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@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