Dear RIPE NCC members, Last year we formed a task force to review the procedures around the Executive Board elections. The Executive Board Election Task Force submitted its recommendations, which were endorsed by the Board. These recommendations resulted in changes to the RIPE NCC Articles of Association and to the RIPE NCC’s General Meeting (GM) organisation processes. The most important changes are as follows: - A Code of Conduct (CoC) now applies to the Executive Board election candidates from the moment that they become candidates until the GM minutes are finalised. - A designated Code of Conduct Team has been put in place to evaluate reported violations of the CoC. - All nominees for the Executive Board elections must submit a certified copy of an official identification document. - Nominees must submit a signed statement declaring their adherence to the CoC and that they never committed fraud or other financial misconduct in any jurisdiction. - A candidate can be disqualified for violating the CoC or if it is proved that they have committed fraud or other financial misconduct. - A mailing list and RIPE NCC Open House virtual event will allow members to interact with candidates for the Board. One of the key changes is the introduction of the CoC for all Executive Board election candidates, and a CoC Team to whom violations of the CoC can be reported. Since we are introducing several new procedures at once, the Executive Board felt that the smoothest way to manage this process would be to ask for volunteers from among the members of the Executive Board Election Task Force. They have already spent time discussing the CoC in depth and its applicability to EB candidates. I am pleased to announce that the Executive Board resolves to appoint the following CoC Team for the General Meeting in May 2021:: - Erik Bais (Netherlands) - Randy Bush (Estonia) - Toma Gavrichenkov (Russia) - Sergey Myasoedov (Czech Republic) - Arnold Nipper (Germany) - Cynthia Revström (Sweden) - Jan Žorž (Slovenia) The Code of Conduct can be viewed at: https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2021/eb-elections/... Reports made to the CoC team will be treated with confidentiality. More information about the CoC team is available at: https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2021/eb-elections/... I would like to thank the volunteers to our first-ever CoC team. I'm confident they will help us ensure that our next elections see an open, respectful exchange of ideas among members and candidates. All information covering the changes and updated procedures is available from the GM pages at: https://www.ripe.net/gm/may-2021 Regards, Christian Kaufmann Chairman of the RIPE NCC Executive Board