The 2023 PaCSON Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 18 to 22 September. This year’s AGM was an opportunity for the PaCSON Community to reconnect in-person. PaCSON Members, Partners, Friends and Observers came together to collaborate and share key cyber security findings in the region.
As this was the largest attendance at an AGM yet, it was the perfect opportunity to reflect on all the work that has been done to make PaCSON what it is today, and to look forward to what it could become in the future.
The AGM provides the Community, particularly Members, with the chance to work directly alongside each other. It’s a great chance to share information and learning from other experts in the region. It is an opportunity to re-establish relationships that have been built on in recent years. Strengthening these relationships produces an environment of openness and mutual trust, which leads to greater opportunities for learning.
2023/2024 Executive Committee
As part of the AGM, the PaCSON Community held an election for the Executive Committee (EC). Former Chair, CERT Vanuatu - the host of this year’s AGM, gracefully handed over the role to the Incoming Chair, Cook Islands. The Community excitedly welcomes the new Executive Committee for 2023/2024, which is:
- Cook Islands as Chair
- Papua New Guinea as Deputy Chair
- Kiribati as Incoming Chair
The new EC will represent and make decisions on behalf of the PaCSON Community for the next 12 months.
CERT Vanuatu
After the vote, CERT Vanuatu were farewelled as Chair. The were highly commended for their proactiveness and engagement in the EC. In the role of Chair, CERT Vanuatu served the Community thoughtfully and took a hands-on approach, ensuring that decision making by the EC was always done in the best interest of the Community. CERT Vanuatu played a large role in in the expansion of the Community, exemplified by their endorsement earlier in the year of FIRST to become a Partner of PaCSON. FIRST’s application was successful and they officially became a Partner in March 2023.
CERT Vanuatu is also commended for their wonderful hospitality in Vanuatu, and for their efforts towards ensuring a successful AGM. The team went above and beyond to facilitate the event and were ever-present throughout the week to ensure all participants were comfortable and well-supported. Participants particularly enjoyed the cultural leading ceremony, the address from the Vanuatu PM, and the various social events hosted by the CERT Vanuatu Team. The AGM would not have run as smoothly as it did without the efforts of CERT Vanuatu, and for that the Community is very grateful.
AGM Activities
Throughout the three days of the AGM, the PaCSON Community took part in a range of activities and discussed many topics, some of which included:
- A Capture the Flag Cyber Challenge. This challenge was a favourite amongst the Community, with many PaCSON Members taking part and competing to come out on top. Congratulations to the team from Fiji, who ended up capturing the most number of cyber ‘flags’ and winning the challenge.
- Sharing information on cyber threats and learning from each other about how to best target and mitigate against these threats.
- A presentation from CERT Vanuatu about the cyber incident that occurred in the country. This presentation gave unique insight into a serious cyber incident in a Pacific country, including a walkthrough of the event and advice on how to defend against a similar incident.
Looking ahead to 2024, and the AGM in the Cook Islands
The 2023 AGM provided Members, Partners, Friends and Observers the opportunity to come together as a community and share knowledge and experiences. Interacting in person is an invaluable experience for the Community, and provides the chance to collaborate and communicate directly with each other. Through this cooperation, the PaCSON Community is strengthened and ready to continue defending against cyber threats in the region together.
Throughout the AGM, Members discussed what the priorities should be for 2024, and proposed ideas on what could be done to help PaCSON continue to grow and serve the needs of the Community. The EC and Secretariat will start work to share these priorities and make progress on exploring and implementing the suggestions raised.
The Community is already looking forward to next year’s AGM, which will take place in the Cook Islands.