Session
Classroom
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The session will include the presentation of case studies by governments whose languages are not wholly based on the Latin alphabet (see session description for further information). These case studies will provide national perspectives and policy approaches to promote a multilingual Domain Name System and a multilingual Internet. The classroom layout will enable an interactive discussion amongst participants (both in person and remote) following the case studies.
The Internet cannot become multilingual until software applications treat all Top-Level Domains equally, regardless of the script they are in. To do this, the multistakeholder Internet community must work together to build policy that encourages the universal acceptance of all domain names and email addresses – namely those that are not based on the Latin alphabet character set (or otherwise said, scripts that fall outside of the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) character set). Local language content, the delivery of which is enabled by Universal Acceptance, is also a key element of the multilingual Internet and requires its own policy interventions.
During this Open Forum, co-organizer government representatives from Egypt, India, the U.K., and the U.S. will present on their activities to promote the multilingual Internet, including on efforts to promote local content development, universal acceptance, and the uptake of Internationalized Domain Names. Insights shared by presenting governments will inform a discussion on the primary challenges facing the achievement of a multilingual Internet and highlight lessons learned so far. Through a better understanding of the distinct role governments have to play in the pursuit of Internet multilingualism, this Open Forum will seek to build momentum and raise awareness of this critical issue. During the discussion portion of the session, both “in-person” and “remote” interventions are welcome in order to promote a seamless hybrid environment for all participating.
🔒US Department of Commerce
Manal Ismail, National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt, Africa T. Santhosh, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India, Asia-Pacific Nigel Hickson, Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, United Kingdom, WEOG
Jaisha Wray, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce
Jaisha Wray, NTIA/U.S. Department of Commerce, WEOG, Owen Fletcher, NTIA/U.S. Department of Commerce, WEOG, Manal Ismail, National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt, Africa T. Santhosh, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India, Asia-Pacific Nigel Hickson, Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, United Kingdom, WEOG
Owen Fletcher, NTIA/U.S. Department of Commerce, WEOG
Andrew Flavin, NTIA/U.S. Department of Commerce, WEOG
Pearl Risberg, U.S. Department of Commerce, WEOG, Online Moderator
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
Targets: The Open Forum on Multilingualism is linked to SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure because of the type of innovation that Internet multilingualism demands and the important role of multilingualism in ensuring meaningful connectivity to the Internet. The proposed Open Forum also exemplifies SDG 10 to reduce inequalities, as improving Internet multilingualism is a necessary step in the pursuit of digital inclusion, closing the global adoption gap, and enabling meaningful connectivity. The proposed Open Forum also underpins SDG 4 by helping to ensure that the Internet is able to deliver inclusive and equitable online education and information and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Report
Featured Speakers (in order of statements):
- Jaisha Wray, Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Mr. Pradeep Kumar Verma, Scientist D, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India
- Manal Ismail, Chief Expert, Internet Policies, National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt
- Nigel Hickson, Senior Adviser on Internet governance and DNS, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Government of the United Kingdom
- Owen Fletcher (moderator), Office of International Affairs, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Summary:
On December 17, 2024, the governments of Egypt, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States co-organized an Open Forum session titled “Challenges & Opportunities for a Multilingual Internet.” The session included opening remarks from Jaisha Wray (NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce) followed by case study presentations from the governments of India, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, which highlighted both successes and challenges governments face in spurring multilingualism on the Internet across differing geographic and linguistic landscapes. A robust audience Q&A and discussion portion followed. The event emphasized the role for governments in advancing multilingualism on the Internet and highlighted that multilingualism is a foundational requirement to achieve digital inclusion and meaningful connectivity. The event was well attended, with approximately 75 attendees (including both in-person and online participants) and at least eleven governments represented.
Case Studies:
India: Building on India’s leadership in the launch of Universal Acceptance (UA) Day in 2023, a regional UA Day in 2024 marked the launch of the BhashaNet portal, an initiative to promote a multilingual Internet and enhance Universal Acceptance in India. The portal aims to equip developers and service providers with the necessary tools and processes to build a digital space without language barriers. In order to support the 22 Indian languages, 11 scripts, and 15 IDN ccTLDs available, the BhashaNet portal provides standard operating procedures across different technologies, code samples, and other resources. The portal also hosts a UA Readiness Dashboard to track progress and a support ticketing system. This effort is linked to a project titled “Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar,” or “My Village My Heritage,” which aims to provide meaningful Internet access in approximately 600,000 villages across 29 states and 7 territories.
Egypt: Language is an access barrier and building a truly multilingual Internet is a necessity. Both globally and in Egypt’s experience, there were positive early signals of success, including an initial surge in Egypt’s IDN ccTLD registrations in 2010, but in recent years, there has been a contraction in IDN registrations even when they are well supported. In order to counter lagging demand for IDNs and continue to support UA readiness, the government of Egypt is working to promote awareness and deployment by reaching out to software companies, setting up pilots for proofs of concept, working with academia, conducting technical trainings and hackathons on UA, organizing engagement activities with relevant stakeholders, and tracking progress. Governments can play a key role in spurring demand by highlighting benefits of these efforts, from digital inclusion and transformation to preserving culture, ensuring government services reach all citizens, increasing market competition and innovation, and providing increased customer choice. Additionally, governments can also highlight that deployment is straightforward and that UA readiness makes systems more future-proof.
United Kingdom: It is very important that people can use their own scripts on the Internet. In addition to technical work to ensure IDNs are well-supported not least in provision of public services, work is also needed to ensure that citizens and residents know that they can use different languages and scripts in their online communication, including with their government. The United Kingdom has taken an incremental approach to address the lack of awareness and confidence among Internet users. In observing the uptake of IDNs containing diacritics within Wales, it is evident that even when an IDN would better serve an end user, they may lack the knowledge and confidence to acquire and use one. Governments can do much more, not by regulating or passing laws, but by working with the private sector, local authorities, and educational institutions to build greater awareness and confidence.
Discussion:
Participants highlighted the importance of enabling Internet users to engage in their own language and script and noted additional ways governments can contribute to a multilingual Internet. For example, governments could incorporate Universal Acceptance compliance into software procurement policies, thereby driving digital transformation that aligns with global inclusivity goals. It was also noted that governments can lead by example by ensuring that government websites are available in local languages. Several participants noted the issue of semantics, highlighting that while the terms “Universal Acceptance” and Internationalized Domain Names do not always translate well, digital inclusion is a globally understood concept. Governments can work to ensure language is treated as a core component of digital inclusion and raise awareness of the relationship between IDNs, UA, and digital inclusion.
It is clear that achieving a multilingual Internet will require continued multistakeholder cooperation. Much of the discussion focused on the critical range of roles different stakeholders play. Large technology companies have the resources to innovate and the scale to reach the majority of end users, and governments must play a role in building the market and highlighting the advantages of UA. In the DNS ecosystem, registries have made progress toward enabling IDNs to work, but more work is needed, including by registrars and Internet service providers. Civil society has been active in the development of valuable resources and is developing toolkits to support and amplify the efforts of governments and other stakeholders. Universities have a role in training the next generation on these concepts and in developing curriculum that integrates IDNs and UA. The prominence of this topic across international fora was also highlighted repeatedly. In addition to comments by ICANN that highlighted ongoing work to enable IDNs and expand UA readiness, the International Telecommunication Union noted its work on this topic. In addition, the relevance of this topic under the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) framework was noted as well as ongoing related work under UNESCO.
It was highlighted that while IDNs are a critical step, Universal Acceptance is necessary to make IDNs work seamlessly across the Internet, and there is much work to do on that level. This point was reiterated by several participants, including that a key issue is insufficient UA-readiness among email providers, browsers, and other online services; according to one participant, testing indicates that only 11 percent of the top 1,000 global websites can accept IEAs and only 20 percent of email providers support them.
Several participants raised other important accessibility and security implications of IDNs. There was a valuable exchange regarding the unique challenges of languages and scripts that read right-to-left, like Arabic and Farsi. A domain name containing these scripts will require a mix of left and right directional reading, which represents additional challenges both technically and in terms of accessibility for non-English speakers. The challenge remains of addressing the large segment of the population that cannot write in any local language. The importance of including people with disabilities in these discussions was also raised, and the unique importance and characteristics of sign language were noted. As one panelist stated, enabling a multilingual Internet has moved beyond a technical issue to a social policy issue, and there is much more work ahead.
References:
• Video Recording
• Session Page
Published in January 2025. This report was prepared by representatives from the governments of Egypt, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which co-organized the Open Forum.