 Without further ado, we will go straight to the welcome address from Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill, Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology at the United Nations, who planned to join us on site and unfortunately had to cancel last minute, and after that we will have the welcome address from Mr. Bernardo Moreno Jr., who is the Chief Information Technology Officer, Assistant Secretary-General at the Office of Information and Communications Technology at the UN. Esteemed participants of the Open Forum Europe's EU Open Source Policy Summit. While I regret that I cannot be present in person for this remarkable 10th anniversary celebration, it's an immense pleasure to be delivering some keynote remarks for this event. Ladies and gentlemen, open source is not just a component of our digital infrastructure, it is the very fabric of it. Open Source powers our devices, our browsers, and enables the connections that bring us together in forums like this one. This conference's holistic focus on the various facets of open source, from AI, cybersecurity, funding models, to global cooperation and economic opportunities is exactly what is needed today. The discussions you are having here at the EU Open Source Policy Summit are crucial. They'll form the basis for action by policy makers at all levels of governance, so that we can create a fertile political and regulatory environment to reap the benefits of open source. At the multilateral level as well, open source is in the spotlight. The United Nations Secretary General recognizes open source as a powerful democratizing force in the realm of digital technology, a crucial tool to address the digital divide. Its significance therefore is especially pronounced in developing nations, where it opens doors to innovation and growth. Looking ahead at the upcoming Summit of the Future in September this year, we are presented with an opportunity to raise the profile of open source at the multilateral level through the Global Digital Compact. The Global Digital Compact is a once in a generation opportunity to craft principles, commitments, and action to promote global digital commons and open source principles on an international scale. This compact, to be signed by UN member states, but also open for adherence by the private sector and other stakeholders, is a testament to the role of digital transformation in achieving the sustainable development goals. It underscores the vital importance of global digital commons, including open source software, open data, open AI models, and cooperative software communities. Ladies and gentlemen, despite the widespread prevalence of open source technology, we must acknowledge that its full potential is yet to be realized. I see three critical areas for action. The first, capacity building. We need to address the skill gaps in member states by the provision of training sessions and practical toolkits to overcome barriers to the use of open source. Our second priority must be matchmaking open source solutions with the needs that governments have, communities have, and that citizens have. A recent study estimates that the supply side widely used open source software is valued at about 4.15 billion. However, the demand side value is much larger in the trillions. This underscores the imperative to align government and community requirements with available open source solutions more effectively. I see the United Nations as an adequate vehicle to serve as a platform to perform this function. Third, and lastly, we need more advocacy, more policy advocacy for open source. Member states hesitant about open source and there are reasons for that hesitancy need to be convinced through this advocacy that this is a valuable tool in their digital transformation journey. All of you present in this conference are making a valuable contribution to the Senate. In this spirit and in the light of these important future developments, I'm also excited to announce today the second edition of our yearly conference at the UN on open source for good. This event set for July 9th and July 10th in New York at the UN headquarters will connect the global open source community, foster dialogue, help in the sharing of insights and the building of partnerships. In closing, I extend my gratitude to your unwavering commitment to open source and look forward to the insights and collaborations that will surely stem from this summit. Thank you very much.