On 10 October 2016, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first Internet line in Slovenia was held in the Main Lecture Hall of the Jožef Stefan Institute as part of the opening of the Information Society 2016 conference.
The event programme included an opening address by Prof. Dr. Borka Jerman Blažič (Jožef Stefan Institute and ISOC.SI) and Mag. Janja Jakončič (mentor at the web classroom, Gimnazija Poljane), a lesson by Prof. Dr. Borka Jerman Blažič on the Internet in Slovenia, a quiz-show by Dr. Živa Stepančič and Primož Cigoj, an interview by Polona Strnad (Jožef Stefan Institute) with award-winning students, and a presentation of the three best essays. The event was closed by Prof. Dr. Borka Jerman Blažič.
After a break, the opening of the Information Society 2016 conference and the award ceremony took place, with the participation of Mag. Violeta Bulc, European Commissioner.
The event also featured a presentation on the history of the European academic and research network: in 1991, KTH and the University of Stockholm produced a table of all international telecommunications lines leased by universities and research institutions in Europe. Based on the identified overlaps, the Dutch network SURFNET proposed a cooperation agreement to build a shared Internet backbone, visible in the image Topology of eBone. An invitation was also sent to YUNAC, which had a line to Amsterdam and from there to the USA. Ebone started operating with 50 signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding, and the number soon grew to 100. The Ebone backbone was succeeded by TEN34 and TEN155 – the backbone of European academic networks, financed by the EU and its member states, which was renamed GEANT. The Slovenian network ARNES and Slovenian administrative institutions were connected to GEANT.
The film On the History of Domestic Domains, produced with funds from the British Council and screened at the Festival in Liverpool, Digital ART – ABandon, was also presented.
A talk by Ron Broersma (NLNOG 2016) on the transition of the ARPANET network to the Internet in 1983 was also part of the event.
