RIPE NCC Holds First Meeting for Governments and Regulators in Eastern Europe

About 20 representatives from governments, regulators and law enforcement agencies attended the meeting to discuss topics of interest to the RCC (Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications), the organisation of regulators from the Commonwealth of Independent States.

There was good discussion about government priorities in the region, including recent policy developments and their possible impact, as well as strong support for the RIPE NCC making its data easily accessible.

Presentations included a data-driven look at the Internet landscape in the RCC region, an overview of the RIPE NCC and other Internet governance players, capacity building for IPv6 and other initiatives to promote a healthy technical community in the region, and an introduction to the RIPE Database. The meeting agenda, including all presentations, is available online.

The day before the meeting the RIPE NCC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation to encourage IPv6 deployment and promote the RIPE Academic Cooperation Initiative (RACI) in the Russian region.

A meeting specifically aimed at the law enforcement community is also taking place on 20 April, with about 20 participants learning more about the RIPE NCC's public resources, including the RIPE Database.

The RIPE NCC has been hosting Roundtable Meetings since 2005 as a way to encourage dialogue between governments, regulators and law enforcement agencies and update them on issues affecting the RIPE community, but this was the first time the RIPE NCC hosted such a meeting in Eastern Europe.

Later this year, the RIPE NCC will also host a Roundtable Meeting in the Middle East for the first time as part of its strategy to engage more with governments and regulators from across the RIPE NCC service region.