As APRICOT 2024 concludes, a few points stand out. It was valuable to engage directly with the community on issues shaping the global Internet, and the AGM marked a necessary turning point for APNIC after more than two decades of concentrated control.

At the same time, the event highlighted a structural problem: in-person meetings are expensive, and access is unequal. Participation should not depend on who can afford flights and hotels. For that reason, the LARUS Foundation will sponsor university students who would otherwise be unable to attend APRICOT 2025 in Dhaka, with details to follow.

It was also important that APNIC attended APRICOT despite earlier threats to boycott over LARUS’ commercial sponsorship; we chose not to proceed with sponsorship precisely to avoid undermining the event. Scrutiny of institutions is not personal, and accountability should be welcomed, not resisted.

APRICOT works because of open discussion, disagreement, and engagement, and the responsibility now is to broaden access so more voices can participate next year.