Chair of the GÉANT Board Gilles Massen and GÉANT CEO Erik Huizer this morning opened the highly anticipated TNC23 in Tirana, Albania, by welcoming participants and thanking the Tirana Folk Ensemble for the dramatic opening ceremony. Together, they set the scene for a week of collaboration at this exciting venue.
As Gilles stated, “Since last year’s TNC we’ve learned a lot. The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of our society and our community. It demonstrated the importance of high-quality connectivity & showed us the value of international collaboration and the need to work together.”
Erik added, “Getting our community together at TNC is a chance for us to learn from each other, to share best practices and innovative ideas, and to explore how we can work together to build a better digital future for all generations.”
Participants were then also welcomed to Tirana by Arjan Xhelaj, Director General of host NREN RASH, and by Her Excellency Mrs. Evis Kushi, Minister of Education and Sports of Albania, who talked about the transformative power of education – now more critical than ever – and about the country’s initiatives to embrace innovation.
Gilles and Erik reminded participants of the challenges many are facing today in different parts of the world, as in Ukraine and Sudan, and our thoughts are with colleagues at URAN and SudREN. Participants also took a moment to remember Andrew Cormack of Jisc, who Victoriano Giralt described as “an illustrious man with so much wisdom to share and a talent to bring people together.” He added, “We will try to be faithful to your memory by helping others like you always did.”
Arjan Xhelaj, Director of RASH, welcomes participants to TNC23.
Her Excellency Evis Kushi, welcomes participants to TNC23
Opening keynote speaker, Mira Mezini, addresses the TNC23 audience
And then, opening keynote speaker Mira Mezini – originally from Tirana and now Professor of Computer Science at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany – delivered a fascinating keynote about decentralised intelligent software. You can read more about Mira and her work in the latest issue of CONNECT, launched at the event and available in print from the GÉANT booth, and – as always – online too!
So much to discover and discuss at TNC23
TNC23 is delivering a packed programme of keynote speakers, presentations, demonstrations, Lightning Talks, and workshops. And for those who cannot travel, the sessions can be followed via the online portal (registration required).
If you aren’t able to join us this week in person, or online, please note all recorded sessions will be available on tnc23.geant.org after the event closes.
And don’t forget to Join the Conversation on social media, using the hashtag #tnc23
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