Dear colleagues, RIPE 78 kicked off in Reykjavík yesterday with 597 attendees checked in from 58 countries, of whom 163 are attending their first RIPE Meeting. The meeting programme featured tutorials and the Newcomer's Intro in the morning, followed by a full-day of plenary presentations. At the end of the day, attendees gathered for a RIPE 'Big Picture' BoF to exchange ideas about what kind of RIPE Meeting we should work on building. Then everyone gathered in the hotel for the first social of the night, the RIPE 78 Welcome Reception. The highlights of the day are online: https://ripe78.ripe.net/programme/report/monday/ Today's sessions have already begun with another full day of plenary presentations. The Women in Tech Session runs from 13:00-14:00 and features a fantastic panel discussing women's rights in Iceland and the ever-persisting gender pay gap. If you can't be here in person, you can participate remotely: https://ripe78.ripe.net/live/main/ And follow #RIPE78 and @RIPEMeeting on Twitter for the latest updates. Kind regards, Martina de Mas Event Organiser RIPE NCC