Universal Acceptance Day

March 30, 2023

The internet has become a fundamental part of modern society, connecting people from different parts of the world. With approximately five billion users worldwide, the internet has revolutionized communication and commerce, and it has become a critical platform for social and economic activities. However, not all users experience the full potential of the internet, especially those who do not speak English or use non-Latin scripts. To address this issue, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) have introduced Universal Acceptance (UA) Day.

What is UA Day?

UA Day is celebrated every March 28th to promote UA awareness and encourage UA adoption among key stakeholders. Its objective is to create an inclusive internet that supports a wide range of languages and scripts. The inaugural edition of UA Day was celebrated in 2023.

What is Universal Acceptance?

Universal Acceptance is a technical requirement that ensures all valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length, can be equally used by all internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems. UA is crucial for non-English speaking countries as it ensures that everybody has the ability to experience the full social and economic power of the internet using their chosen domain name and email address that best aligns with their interests, business, culture, language, and script.

Expanding the Domain Name System

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that translates domain names to IP addresses. In recent years, DNS has expanded with the addition of new generic top-level domains (e.g., .photography, .technology), Internationalized Domain Names (e.g., एमईआईटीवाई.सरकार.भारत, صحة.مصر,) and country code top-level domains (e.g., .भारत). However, many software applications used to validate domain names and email addresses remain outdated, which hinders UA adoption.

The Significance of UA for India

The current digital divide can be removed with the creation of multilingual internet user interface. The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), a not-for-profit company under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), recognizes the importance of UA adoption in India. Through UA, India aims to bring additional 500 million broadband users. This will help add value to the digital economy, promote startup ecosystems, and generate employment opportunities in the country. India has been chosen as the flag bearer this year to promote UA for digital inclusion.

« Previous Post Next Post »