International collaborations and meetings ensure cross-pollination

2024 was all about international cross-pollination, and Belnet is strongly committed to ensuring our communities can reap the direct benefits.

For example, Belnet has been participating in the international Cybersecurity Awareness Month of the pan-European network GÉANT for years. As a result, the campaign materials, including a video and webinar series focusing on current topics and an accessible approach, are immediately available to you.

This year, we weren't just involved in organizing and participating, but our colleague Laetitia also inspired the global R&E community as a speaker during a lightning talk at the TNC24 conference in Rennes, France. The topic? "How the digital society benefits from the innovation of the NREN community, the story of FedSender."

In addition, Belnet maintains strong relationships with the NRENs (national research and education networks) in our neighboring countries, and we can leverage these relationships to facilitate exchanges between our various communities. A concept that strongly meets these needs is the Benelux Security & Privacy meeting, launched in 2024. It's the perfect opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices on various security and privacy-related topics among Belnet, SURF, and Restena customers. Intriguing topics such as AI and its impact on security and privacy, NIS2 and data autonomy, and digital ethics generated interesting reflections.