[Community] TNC20 IS CANCELLED

[Effah Amponsah]

Dear all

Please see a message below from the TNC20 Team.

View this email in your browser 
(https://mailchi.mp/ecde867744ec/tnc20-is-cancelled?e=6e648e7aa2)
https://tnc20.geant.org


** Dear friends and colleagues,

We are all learning about the growing severity and impact of the 
COVID-19 pandemic day by day, not only seeing our daily life-changing 
but also accepting that plans for much of 2020 are also drastically 
affected.

It is within this new environment, this new reality where we see borders 
closing, cities and entire countries in lockdown, and daily applause for 
our struggling health services, that we need to address our own 
community plans.

So, what seemed an impossible thought just two weeks ago, turns into an 
unavoidable reality today. Where social distancing and isolation are the 
highest form of caring for each other and our community’s health, 
physical conferences can no longer take place. The cancellation of TNC20 
seems extraordinary in view of its history (TNC19 was its 35^th 
edition!) but it is the only direction we can take.

We have thought about holding TNC20 as an online conference, but we have 
decided against it. The reason is that the TNC supporting teams at 
NORDUnet, PSNC, Jisc and GÉANT are maxed out supporting research 
institutions, universities and schools, as is probably the case at all 
NRENs. Keeping science, innovation and education going is our most 
important goal now.
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** To those of you who have already registered
We will be refunding your registration fee. We will be in touch with 
arrangements.

To all of you who have accepted papers and sessions
Please hold on to them, update them and resubmit them for TNC21.

To our Programme Committee
We hope to count on your commitment and dedication again next year.

To our Sponsors
We greatly value the support you offered over the years and hope you 
will understand our decision was not taken lightly.  We will be working 
with you to ensure that you and the community will be able to maintain 
the lines of communication started at TNC and to support each other.  
All pre-paid sponsor fees will be refunded in full.

To our Community
This is our community event, this is where our community comes together 
and has done so for 35 editions! We are so much stronger as a community 
and NRENs around the world need this community across all borders to 
support global research, innovation and education.
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** We would like to thank our host Jisc and the TNC team from PSNC, 
NORDUnet and GÉANT for all the work done to date, up to the last few 
weeks planning and in the TNC Emergency team during these last 10 days.

We are already working on TNC21 and will make an announcement on 
tnc20.geant.org (https://tnc20.geant.org/) soon.

All of you stay safe, stay healthy, stay in virtual touch – TNC will be 
back stronger than ever.

Kind regards,
The TNC20 Team