[Chapter-delegates] Celebrating 25 Years of ISOC NL: Reflections, Highlights, and a Call for Collaboration on Future Community Events

[Ruben Brave]

Dear ISOC Chapter Delegates,

On October 10th, we celebrated 25 years of Internet Society Netherlands
with our event, “Internet in Beeld: Verleden, Heden & Toekomst” (Internet
in Focus: Past, Present & Future). This milestone was not only about
celebrating our past but also about looking forward: examining how we, as a
society, can tackle the challenges of this complex digital era and the
shifting power dynamics within our internet landscape. Together with our
partners—the Netherlands Internet Governance Forum (NL IGF), celebrating
its (nearly) 20th year in 2025, and the Platform Internet Standards,
marking its 10th anniversary—we gathered to reflect on our shared history
and explore the road ahead.

With nearly 400 registrations and only 64 cancellations, we were thrilled
with the turnout. It was a full house of enthusiastic participants,
contributing to a day of deep engagement and meaningful exchange. Please
take a look at the after-movie here <https://youtu.be/H8hI4maB-XI>.

We were also honored with video messages from Vint Cerf
<https://youtu.be/c0SidA-J2Ug>, and our new CEO Sally Wentworth
<https://isoc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sally-Wentworth-ISOC-NL-25th-burned-subtitles.mp4>,
who praised ISOC NL's contributions to both the past and present. Vint’s
reminder—“If you need something done, find a Dutch person!”—captured the
spirit of our chapter and its impactful work.

The event gathered diverse perspectives, including representatives from the
Dutch government, corporates (e.g. Microsoft), academia, civil society
(e.g. ICANN), tech entrepreneurs, and our active ISOC NL working groups.
Critical insights from Marietje Schaake from Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center
on democracy in the digital age were also included.

A particular highlight was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement
Awards by Prince Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau of the Royal House of the
Netherlands
<https://isocnl.thegood.cloud/apps/photos/public/A0TsxEoEtmkkN52QnSoN012tqDUzVxrr>,
which added a special meaning to our celebration. Knowing Constantijn
personally through my work for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate
on diversity and inclusion in the startup ecosystem, presenting these
awards was particularly meaningful for the community, including all
underrepresented groups. You can read more about my work in this area here
<https://www-rijksoverheid-nl.translate.goog/ministeries/ministerie-van-economische-zaken/het-verhaal-van-ez/weblogs/2023/diversiteit-en-inclusie-bij-startups-een-krachtbron-voor-innovatie-en-groei?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp>.
Personally, it was a deeply moving moment for me, honoring people I’ve
admired for years who have done so much for the internet community—and me.
It was finally a chance to give something back. It was also a chance to
honor long-standing ISOC NL supporters like “our very own” Olaf Kolkman,
who has been a consistently positive, constructive force in our chapter’s
work.

One particularly impactful moment was Dutch Member of Parliament Raoul
White's speech. Speaking passionately on internet access as a form of
reparations for the African diaspora, he highlighted that connectivity is
not just a technical issue but a step toward equity and justice. Delivered
in Amsterdam's Felix Meritis, a historic site of abolition discourse,
Raoul's words resonated profoundly and underscored our shared mission; his
speech can be found here
<https://isoc-nl.translate.goog/nieuws/internet-in-beeld-verleden-heden-toekomst-speech-tweede-kamerlid-raoul-white/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp>
.

For more information on the event, we have a comprehensive multimedia
report available here
<https://isoc-nl.translate.goog/nieuws/reflecties-op-een-kwarteeuw-internet-samen-bouwen-aan-een-digitale-toekomst/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp>,
which includes photos on The Good Cloud
<https://isocnl.thegood.cloud/apps/photos/public/nb2TrTP0HiFkskfrfyfwjGS6YqjNLyNm>
(CC BY-SA 4.0, Elena Fidanovska). We are considering making these available
via the Internet Society Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform shortly.
My personal reflection on the day is available here
<https://isoc-nl.translate.goog/nieuws/internet-in-beeld-verleden-heden-toekomst-een-persoonlijk-verslag-van-ruben-brave-voorzitter-van-internet-society-nederland/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp>.
We also invite you to view our LinkedIn posts, including those by ICANN
Director Maarten Botterman here
<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/botterman_the-netherlands-has-been-at-the-forefront-activity-7250109160556564480-lOed?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop>,
my reflection with Prince Constantijn here
<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rbrave_isocnl-internetinbeeld-25jaarisocnl-activity-7255812933790613504--wrd/>,
and the official ISOC NL summary here
<https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7255820447735328770/>.

I’m particularly grateful for Nick Hyrka, Michiel Leenaars, and our new
board member Simon Besteman's event contributions, as well as the dedicated
efforts of working group members Fred Hage, Geert-Jan Meewisse (Fair
Digital Education), and Geert Lovink (ISOC NL ThinkTank).

Our chapter's anniversary reaffirmed our legacy and strengthened our
resolve to continue building a free, open, and safe internet. Our chapter
is eager to continue this journey with the ISOC community — and beyond,
toward a thriving digital world!

Therefore, we’re actively exploring future collaborations and opportunities
to expand these gatherings. Inspired by Sweden’s Internet Days (link
<https://internetdagarna.se/en/>), we’re considering organising a similar
event series in the Netherlands — and abroad, potentially launching on
International
Internet Day (link <https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/internet-day/>). We
believe this could become an impactful platform for engaging our community
on-site and advancing shared goals across chapters.

To make this vision a reality, we invite fellow ISOC chapters and the
broader ISOC community to collaborate with us. Your input on event
structure, partnership models, and optimal timing would be much
appreciated, and we'd like to know if you're interested in co-developing
this initiative into a recurring event. Let’s work together to build an
international, community-driven event series that reflects our commitment
to a free, open, and safe internet.

Met vriendelijke groet,
Kind regards,

Ruben Brave <http://www.rubenbrave.com/>
Chairman (voorzitter at isoc.nl, +31 (0)6 53 868 270)



[image: Internet Society Nederland logo]
Internet Society Nederland <https://isoc.nl/contact/>, Royal Library of the
Netherlands <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Library_of_the_Netherlands>
, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5, 2595 BE  the Hague
<https://goo.gl/maps/EKZGbhFwUkHTrhLe9>

[image: 2024 GigaBit-Chapter Badge.png]
<https://isoc.nl/nieuws/internet-society-nederland-schittert-weer-met-gigabit-status-in-2023/>
___________________________________________________

Met vriendelijke groet,
Kind regards,
<https://rubenbrave.com?promo=email_sig&utm_source=product&utm_medium=email_sig&utm_campaign=edit_panel&utm_content=thumb>
Ruben Brave
rubenbrave.com
<https://rubenbrave.com?promo=email_sig&utm_source=product&utm_medium=email_sig&utm_campaign=edit_panel&utm_content=thumb>
Ruben Brave <http://bit.ly/profile-rubenbrave>
Managing Partner
+31 (0)6 53 868 270
Entelligence bv <https://www.entelligence.nl/>, Keizersgracht 62, 1015 CS
Amsterdam


                 * * * * * * *
Book a meeting with me:
https://calendly.com/rbrave
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