*Dear DotAsia members and stakeholdersI hope this note finds you well, and enjoying a flying start to the year.In this note I’m sharing a few updates from the last couple of months, having decided not to write to you after the December meeting.The focus of your Board is probably very familiar to you by now. In December and January we had three areas of focus: - Finalising the proposal for your decision about updating the DotAsia articles - this has benefited hugely from your feedback, so thanks to all who shared some. - Preparing for the 2024 elections, which will be conducted after the decisions on the governance reforms. - Further refinement of the draft strategy.We have also welcomed a new director to the Board, Jose Lay from Timor Leste.Governance changes: decision time in February The moment of decision on the revised articles is close, with meetings having been relayed to you for 24 and 26 February.I urge all members to support the changes. They will modernise DotAsia governance and they will introduce some new protections for us all against capture and disruption. There are examples from the past year or two why such changes are important. Beyond that, it is our shared responsibility to make sure that Internet community institutions are well governed, and keep up with the legal frameworks they operate in. In these days of greater tensions in all sorts of areas of life, it is timely to bring our governance structure up to date and to strengthen it. I’m very happy to discuss the changes with you 1:1 if you have any questions or concerns.The next Board meeting is 24-26 February Your servants on the DotAsia Board will meet for our first in-person Board meeting of the year alongside the APRICOT conference and APNIC members’ meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from 24-26 February 2024.The main focus, besides the Member decisions about our governance, are: - Finalising the Board Election Procedures - these now incorporate new transparency as recommended by last year’s Election Committee review and the updated Articles. - Deeper dives into the company’s core business and operations, with the time to do so in a thoughtful and un-hurried way. - Finalising the new Strategic Plan to guide the company’s work, and starting to think about the upcoming budget for the 2025 financial year.That’s all for this update. I’ll be in touch again with a report back of what happens in Bangkok (and online!) before the end of the month.Thanks Jordan * -- Jordan Carter Chair of the Board of Directors *DotAsia* chair@board.dot.asia