[ncc-announce] [news] Introducing the Rob Blokzijl Foundation

Dear colleagues,

Exactly one year ago, on 1 December 2015, our beloved and esteemed
colleague Rob Blokzijl passed away. The RIPE NCC marked his passing with
a tribute on RIPE Labs, which received many heartfelt expressions of
condolence and respect from the community:
https://labs.ripe.net/Members/mirjam/tribute-to-dr-robert-blokzij-1943-2015

To continue Rob’s legacy, we’re proud to announce the creation of the
Rob Blokzijl Foundation. The Rob Blokzijl Foundation is part of the RIPE
NCC’s Good of the Internet Initiative, which was outlined by RIPE NCC
Executive Board Member Salam Yamout during the RIPE NCC Services Working
Group at RIPE 73:
https://ripe73.ripe.net/archives/video/1479/

The objective of the foundation is to recognise and reward individuals who:
- made substantial and sustained technical and operational contributions
to the development of the Internet in the RIPE NCC Service Region, or
- supported or enabled others with the development of the Internet in
the RIPE NCC Service Region.

The foundation will strive to realise this objective at least every two
years.

A Board and an awards committee will soon be established to ensure the
effective running of the foundation.

The foundation’s initial reserve of 25,000 EUR will be donated by the
RIPE NCC. We intend for the foundation to thereafter become
self-sustaining. We hope to receive many donations from community
members to support this good cause and to keep the memory of Rob
Blokzijl alive. If you would like to contribute, please contact me at
mir at ripe.net.

More information, including clear instructions on the application
process, will be available shortly on the Rob Blokzijl Foundation
webpage: http://rob-blokzijl-foundation.org.

Kind regards,
Mirjam Kühne
RIPE NCC