Santiago de Compostela, February 27. PuntoGal held a working meeting yesterday at the Museo do Pobo Galego in Santiago de Compostela, marking the launch of a project to promote the principles of Universal Acceptance (UA) in Galicia. This international initiative, promoted by ICANN, aims to ensure that the Internet is accessible in all languages and scripts.

The meeting, organized in collaboration with ICANN, the international association of cultural and geographic domains (GeoTLD Group), and the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers of Galicia, brought together representatives from the technological and institutional sectors to discuss the challenges and opportunities of implementing Universal Acceptance. Attendees included representatives from the Galician Bar Council, the three public universities of Galicia (Santiago, Vigo, and A Coruña), the Galician ICT Cluster, the Galicia Ecommerce Cluster, the Galicia Communication Cluster, the Galician Free Software Association, WordCamps in Galicia, Videoxogo.gal, companies specialized in video game dissemination, online marketing and SEO, Código Cero, the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers of Galicia, as well as ICANN representatives.

The day began at 11:30 a.m. with a welcome by Lino Lema, member of the Board of Trustees of the Museo do Pobo Galego, and Camilo Regueiro, Vice President of PuntoGal, who emphasized that when talking about Universal Acceptance, “it’s not so much about codes and characters as about how to incorporate linguistic and cultural diversity into the Internet.”

Next, the project agenda was presented, and Javier F. Fraga, Secretary of the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers of Galicia, gave a presentation on the basic concepts of UA and its importance in ensuring system interoperability and the proper adaptation of software, applications, and digital services to international standards. He highlighted the technological guidelines and standards that should be followed to achieve Universal Acceptance on the Internet, enabling the use of any language or locale.

In his presentation, Fraga noted that “the absence of UA means that emails in Galician do not function properly on certain websites and applications. The goal is to take these principles into account in software development or content creation. If UA is considered from the start, everything becomes much simpler.”

During the discussion session, participating entities shared experiences and needs with the aim of identifying tools that facilitate the adoption of Universal Acceptance principles. The insights gathered will be used to enrich the outreach and technical materials that PuntoGal is preparing to support system administrators and developers in implementing these standards.

Universal Acceptance is an initiative promoted by ICANN to ensure that all domain names and email addresses, regardless of the language or script used, work correctly across all systems and applications. Integrating UA from the early stages of development prevents additional costs and facilitates the internationalization of digital products and services.

This is the third consecutive year that PuntoGal has promoted an initiative related to Universal Acceptance, following previous meetings held in Vigo and A Coruña, reinforcing its commitment to a more inclusive and fully multilingual Internet.

About PuntoGal
PuntoGal has managed the Galician domain since 2014. Founded in 2006, it operates in three main areas: domain management, representing Galicia in international Internet governance organizations, and corporate actions supporting initiatives in technology, the web, language, and culture. To date, there are approximately 7,600 registered .gal domains.

About ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a nonprofit organization established in 1998 to ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. It manages the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS), root servers, and allocates IP addresses, acting as the technical steward of the Internet’s underlying infrastructure.

About the GeoTLD Group
The GeoTLD Group is an initiative that brings together geographic and cultural top-level domains on the Internet. Its goal is to promote local digital identity, boost the digital economy, and provide a distinctive online presence for communities. The group collaborates with ICANN and other relevant organizations to ensure the secure, stable, and effective management of these domains, enhancing the global visibility of the regions and cities they represent.