Universal Acceptance for a Multilingual Internet: Launch of the UNESCO–ICANN Policy Brief

Mr. Canela acknowledged the complexity of the tension between AI sovereignty and universal accessibility, noting that the term AI covers a wide range of applications and that locally developed models in smaller or indigenous languages can serve valuable purposes. He gave the example of a Quechua-language model developed in Peru that could benefit Quechua speakers across different countries, suggesting that local models need not be inherently exclusionary. He also noted that smaller, locally focused models may offer environmental benefits in terms of lower energy and water consumption.

Mr. Canela noted that there are different things under the umbrella of AI, and that building smaller models is related to specific usage contexts . He gave the example of a specific indigenous language community speaking Quechua developing a particular model in Peru, which could be very useful for other Quechua speakers in different countries . He also noted that these models consume a lot less water and energy, pointing to environmental benefits , and acknowledged that education systems in different parts of the world are looking into specific models for their specific realities for reasons including digital sovereignty .

A linguistically diverse internet contributes to a knowledge-based society and helps bridge the digital divide by enabling all users to navigate online in their native language or script. This is described as fundamental to human nature, mirroring the benefits of linguistic diversity already experienced in the offline world. Multilingual support must therefore extend beyond online content to encompass domain names and email addresses as the core mechanisms of online navigation and communication.

Ms. Swinehart noted that a linguistically diverse internet contributes to a knowledge-based society and helps bridge the digital divide, allowing everybody to navigate the internet in their native language or script . She emphasised that multilingual languages are not just about online content but also about domain names and email addresses, which are the mechanisms by which people navigate and communicate online .

ICANN and its community have made significant technical progress in expanding the domain name system to support multilingual internet navigation, beginning with IDN country code top-level domains in 2009 and continuing with generic top-level domains from 2012. This work has resulted in the delegation of more than 150 internationalised top-level domains representing 37 languages and 23 scripts. A further expansion is expected through a new generic top-level domain programme launched in 2026.

ICANN began applying for IDN country code top-level domains in 2009, shortly after the Tunis Agenda in 2005, and then introduced new generic top-level domains in a round that opened in 2012 . This led to the delegation of 150 IDN GTLDs and IDN CCTLDs in the domain name system, representing 37 languages and 23 scripts . A further expansion of the DNS was expected through the new GTLD programme launched in April 2026 .

Despite the technical standards for internationalised domain names and email addresses being in place, many software applications and systems still fail to recognise or process them correctly, preventing users from completing everyday online transactions in their local language. Ms. Swinehart illustrated this with practical examples such as being unable to complete a food delivery order or sign up for a class when using a local-language email address. She emphasised, however, that this is a solvable problem requiring concerted effort from ICANN, UNESCO, and communities worldwide.

Ms. Swinehart described scenarios where users attempting to use an email address in their local language and script might receive an error message and be unable to complete a transaction, such as signing up for a class, ordering food delivery, or subscribing to a newsletter . She stressed that this type of scenario happens every day for internet users but that it is solvable , and identified it as the universal acceptance challenge that ICANN, in collaboration with UNESCO and communities around the world, are working to address .

The UNESCO–ICANN policy brief goes beyond identifying the problem by clearly delineating the specific responsibilities of each category of stakeholder in achieving universal acceptance. This includes technology developers, email software and service providers, government policymakers, civil society, and academia. The brief is particularly intended for the public sector, which is identified as a major stakeholder capable of driving demand for universal acceptance.

Ms. Swinehart noted that the policy brief delineates the role that all stakeholders must play, including technology developers, email software and service providers, government policymakers, civil society, and academia . She also highlighted that the brief suggests how progress can be measured , and that it is intended for the public sector, which is a major stakeholder that can help drive demand .

ICANN has pursued a multi-pronged approach to promoting universal acceptance by engaging directly with large technology organisations to support UA in their applications and services, and by submitting code fixes in open source projects. The organisation has also supported the domain name industry in enabling UA in their systems and has updated its own software, reaching 92% UA readiness. These efforts are complemented by awareness-raising activities and engagement with intergovernmental organisations.

Ms. Swinehart described ICANN's efforts to promote universal acceptance capacity development by talking with big tech organisations to support UA in their applications and services, submitting code fixes in open source projects, and engaging with open source code maintainers to incorporate these fixes . She noted that ICANN has been supporting the domain name industry in enabling UA in their systems, including through a roadmap publication report , and that ICANN's own software systems are now 92% UA ready .

Universal acceptance is a technical best practice and standard that requires all valid domain names and email addresses to function correctly across all internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems, irrespective of the script, language, or character length used. The core technology and standards to support internationalised domain names and email addresses are already in place, but the challenge lies in ensuring that websites and applications are updated to recognise and process them correctly. All stakeholders, including governments, have a role to play in achieving this.

Dr. Hussain explained that universal acceptance focuses on ensuring that all valid domain names and valid email addresses, regardless of their script, language, and character length, can be used equally by all internet-enabled application devices and systems . He noted that the technology, standards, and policy are already in place for both domain names and email addresses , and illustrated this with examples of real registered domain names in Armenian, Oriya, Georgian, and other scripts .

Empirical testing conducted by ICANN across approximately 1,000 websites in 20 countries revealed that the vast majority of websites still fail to accept email addresses in local languages and scripts. The testing covered diverse sectors including government, banking, academia, and media, and involved submitting local-language email addresses on contact pages. The average acceptance rate of only around 12% demonstrates a significant awareness and implementation gap.

Dr. Hussain described a study in which 50 websites in each of 20 different countries, totalling approximately 1,000 websites, were tested by submitting email addresses in the local language of each country on their contact pages . The results showed that acceptance rates on average are around 12%, meaning more than 850 out of 1,000 websites would not accept email addresses and domain names in their own local languages and scripts .

Beyond website-level testing, ICANN also analysed the response of email servers globally to internationalised email addresses, finding that acceptance rates remain below 30% despite gradual improvement over time. This analysis covered approximately 32 million email servers deployed across the world. The finding underscores that the universal acceptance challenge extends throughout the email infrastructure, not just at the level of individual websites.

Dr. Hussain reported that ICANN surveyed approximately 32 million email servers deployed across the world and found that, while the response of email servers to support internationalised email addresses has been improving over time, the acceptance rate of local language email addresses is still less than 30% .

Governments are identified as one of the most significant stakeholders in advancing universal acceptance because they have the authority to mandate or incentivise the adoption of multilingual domain names and email services. This is particularly relevant in the context of e-government services, where governments can lead by example and create demand for UA-compliant systems. The policy brief developed with UNESCO specifically highlights this governmental role.

Dr. Hussain noted that governments are one of the significant stakeholders because they can mandate or incentivise the use of multilingual domain names and email services, especially in the e-services they provide to their citizens . He also described the policy brief as identifying the different areas where universal acceptance can contribute, the gaps in awareness, technology, capacity, and policy, and the role of different stakeholders including governments .

ICANN has been organising UA Day events in close collaboration with UNESCO and the broader community as a key mechanism for creating awareness and building capacity around universal acceptance. Over four years, these events have achieved significant global reach, covering 86 countries and 42 languages. The scale of these events reflects the breadth of the effort required to address the awareness gap identified in the universal acceptance challenge.

Dr. Hussain stated that ICANN holds UA Day events in very close collaboration with UNESCO and the community, and has been doing so for the last four years to create more awareness and capacity around the world . He reported that more than 200 UA Day events have been held over the last four years in 86 countries and 42 languages, reaching more than 29,000 participants .

To ensure sustainable capacity development, ICANN is partnering with universities around the world to embed knowledge of internationalised domain names and email addresses into technology degree programmes. The goal is to ensure that the next generation of software developers graduates with the awareness and skills needed to build UA-compliant systems. This initiative spans multiple continents and continues to expand.

Dr. Hussain described ICANN's work with universities around the world to integrate the concept of domain names and email addresses in local languages into curricula, so that technology students are well-versed in these areas when they develop technology . He cited specific partner institutions including the American University of Bahrain, University of Modelo in Mexico, Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology in India, Women's University in Zimbabwe, and recently signed collaborations in Bolivia and India .

Despite the progress made since the inception of the WSIS process, the global digital divide and global inequality continue to persist, with 2 billion people still not connected to the internet. Language is identified as one of the key barriers to connectivity, and the linguistic divide is described as not only persisting but actually expanding in the era of artificial intelligence. The lack of universal acceptance in the digital ecosystem further limits the potential of AI to serve all communities.

Dr. Hu noted that despite being at the third decade of WSIS, 2 billion people are not yet connected to the internet, and that the global digital divide and global inequality continue to persist . She identified language as one of the barriers and stated that the scale of the linguistic divide is still outstanding and even expanding in the AI era . She also noted that the lack of universal acceptance in the digital ecosystem significantly limits the potential for AI and limits what AI can learn, perform, and benefit .

The barriers to achieving universal acceptance are not solely technical in nature but span awareness, technology, capacity, and policy dimensions. Dr. Hu emphasised that achieving UA is fundamentally a human and governance challenge requiring significant policy development and the involvement of all stakeholders. This holistic understanding is reflected in the structure and recommendations of the joint policy brief.

Dr. Hu highlighted that the policy brief unpacks barriers ranging from awareness and technical barriers to capacity, policy, and regulations . She stressed that achieving UA is not just a technical issue but really requires human dimensions and significant policy development involving all stakeholders .

The UNESCO–ICANN policy brief is presented as a holistic knowledge product that serves both advocacy and action purposes. It not only identifies the challenges of language as a barrier to meaningful connectivity but also provides actionable policy recommendations for all stakeholders. The brief highlights the comprehensive benefits of universal acceptance, spanning digital economic growth, linguistic diversity, education delivery, and e-governance.

Dr. Hu described the policy brief as a unique knowledge product for both advocacy and action, identifying challenges of language as a barrier for meaningful connectivity and participation, and providing actionable policy recommendations and actions for all stakeholders . She drew attention to the holistic perspective of the brief, noting that it sheds light on the comprehensive importance and benefits of UA, including contributions to digital economic growth, safeguarding linguistic diversity, supporting education delivery online, and helping with e-governance and digital services .

The policy brief includes a suite of proposed measurements to help stakeholders assess and track progress on universal acceptance adoption. UNESCO has also integrated universal acceptance into its sixth monitoring cycle of the Recommendation on the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism, with national reports due by February 2027. Member states and stakeholders are encouraged to conduct voluntary assessments and to integrate UA aspects into their reporting.

Dr. Hu noted that the policy brief proposes a suite of measurements as useful guidance to measure the progress of UA, and encouraged member states and stakeholders to consider conducting a voluntary assessment of universal acceptance along these dimensions as a good starting point for UA adoption . She also reported that UNESCO has integrated UA into its current sixth monitoring of the Recommendation on Multilingualism, with national reports on implementation due by February 2027, and encouraged member states and stakeholders to integrate UA aspects into this reporting .

UNESCO's unique mandate, normative authority, technical expertise, and global convening power position it to play a distinctive role in advancing universal acceptance. This includes developing international cooperation, accelerating cross-border alignment on technical protocols, and supporting national-level capacity building and implementation. UNESCO also promotes universal acceptance as a core pillar of the digital inclusion agenda at the national level.

Dr. Hu stated that with its normative authority, technical expertise, and global convening power, UNESCO is positioned to help develop international cooperation, accelerate cross-border alignment and collaboration on the technical protocols of UA, and support national-level capacity building and implementation . She also noted UNESCO's role in promoting UA as a core pillar of the digital inclusion agenda at the national level , and highlighted UNESCO's decade-long collaboration with ICANN, with a cooperation agreement recently renewed in 2025 with UA Day celebration identified as a major collaboration area .

The emergence of artificial intelligence has added a new dimension of urgency to the universal acceptance challenge, as the linguistic divide now directly affects the quality and representativeness of AI training data and outputs. Languages that are not fully present in the digital ecosystem are also likely to be underrepresented in AI systems, compounding existing inequalities. This makes resolving the linguistic divide through universal acceptance even more critical.

Dr. Hu noted that the lack of universal acceptance in the digital ecosystem significantly limits the potential for AI and limits what AI can learn, can perform, and can benefit . She also referenced the latest global responses, including the WSIS Plus 20 review and the Global Digital Compact, which recognised the urgent need to promote and preserve cultural diversity, heritage, and language, and to expand the multilingual nature of the internet including IDNs and universal acceptance .

Mr. Monceau argued that language is the primary gateway through which billions of people access the digital world, and that digital inclusion cannot be considered complete if citizens are unable to use their own language or script in domain names or email addresses. Universal acceptance is therefore not merely a matter of technical interoperability but a prerequisite for enabling every individual to participate fully in digital society while preserving their linguistic identity. This ambition aligns with UNESCO's vision of inclusive knowledge societies.

Mr. Monceau stated that for billions of people, language is the first gateway to the digital world, and that if citizens cannot use their own language or script in a domain name or an email address, digital inclusion remains incomplete . He characterised universal acceptance as being about enabling every individual to participate fully in the digital society while preserving his or her linguistic identity, and noted that this ambition lies at the heart of UNESCO's vision of inclusive knowledge societies .

Mr. Monceau argued that the rise of artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the significance of universal acceptance, because AI systems increasingly rely on multilingual digital content generated through websites, email exchanges, and online interactions. Languages that remain marginalised in internet infrastructure will also be marginalised in AI training datasets, perpetuating and deepening existing inequalities. Universal acceptance is therefore now as much about shaping the future of AI as it is about enabling languages to function online.

Mr. Monceau argued that tomorrow's AI systems will increasingly rely on multilingual digital content, and that the richer and more linguistically diverse the internet becomes, the richer and more representative AI training data will become . Conversely, he noted that languages that remain marginalised in the internet's infrastructure are also likely to remain marginalised in the datasets that shape artificial intelligence . He therefore concluded that universal acceptance is no longer simply about making every language work on the internet but about ensuring that every language can help shape the future of artificial intelligence .

Mr. Monceau called for stronger political support for universal acceptance, arguing that technology alone cannot achieve it and that governments, international organisations, the technical community, the private sector, academia, and civil society all have roles to play. He specifically called for universal acceptance to be integrated into national digital strategies and AI strategies, and for procurement policies that encourage universal acceptance by design. Capacity building, particularly in developing countries, was also highlighted as a necessity.

Mr. Monceau stated that technology alone will not achieve universal acceptance and that governments, international organisations, the technical community, the private sector, academia, and civil society all have a role to play . He called for awareness, standards, implementation, and capacity building, particularly in developing countries , as well as procurement policies that encourage universal acceptance by design . He also called for the integration of universal acceptance into national digital strategies and AI strategies .

Mr. Monceau highlighted the important advocacy role played by francophone communities, particularly organisations in Quebec such as Point Québec and the Internet Society, in advancing the universal acceptance agenda. He emphasised that these communities have been essential in framing universal acceptance not merely as a technical issue but as a fundamentally political one. The OIF continues to stand alongside UNESCO, ICANN, and other partners committed to making universal acceptance a cornerstone of a multilingual digital future.

Mr. Monceau underlined the work of communities that have carried the universal acceptance dossier, citing specifically the friends from Quebec, both from the Internet Society and Point Québec, as having been absolutely essential in this debate and fight, which he described as fundamentally political and not only technical . He also reaffirmed that the OIF will continue to stand alongside UNESCO, ICANN, and all partners committed to making universal acceptance not simply a technical standard but the cornerstone of a multilingual, culturally diverse, and human society-centred digital future .

An audience member raised the importance of recognising and including end users in the universal acceptance discussion, noting that the entire effort is ultimately for the benefit of users who need to be able to use the internet in good conditions. The comment pointed to the challenges faced when tools are developed without adequate consideration of multilingual users, particularly those outside the dominant technological centres. This prompted responses from panellists affirming that users and civil society are central to the policy brief and to ICANN's outreach programmes.

The audience member commented in French that it is complicated when there is no multilingual voice and when tools are made on one side of the Atlantic and not for the rest of the world, and emphasised the importance of accepting the place of users, since everything is done for them so that they can use the internet in good conditions . In response, Dr. Hussain confirmed that the entire universal acceptance effort is focused on the ability of end users to come online in their own language, and described ICANN's work with the at-large advisory committee and at-large structures representing local communities . Dr. Hu also noted that users are at the centre of the policy brief, both as the end goal and as participants in monitoring, raising awareness, and advocating for UA implementation .

Mr. Castillo Parra opened the session by establishing its institutional context and purpose, noting that it is jointly convened by UNESCO and ICANN and marks an important milestone with the launch of a new policy brief. He set the stage for the subsequent presentations by introducing the topic and the speakers. His role throughout the session was to facilitate the discussion and ensure orderly participation.

Mr. Castillo Parra described the session as jointly convened by UNESCO and ICANN and noted that it marks a very important milestone, namely the launch of the UNESCO ICANN policy brief advancing universal acceptance of all domain names and email addresses for a multilingual internet .

At the close of the session, Mr. Castillo Parra drew attention to a follow-up event organised by ICANN scheduled for the following day at the same time, encouraging participants to attend and continue the conversation on universal acceptance. This reflects the ongoing and iterative nature of the policy dialogue around multilingualism and universal acceptance. His invitation underscores the importance of sustained engagement beyond a single session.

Mr. Castillo Parra invited all participants in the room to an event the next day at the same time, organised by ICANN, where Sarmad and other colleagues would also be present, describing it as a good opportunity to talk a little bit more about the topic and continue the conversation .