Dear colleagues, RIPE 79 kicked off in Rotterdam yesterday with 563 attendees checked in from 62 countries, 149 of whom are joining us for their first RIPE Meeting. The meeting programme featured two tutorials and the Newcomers' Intro in the morning leading into the Newcomers' Lunch event. A full day of plenary presentations followed. At the end of the day, attendees gathered for a NOG BoF to exchange ideas on whether NOGs should be a regular discussion item at RIPE Meetings. Then everyone gathered in the venue for the first social of the week, the RIPE 79 Welcome Reception. The highlights of the day are online: https://ripe79.ripe.net/programme/report/monday/ Today's sessions have already begun with another full day of plenary presentations, with the Women in Tech Session running from 13:00-14:00. If you can't be here in person, you can participate remotely: https://ripe79.ripe.net/live/main/ And follow #RIPE79 and @RIPEMeeting on Twitter for the latest updates. Kind regards, Martina de Mas Event Organiser RIPE NCC