*Dear DotAsia membersHere is a report-back on the outcomes of the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 26 February in Bangkok, Thailand, and of the associated DotAsia Board meetings on 24-25 February. You will also read news of an updated Code of Conduct for DotAsia spaces and events, which we propose will cover members too. Members unanimously adopt changes to strengthen DotAsia’s governanceI am very happy to report that the updated Articles of Association for DotAsia were approved unanimously by members gathered in person at the EGM and online. The two separate meetings of Sponsor and Co-Sponsor members held online on 24 February each unanimously granted consent for the changes, and around twenty members were represented in the EGM on Monday.This is very good news. I would like to sincerely thank the membership for such a strong endorsement of these changes. They mean DotAsia’s future will be stronger, and they mean our Articles of Association are now up to date with the latest Hong Kong requirements.Thank you to everyone who contributed to this work of developing, scrutinizing and improving the new Articles. If you are wanting a reminder about what the changes are, check out this link:https://www.dot.asia/proposed-amendments-to-the-dotasia-articles-of-associat... <https://www.dot.asia/proposed-amendments-to-the-dotasia-articles-of-association-2023/> Next Steps on implementing the changes, and the 2024 Board electionsThe adoption of the updated Articles means that the regular Elections of Board members will be done consistent with the updated Board Election Procedures document. You will soon get information from the Secretariat about the call for nominations etc. The Board is in the process of seating the Election Committee and the new Nomination Committee. When the membership of each group is decided we will announce them together. The new Nomination Committee will have an intensive start, with three key tasks: - assess all nominated Board candidates against the new requirements in the updated Articles- agree and publish a Code of Conduct for the election process, which this Committee will enforce- Identify a person to be appointed as a Board member, as provided for in the updated Articles. A call for suitable persons will be part of this process. You can find out more about all the changes to the election process on the DotAsia website:https://www.dot.asia/board-elections-2024/ <https://www.dot.asia/board-elections-2024/>Board Meetings Report Back from 24-25 FebruaryThe Board had two very constructive days of work together in Bangkok, with only one Board member unable to participate (Alireza Saleh). My thanks to all the Board colleagues for their constructive and collegial roles in the meeting.Our main agenda items were: - preparations for the Member Meetings on 24 and 26 February- reports into all of the company’s activities, including market development and community work, and Namesphere- review of the draft Budget for the 2024-2026 period- CEO goals framework- ongoing discussion on the Strategic Plan and how we will measure and report back on itThe Strategic PlanOur intention is to have the new Strategic Plan in force for a three-year period, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027, matching the Budget year of the company. We plan to prepare a report on progress against the plan each year, dated 31 December, and covering the previous year’s work. This report will be shared with members in time for discussion at the AGM each year, starting in 2025. An update to the DotAsia Code of ConductThe Board has been discussing an update of the DotAsia Code of Conduct. Our initial view is that the Code should set standards of good behaviour not only for Board members and DotAsia staff, but also for all forums and spaces DotAsia creates.We have prepared an updated draft which is available at this URL: https://www.dot.asia/policies/BGC-002-DotAsiaCodeOfConduct-v-2-DRAFT-2024022... <https://www.dot.asia/policies/BGC-002-DotAsiaCodeOfConduct-v-2-DRAFT-20240225.pdf> The Board will discuss this again at its April meeting, and would intend to bring this into force from the date of the AGM in May. Any feedback on this would be gratefully received - feel free to email me back your thoughts and I can share them with the Board, or of course you are welcome to post on the member email lists.More info on Board meetingsYou can find Board meeting minutes in the usual place on the website:https://www.dot.asia/dotasia-organisation/agm-and-board-meetings/ <https://www.dot.asia/dotasia-organisation/agm-and-board-meetings/>The minutes are published after they are approved by the subsequent meeting, so soon the formal minutes of the mid-February meeting will be published. The next Board meeting is in AprilAs part of our improvements in DotAsia governance, we have reduced the frequency of Board meetings, to have a more sustainable approach for Board members and for the staff team in preparing for meetings.Our next scheduled Board meeting will be in April, and I will write you a report after that. In the meantime, thanks again for being a member of DotAsia, and thanks for your decisions in support of the governance changes this week. That’s all for this update. Thanks Jordan *