025 Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign, built around a simple but powerful idea: digital mindfulness is the first line of defence. She walked the audience through the strategic thinking behind the campaign and the practical lessons it generated.
Olga Popcova (RENAM) gave an update on FileSender. The latest version, FileSender version 3.0, was released in December 2025, featuring a significantly improved interface and statistics page. The deployment map has grown to 54 countries, with several new additions including Botswana, Nigeria, and Pakistan. The presentation also highlighted a call for community case studies and showcases the project’s broad contributor base of 14 NRENs and R&E organisations worldwide.
Paul Hasleham (GÉANT) closed the session with an overview of GÉANT’s new visual identity. Starting with a history of the organisation’s logos since 1993, he contextualised brand evolution before revealing the new direction. The new logo and visual identity was officially launched on the TNC26 stage during the opening plenary on Tuesday 9 June.
The meeting in Helsinki offered what SIG-Marcomms gatherings at their best always do: a space where communications professionals can step back from the day-to-day and think about their work, together, as a community.
Many thanks to Jane Gifford and Ela Yazdani for facilitating, and to all speakers and participants for making the day such a productive one! Slides from the session are available on the meeting wiki page. SAVE THE DATE: the next meeting will be online-only and will take place on October 27, 2026. More info will be shared shortly.
If you are interested in joining the SIG-Marcomms community, visit community.geant.org or subscribe to the mailing list to stay updated on future events.
