ICANN and UNESCO Join Forces to Champion Universal Acceptance for UA Day 2025

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are collaborating on the third annual Universal Acceptance (UA) Day, to be held on and around 28 March 2025. First introduced in 2023, UA Day is an opportunity to mobilize local, national, regional, and global communities and organizations to champion UA. This collaboration between ICANN and UNESCO builds on a 2009 Cooperation Agreement to support and encourage Internet inclusivity and aims to continue the momentum surrounding UA Day.

UA ensures that valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length, can be used equally by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.

During its 42^nd General Conference in November 2023, UNESCO Member States recognized the value of UA in promoting multilingualism online, as per UNESCO's 5^th Consolidated Report on the 2003 Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace, Member States agreed on the importance of UA as a vehicle to build an inclusive, connected, and equitable digital world.

"Universal Acceptance is the cornerstone of a truly global and inclusive Internet. Adherence to Universal Acceptance is not just a technical necessity, but a deep commitment to affirming cultural inclusion in the digital space," said Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Communication and Information.

UNESCO will contribute to UA Day 2025 by leveraging its global presence to raise awareness about the importance of UA for linguistic diversity among Member States. This includes advocating for the development and strengthening of national and international policies for multilingualism online, digital empowerment through UNESCO's Global Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032), and collaborating with global stakeholders to share best practices, research, and technological advancements related to UA.

"We are delighted to collaborate with UNESCO on UA Day activities. This cooperation advances our shared goal of a more inclusive and multilingual Internet and represents a significant step toward bringing the next billion users online," said Sally Costerton, ICANN Interim President and CEO.

Organized by ICANN, the volunteer-led Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), and interested global partners, UA Day consists of virtual and in-person sessions. The event is aimed at increasing awareness of UA and its benefits, with an emphasis on technical training to help organizations become UA-ready.

Event proposals are currently being solicited from all relevant organizations, including academia, community groups, technical and technology organizations, email service providers, software and technology developers, and others. Interested parties may submit an event proposal by 11 October 2024.

The Domain Name System has expanded dramatically in recent years, with the addition of new and longer top-level domains, as well as those in different scripts. Achieving UA allows everyone to experience the full social and economic power of the Internet using their preferred domain name and email address that best aligns with their interests, business, culture, language, and script.

More information on UA Day can be found at https://universalacceptance.day. To learn more about UA, visit https://uasg.tech and follow the hashtag #Internet4All on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.

ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address - a name or a number - into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.