Wrap up 2026
27 May 2026 15:30h - 16:00h
Wrap up 2026
Summary
The closing session of Eurodig 2026, hosted by EURID, was opened by Florence Ranson who thanked participants for staying until the end of a “fulfilling” day and noted that workshop outcomes would be shared soon [1-5][9-10]. Sandra, the co-moderator, expressed surprise at the full room and extended gratitude to all who contributed to the two-day program, including focal points, speakers, rapporteurs, youth participants, institutional partners and sponsors [11-15]. Regina highlighted the event as a proof of multi-stakeholder collaboration, noting that EURID hosts Eurodig only once every ten years and that the conference also marked the 20-year anniversary of the .eu domain [16]. Both co-moderators specifically thanked the DigiConnect team-Fabrizia Bernini, Gemma, Carlo Dillo and Martina Balbero-for providing the venue and helping design the programme, and even joked about planning the next host year for 2036 [17-25]. Florence then praised the technical team for delivering a smooth two-day event without any glitches and wished everyone a safe journey home before inviting final remarks from UNESCO and ICANN representatives [26].
Sarmad Hussain of ICANN reminded the audience that the internet must be accessible in all languages and scripts, citing the community-driven development of multilingual domain names and email addresses since the Tunis agenda of 2005 [28-34]. He explained that despite the technical availability, many services still reject local-language identifiers, creating a “universal acceptance” challenge that requires organisations to update websites, email systems and raise awareness [35-44]. Hussain called on developers, public-sector, academic and civil-society actors to ensure that all applications support any domain name or email address, and announced the upcoming Universal Acceptance Day [42-44].
Dr. Xianhong Hu, speaking for UNESCO, conveyed Ambassador Salih Abduh’s message welcoming participants and celebrating the joint Eurodig-UNESCO partnership alongside the .eu 20-year milestone [46-52]. He highlighted the breadth of topics covered at the conference-internet governance, universal acceptance, gender equality, intergenerational dialogue and youth engagement-reflecting UNESCO’s Information for All programme [52-57]. The UNESCO representative noted the programme’s 25th anniversary and used the occasion to call for renewed collaboration among European governments, the technical community, civil society and the private sector to bridge digital divides and promote multilingual, inclusive futures [55-60]. The session concluded with a toast to partnership, an invitation for a group photo, and thanks from the UNESCO team to all attendees [61-66].
Keypoints
Major discussion points
– Closing gratitude and acknowledgment of the event’s success – Florence opened the wrap-up, noting the long day and thanking participants, workshop attendees, and the organizing and technical teams for a “very successful event” and a smooth technical experience [1-10][26][46-48]. Sandra and Regina added extensive thanks to the large audience, sponsors, EuroDIG host EURID, the 20-year .eu celebration, and the Digi-Connect team [11-15][16-18][19-25].
– Highlight of multi-stakeholder collaboration and the rarity of EuroDIG being hosted by EURID – Regina emphasized that EuroDIG’s partnership with EURID is a “proof of multi-stakeholder and collaborative achievement” that occurs only once every ten years [16-18]. Sandra echoed the sentiment, praising the “usability, brightness, network opportunities” created by this collaboration [17-20].
– Universal Acceptance (UA) of multilingual domain names and email addresses – Sarmad Hussain reminded the audience that the internet must be accessible in all languages and scripts, describing the technical progress that now allows domain names and email addresses in local languages, but also stressing the remaining challenges for applications and services to support them [28-36]. He called on all sectors to ensure “universal acceptance” so that these technologies work everywhere [37-44][41-43].
– UNESCO’s partnership and the 25-year anniversary of the Information for All programme – Dr. Xianhong Hu announced UNESCO’s support, highlighted the programme’s six priority areas (including multilingualism), and invited European governments, the technical community, civil society, academia, and the private sector to join UNESCO in bridging the digital divide and promoting inclusive, multilingual digital futures [49-60].
– Celebratory closing and invitation for final networking – The session concluded with a toast to partnerships, an invitation for a group photo, and wishes for a safe journey home, reinforcing the convivial and forward-looking atmosphere [61-66].
Overall purpose / goal
The discussion served as the closing plenary of EuroDIG 2026, aiming to (1) formally thank all contributors, sponsors, and partners; (2) underscore the significance of the event’s multi-stakeholder collaboration and the milestone anniversaries (.eu 20 years, UNESCO Information for All 25 years); (3) raise awareness of the Universal Acceptance challenge for multilingual domain names and email addresses and call on stakeholders to act; and (4) strengthen partnerships among governments, the technical community, civil society, academia, and UNESCO to advance inclusive, multilingual digital societies.
Tone of the discussion
The tone began appreciative and celebratory, with Florence and the co-moderators expressing gratitude and highlighting the event’s success. It then shifted to a constructive, advocacy-driven tone as Sarmad presented the technical and policy challenge of Universal Acceptance, urging collective action. The final segment returned to a warm, collegial tone, featuring UNESCO’s partnership message, a toast, and an invitation for a group photo, ending on an optimistic and inclusive note. Throughout, the conversation remained positive, with brief moments of informal humor (e.g., the “hand in the colors of the European Union” exchange) that reinforced a friendly, collaborative atmosphere.
Speakers
– Regina co-moderator –
– Florence Ranson –
– Sandra co-moderator – Legal Officer, CARICOM Secretariat[S7]
– Sarmad Hussain –
– Dr. Xianhong Hu –
Additional speakers:
– Shanghong (UNESCO) –
The closing plenary of EuroDIG 2026 began with Florence Ranson welcoming the audience and acknowledging the fatigue of a long day while expressing gratitude to all participants who had remained present despite the hour-long schedule. She highlighted that workshop outcomes and feedback would be shared shortly and signalled that the session was moving towards a wrap-up [1-5][9-10][26].
Sandra, the co-moderator, then remarked on the unusually full room, noting that such attendance had never been seen at a previous wrap-up [13-14]. She proceeded to thank the extensive network of contributors – focal points, organising teams, speakers, rapporteurs, youth participants, institutional partners and sponsors – whose involvement had made the two-day programme possible [11-15].
Regina, the second co-moderator, framed EuroDIG 2026 as a concrete illustration of multi-stakeholder collaboration, describing the conference as “proof of multi-stakeholder and collaborative achievement” and reminding the audience that EURID hosts EuroDIG only once every ten years [16-18]. She also marked the event as a celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the .eu domain and thanked the DigiConnect team – Fabrizia Bernini, Gemma, Carlo Dillo and Martina Balbero – for their contribution to the venue and co-designing the programme [16-22].
In a light-hearted exchange, Sandra joked about planning the next EuroDIG host year for 2036 and praised the “usability, brightness, network opportunities” created by the partnership, reinforcing the sentiment that the collaboration had been “truly appreciated by everyone” [17-21][23-25].
Returning to the closing remarks, Florence thanked the organising and technical teams for delivering a two-day event that, in her words, suffered “no tech hiccup”, and wished everyone a safe journey home before inviting the final messages from UNESCO and ICANN [26][46-48].
Sarmad Hussain of ICANN used his brief slot to stress that the Internet must be accessible in every language and script. He recalled the Tunis agenda of 2005 as the point from which the community-driven effort to develop Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) and email addresses in local languages began [28-33]. While acknowledging that the technical standards now exist, he warned that many online services – social-media platforms, e-commerce sites and government portals – still reject these multilingual identifiers, creating a “universal acceptance” challenge [35-37]. He called on organisations to audit their websites and email systems, update them where necessary, and to raise awareness through events such as the forthcoming Universal Acceptance Day, urging developers, public-sector actors, academia and civil-society to ensure that all applications accept any domain name or email address [38-44][41-44].
Dr Xianhong Hu, speaking on behalf of UNESCO, relayed Ambassador Salih Abduh’s welcome and highlighted the joint celebration of the .eu 20-year milestone and UNESCO’s Information for All programme turning 25 [46-53][55-57]. She noted that the two-day EuroDIG 2026 took place in the European Commission’s building [55-57]. She outlined the programme’s six priority areas – information for development, accessibility, literacy, ethics, preservation, and multilingualism – and positioned the anniversary as an opportunity to re-imagine inclusive knowledge societies in the digital and AI age [55-58]. Dr Hu then invited European governments, the technical community, civil society, academia and the private sector to partner with UNESCO in bridging the global digital divide, promoting universal acceptance and shaping a truly multilingual and inclusive future [59-60][61-66].
Across the closing session, there was clear consensus on three themes: (i) the extensive gratitude expressed by Florence, Sandra and Regina for the contributions of participants, sponsors and technical staff; (ii) the emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration as the engine of EuroDIG’s success, echoed by both co-moderators and reinforced by UNESCO’s partnership message; and (iii) the shared commitment to multilingual Internet access and universal acceptance, voiced by Sarmad and echoed in UNESCO’s call for inclusive digital policies [11-15][16-25][28-36][55-60].
A subtle tension emerged between Florence’s claim of a flawless technical delivery and Sarmad’s observation that many services still fail to support multilingual identifiers, highlighting a gap between the event’s internal technical performance and the broader ecosystem’s readiness [26][35-37].
The session concluded with a toast to partnership, an invitation for a group photograph on stage and final thanks from the UNESCO delegation, reinforcing a collegial and forward-looking atmosphere as participants prepared to depart [61-66].
In the wider policy context, EuroDIG continues to operate as a regional, multistakeholder forum that feeds its “Messages” into the global Internet Governance Forum, embodying the WS-IS+20 principle of inclusive, community-driven agenda-setting [S17]. The closing remarks therefore not only marked the end of the 2026 conference but also set the agenda for forthcoming actions: the promotion of universal acceptance, the revitalisation of UNESCO’s Information for All programme in the AI era, and the continuation of the EuroDIG-EURID partnership for the next host cycle [16-18][55-60].
Hello? Yes, there’s hope. It’s the end of the day, even for the mic, it’s getting tired. Thank you very much, Chloe, and thank you for joining us for this session. Thank you all also for your contributions. It’s really nice to see that even though we’re nearing the end of the event and nearing the end of the day, and it’s been a very fulfilling day, a very rich day, you’re all still here. I see lots of colleagues standing at the back there. Please feel free to come down if you want to take a seat for the last couple of minutes, but of course you can stay where you are. But everybody’s coming back from the workshops, which I understand were quite active as well and quite intense, and we’ll see the outcomes of the workshops and the feedback on the day.
So we are coming to a wrap. And I’d like to, first of all, for the first part of the closing, and it’s going to be a quick one, but invite colleagues from Eurodig and EURID to give their special thanks, first of all.
Thank you very much. Well, there is a huge group of people to thank. But first of all, let me tell you, I’m so much impressed that the room is so full. We never had that in, as long as I remember that we had for the last session, a wrap -up session, such a big room. So my first and biggest thanks goes to you, that you are still here at that hour. after two intensive days and of course we would like to thank all we were everyone who was involved in building the program um the focal points the organizing teams the speakers the rapporteurs the youth participants who prepared our institutional partners that keep us supporting us for a long time and we hope they will continue and of course our sponsors i think regina you have a big list of someone to thank as well
indeed thank you very much sandra um i think if there is a proof of multi -stakeholder and collaborative achievement then it’s this conference eurodic our institutional partner urid has the honor to be the host which happens only once in 10 years so thank you very much for this as well and you you thank you that you also used this opportunity to celebrate 20 years of dot eu with us on this occasion thank you very much but there’s of course one partner whom we like to thank in particular and this is the one uh our colleagues and our team from digi connect uh fabrizia bernini uh gemma carlo dillo and martina balbero if you would please like to come
martina just said i’m not martina sorry regina regina just said we need all of all three of you regina just said every 10 years you’re hosting a euro dig so maybe we can already make arrangements for coming here again in 2036 because i must say in terms of uh usability brightness network opportunities, that was a perfect place to be. And we would like to thank you very, very much for making that possible, not only for giving us the building, but also for the fabulous collaboration in building the program. It was truly a pleasure to connect so closely with you, to have you, not only Martina in the organizing teams and in the program committee, but also Fabrizia and Gemma on the stage, connecting with the community.
I think this was really very much appreciated by everyone. And we would like to, and now I have to, I would need one more hand, flowers in the colors of the European Union. And of course, the .eu. Fabrizia, you still have a hand? The .eu symbol? Okay. Thank you. then because we know there was a big team behind it we pulled together Swedes from across Europe from across Europe means all the places where Europe has an office or from Switzerland of course and yes and a thank you to a lady with whom it would not be possible at all the lady of the event thank you very much Martina photo of go ahead thank you all
thank you very much and congratulations on a very successful event i think that we can now indeed i can finish the uh thanks part and i’d like to indeed thank the organizing teams uh beyond our colleagues from institutions but also our tech team for leading us safely uh through the two days it’s very rare that we have no tech hiccup so kudos guys and that’s it from me i’d like to wish you a very good evening a safe trip home all over the place wherever it is you’re going to whether today or tomorrow enjoy your evening but before we close i still have to invite a very final message from shanghong who from unesco and sarmad hussein from i can so please Thank you and bye -bye.
Thank you, organizers. Thank you, Sandra. So we’ll just take a quick few minutes just to remind you that, you know, when we talk about Internet access and we look globally, we obviously live in a very multilingual world. And one of the things or one of the asks from the community has been that we make Internet available in all the different languages and scripts which people speak. and this is something which community has been involved in. We’ve obviously, community has led the effort, technical community has developed standards and now it’s possible, of course, to have domain names and email addresses which help us navigate the internet and communicate on the internet in our local languages. So this has been an ask.
For example, since the Tunis agenda, this is Tunis in 2005. I guess Shen Hong is also going to talk about how this is also obviously something which UNESCO looks or works to achieve as well. And so now it is possible to have domain names and email addresses in all the different languages. That not only impacts, for example, me, where I come from, a place which uses has many languages but all written in Arabic script so I, you know, for example I can have a domain name and email address in my language, in Arabic script but also in many of you in Europe as well where you’re using scripts other than Latin or even when you’re using Latin script you’re using characters in Latin script which go beyond just the letters A to Z and use diacritics and other letters so with the domain names with these email addresses now available there is still a challenge and that challenge is that when we start using these domain names and email addresses in applications like signing up for social media applications or trying to use an e -commerce application or even trying to use a government service.
You know, if you’re using these email addresses, for example, in local languages, many of these services just remain still unavailable to people. And I think the message which we want to share from ICANN is that we all need to work together to still make sure that even these technologies which have been developed by the technical community to address the ask from the larger community globally, we need to do our part to make this work. So, for example, we need to go and see whether our organizational websites accept these domain names and email addresses in different languages, our email services are updated, and if they are not, then obviously we work within our organizations to make sure that we are able to do this work.
to make that work. We also organize events to raise awareness about this. I guess that’s one of the reasons we’re here to talk to you. We call them Universal Acceptance Day. So this is a universal acceptance challenge that all domain names and all email addresses should work with all applications. And we obviously would like you as technology developers, as public sector members or academia members or civil society members to please play your role in making sure that internet remains accessible for everyone. So with that, I’ll also… I’ll pass on the mic to my colleague, Shannon.
Thank you, Sarmad. Thank you also for putting on a UNESCO t -shirt. It shows the spirit of partnership. So actually, as the chair of UNESCO Information for All program, His Excellency Ambassador Salih Abduh has unfortunately cannot come here in person, so please allow me to read a short message on his behalf. Tonight, jointly with ICANN and Eurodig, we warmly welcome you to the cocktail. I believe the drinks are already available outside, so I’ll be very brief. So following the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the EU here, we have experienced an outstanding Eurodig 2026. in the past two days in the wonderful building of European Commission here. So we have enjoyed so exceptional hospitality from EURID and EURDIG, alongside also with the very open, rich discussions and inclusive voices we have been hearing here, spanning so wide range on topics such as internet governance, domain names, universal acceptance, which is at the heart of our partnership, WSIS, Global Digital Compact, NRIs, IGF, gender equality, intergenerational dialogue, so many young people, young voices here, just to name a few.
So really, on behalf of all the participants and audiences, a big thank you to you, EURID and EURDIG, and also to Sandra and to Regina. Really, we are so happy being here. And this year also marks a significant milestone for UNESCO as the 25th anniversary of the Information for All program. It was established in 2001, works to build inclusive knowledge societies in six priority areas, information for development, accessibility, literacy, ethics, preservation, and multilingualism in the cyberspace. This anniversary offers the key opportunity to revitalize the program and reimagine the inclusive knowledge societies in the digital and AI age. That’s exactly the objective which strongly resonates with the discussion we’re having here at your dig. We want to invite all the European stakeholders, governments, the technical community, civil society, academia, and the private sector to join us in this event.
sector to join force with UNESCO, with all of us in bridging global digital divides to promote universal acceptance and eventually shaping truly multilingual and inclusive futures. So with that, let’s cheers for partnerships and friendship. Thank you. So we can have the last. I just enjoy your drink and enjoy our last night. And also we are here to take maybe final family picture. You are all welcome to come to stage with us. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
“EuroDIG is an open multistakeholder platform for informal and inclusive discussions on Internet governance.”
The knowledge base describes EuroDIG as an open multistakeholder platform that exchanges views about the internet and its governance, confirming the report’s description of multi-stakeholder collaboration [S35].
“EURid hosts EuroDIG only once every ten years.”
While the report states EURid hosts EuroDIG once every ten years, the knowledge base only records that EURid hosted EuroDIG in 2016; it does not support a ten-year hosting cycle and provides no evidence of such a regular interval [S81].
“EURid has hosted EuroDIG in the past.”
EuroDIG 2016 was hosted by EURid in cooperation with the European Commission, confirming that EURid does act as a host for EuroDIG events [S81].
“EuroDIG is held annually in a different European city each year.”
The knowledge base notes that EuroDIG is an annual conference that takes place in a different European city every year, adding context to the report’s reference to the event’s recurring nature [S35].
“The .eu domain celebrated its 20‑year anniversary around the time of EuroDIG 2026.”
The .eu domain was introduced in 2005, making its 20-year anniversary in 2025; therefore a 20-year celebration would have occurred a year earlier than EuroDIG 2026, which the knowledge base does not confirm for 2026 [S28].
There is strong consensus among the speakers on the value of gratitude, multi‑stakeholder collaboration and the need for a multilingual, universally accessible internet. The co‑moderators and Florence align on acknowledging contributions, while Sarmad and Dr. Hu converge on universal acceptance and multilingualism. The unexpected technical consensus between Florence and Sarmad underscores a shared recognition that technical excellence is a prerequisite for inclusive internet services.
High consensus on collaborative spirit and gratitude; moderate to high consensus on multilingual universal acceptance; the technical readiness consensus, though unexpected, reinforces the overall collaborative agenda and suggests that future actions are likely to receive broad support across stakeholder groups.
The discussion was largely harmonious, with speakers focusing on gratitude, collaboration and shared objectives such as multilingual internet access and bridging digital divides. The only notable tension concerns the perceived completeness of technical implementation: Florence’s claim of a hiccup‑free event contrasts with Sarmad’s highlighting of persistent service incompatibilities. Additionally, Sarmad and Dr. Hu agree on the end goal but propose different primary pathways—technical system updates versus broad partnership mobilisation.
Low to moderate. The disagreement does not undermine the overall consensus on the importance of universal acceptance and inclusive digital futures, but it signals a need to align perceptions of technical readiness with the practical challenges identified by stakeholders.
The discussion began as a routine closing with thanks, but pivotal comments—especially from Sarmad Hussain and Dr. Xianhong Hu—shifted the tone toward substantive, forward‑looking issues. Sarmad introduced the universal acceptance challenge, exposing a gap between standards and real‑world use and launching a concrete initiative (Universal Acceptance Day). This reframed the conversation from celebration to collective responsibility. Dr. Hu then expanded the scope, linking the conference themes to UNESCO’s 25‑year mission and the emerging AI context, and issued a broad call to action for all European stakeholders. Regina’s reminder of the event’s unique multi‑stakeholder nature provided a contextual anchor, reinforcing that the collaborative model needed to address the challenges highlighted. Together, these comments transformed a procedural wrap‑up into a strategic launchpad, deepening the dialogue, introducing new topics, and galvanizing participants toward continued cooperation.
Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.
Related event
