RIPE NCC and CENTR Sign MoU at IGF 2017

The agreement formalises the existing relationship between the RIPE NCC and CENTR, which is the European association of country-code top level domain (ccTLD) registries. In the agreement, both parties pledged to collaborate on Internet coordination activities in the European region.

More specifically, CENTR agreed to invite RIPE NCC staff to its General Assemblies and to participate within its Technical Working Group, while the RIPE NCC agreed to invite CENTR staff to its Roundtable Meetings. Both parties agreed to update and involve one another on activities of mutual interest, and also agreed to promote the use of IPv6 among their respective memberships.

The RIPE NCC and CENTR will also continue to jointly organise trainings and promote capacity building in Europe, with a specific focus on providing training to European policy-makers and other stakeholders.

“The IGF is a great occasion to solidify our relationship with CENTR,” said Axel Pawlik, Managing Director of the RIPE NCC. “Our two organisations have a long history of working together on issues concerning the European Internet. In fact, CENTR first began as a project within the RIPE community. This MoU is really about formalising our existing relationship and providing a transparent framework for future cooperation.”

Peter Van Roste, General Manager of CENTR, said: “In today’s environment, collaboration between the numbers and naming communities is essential. Our organisations play a crucial role in the technical layer of the Internet ecosystem and by syncronising our efforts, we strengthen our contribution to the European Internet community."

The RIPE NCC and CENTR have a shared history that goes back almost 20 years. The signing of this MoU is a great opportunity to look back, and we have outlined some of these early beginnings in an article on RIPE Labs.

This MoU is the latest agreement for greater cooperation between the RIPE NCC and the external organisations that we work with, including governments, regulators, technical bodies, industry groups, law enforcement agencies, academic institutions and others. You can learn more about our external engagement with these parties in this RIPE Labs article, or see a list of the different agreements and memberships we have with external parties.