Universal Acceptance Day
The UA Day in Macedonia will be celebrated on March 26th in Netrebin with several sessions, presentations, and a discussion about what Universal Acceptance (UA) is, research regarding MK domains, the implementation of Cyrillic domains in Macedonia, and a technical presentation on Universal Acceptance (UA). At the end, there will be a cocktail for introductions, networking, and discussion among the attendees.
The event is free, but registration is required: https://forms.gle/QpchxbZCrrKDziUZ6
During the event there will be a quiz, where a hosting package will be awarded for first place, while a .mk domain will be awarded for second and third place, valid for one year.
Agenda:
13:00 – 13:20 Event Registration
13:20 – 13:30 – Opening and Introduction to IGF / UA – Marko Paloski – IGF MKD
13:30 – 14:00 – What is UA? – Angela Jankoska – IGF MKD
14:00 – 14:15 – Presentation of the 2023 research on .mk domains
14:15 – 14:45 – UA Implementation of Cyrillic Domains in Macedonia – Sasho Dimitrijoski – ICANN
14:45 – 15:10 – Statistics and Demand for Cyrillic Domains – Biljana Shijakoska – MKhost
15:10 – 15:40 – UA Technical Presentation – Vladislav Bidykov – FINK
15:40 – 17:00 – Cocktail
FOR UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE (UA) DAY
Universal Acceptance (UA) Day, which will be held on March 26, 2024. Led by the volunteer Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) and ICANN, UA Day will be an opportunity for local, regional, and global communities and organizations around the world to come together and raise awareness of UA and encourage its adoption by key stakeholders.
UA Day will consist of awareness-raising sessions and technical UA training organized by UASG, including its UA Ambassadors, local UA initiatives, ICANN, and interested global partners and organizations. The sessions will aim to engage and mobilize the top technical and linguistic communities, companies, governments, and industry stakeholders in the Domain Name System (DNS) to better understand the benefits of UA and how to make their own systems UA-ready.
About Universal Acceptance (UA)
UA is a technical requirement that ensures all valid domain names and email addresses can be used by all applications, devices, and systems enabled on the Internet. While DNS has changed in recent years, the checks that many software applications use to validate domain names and email addresses remain outdated. Many systems do not recognize or properly process new domain names. These domain names include new generic top-level domains (e.g., .photography), Internationalized Domain Names (e.g., मेईटवाई.सरकार.भारत/, 紅 螺寺.网址, مرص.صحة , stopcoronavirus.ru), and country code top-level domains (e.g., .ไทย). Furthermore, not all online portals are prepared for user account creation with a linked email address. Therefore, awareness and support for UAs are crucial for a truly global, multilingual Internet.
Advantages of UA
The current Internet population consists of more than 5 billion active users, and at least another billion are expected to come online by 2024. Achieving UA for all valid domain names and email addresses is crucial to enabling consumer choice online and achieving digital inclusivity for all these users.
Furthermore, there are significant economic and social benefits to supporting multilingual Internet users in their ability to access and connect with e-commerce, local communities, and governments, as well as to embrace and disseminate cultural traditions through language.
For IGF MKD
IGF MKD – „The Internet Governance Forum of the Republic of North Macedonia is an open, inclusive, and informal space for dialogue on Internet governance issues among all stakeholders in Macedonian society, the government, members of parliament, the private sector, civil society, the technical community, academia, the media, end users, etc.
The National IGF MKD initiative should contribute to raising public awareness and promoting the so-called „multistakeholder“ approach involving all or most stakeholders as a new form of participatory democracy, that is, fostering dialogue among all stakeholders. This „multi-stakeholder“ approach, or „engaging all stakeholders,“ should influence the nature of Internet governance in the Republic of North Macedonia and create cooperative models of „regulation.“.
The event is free, but registration is required: https://forms.gle/QpchxbZCrrKDziUZ6
