News and Events
February 18, 2026
For Immediate Release
Geneva, Switzerland – February 18th, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced that Duncan Sparrell has joined its Board of Directors.
Mr. Sparrell is widely recognized as a leader in telecommunications, cybersecurity, and standards development, with almost five decades of experience advancing secure systems across industry, government, and international standards bodies. His appointment strengthens OSTERA’s mission to enable agile, member-driven development of open standards that serve the public good.
"Duncan brings an extraordinary depth of technical expertise, credibility, and leadership in global standardization," said Bret Jordan, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "At a time when emerging technologies demand faster, more effective collaboration, his guidance will be invaluable as OSTERA establishes itself as a trusted home for modern standards work."
"As OSTERA grows, thoughtful board leadership helps ensure we remain accountable to our members and true to our mission," said Gershon Janssen, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "Duncan's experience across industry, government, and international standards bodies brings a valuable governance perspective that will help shape OSTERA's long-term direction."
Mr. Sparrell noted that OSTERA represents a timely and necessary evolution in standards development. "The pace of technological change has outgrown many traditional processes," he said. "OSTERA offers a compelling model, one that preserves openness, rigor, and contributor ownership while enabling faster progress. I am pleased to join the OSTERA Board of Directors and support its mission."
About OSTERA
OSTERA is a global nonprofit, member-driven standards organization, headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, that is dedicated to advancing open standards and the technical foundations needed to enable a modern world for the public good.
Join the Movement
OSTERA invites organizations, companies, governments, researchers, startups, and individuals interested in joining and contributing to OSTERA’s mission to explore membership opportunities at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org
January 27, 2026
For Immediate Release
Geneva, Switzerland – January 27th, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced its public launch as a new global nonprofit standards development organization (SDO). This new SDO is designed to modernize and accelerate the creation of open standards and technology that are essential to enable a modern and interoperable world.
Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, OSTERA aims to address long-standing challenges in traditional standards bodies, which often struggle with slow timelines, high participation costs, and outdated processes. By contrast, OSTERA offers an agile, cost-effective, and contributor-friendly environment that enables global collaboration across critical domains such as cybersecurity, AI, PQC, digital identity, networking, and other emerging technologies. This new ecosystem and standardization model, built from nearly a century of combined expertise in international standards, will enable industry to innovate and standardize while keeping up with the speed of business.
OSTERA’s mission is to create an environment that is industry-driven and that reflects the realities of today’s global technology ecosystem and the urgent need for interoperable and standardized solutions.
One of the key aspects of OSTERA is that it is by members, for members.
"Standardization is essential to global innovation, security, and economic growth, but the legacy standards organizations were not built for the world we live in today," said Bret Jordan, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "OSTERA was created to provide a modern home for open standards: one that is fast, inclusive, and aligned with how technology is actually developed in the 21st century. We built OSTERA to be by members, for members."
"Interoperability doesn’t happen by accident, it’s the result of deliberate, open and well-governed collaboration", said Gershon Janssen, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "OSTERA is designed to enable contributors and implementers to participate in the global standards development process, all while lowering the barriers of participation and maintaining transparent governance."
Join the Movement
OSTERA invites organizations, companies, governments, researchers, startups, and individuals interested in joining and contributing to OSTERA’s mission to explore membership opportunities at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org