Ten years ago, PuntoGal became a reality, but it was also a risk. No one knew exactly how it would function or what it would mean to have a unique, Galicia-managed domain. Even so, 93 companies, organizations, and associations of various types took the leap and registered for a .gal domain, linking it to diverse projects on the web. Today, a decade later, with more than 7,200 registrations, it’s time to express gratitude for that early support.
PuntoGal is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and like any great celebration, it includes a section dedicated to expressions of thanks. Among these, one is for the 93 entities who took on the risk of being Pioneers, the name given to those early registrations. In an event held in July 2014 at the Museo do Pobo Galego in Santiago de Compostela, the president of PuntoGal, Manuel González, remarked that “the participants in this program are pioneers of something as important as ensuring that, in this revolutionary medium that shapes our lives, Galicia has its own identity card, giving visibility to the Galician language.”
The Pioneers program offered the opportunity to register and start using the domain a few months ahead of the general registration period. These early registrations allowed entities to stand out as the first to showcase products and services for the Galician-speaking and cultural community. This representative group also generated excitement among the potential market and demonstrated that the .gal domain provided a special position on the web, highlighting the origin and community associated with businesses, associations, and initiatives of all kinds during these early stages.
The domain launch process involved various technical and administrative procedures, largely to follow guidelines set by ICANN, along with security regulations and measures to address potential conflicts with, for instance, registered trademarks. Along this journey, the domain received support not only from a technically skilled team but also from volunteers and registrars who lent a hand to get it up and running.
Following the Pioneers phase, three initial stages were introduced: Abrente (Sunrise), Carreira (Landrush), and finally, the open phase. In Abrente, various categories were prioritized, covering registered trademarks, public administrations, entities and institutions with jurisdiction in Galicia, and businesses or sites that communicated in the Galician language. In Carreira, domains were included that, for various reasons, could not be incorporated in Abrente’s categories.
Finally, on December 2, 2014, the Open phase was launched, where requests were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, as with any other domain. This phase was celebrated in an event at the Telecommunications School of the University of Vigo. This was also a significant moment, as it marked the full activation of the domain, open to the general public.
The pioneers followed the lead of the original twelve entities that founded PuntoGal in June 2006 at an event held at the Auditorio de Galicia, also in Santiago. These founding members included the Asociación de Editores de Galicia, the Asociación de Enxeñeiros de Telecomunicacións de Galicia, the Asociación Fillos de Galicia (fillos.org), the Professional Association of Journalists of Galicia, the Consello da Xuventude de Galicia, the Galician Internet Businesses (Eganet), Galicia Hoxe, Idesga-Galego 21, ISOC-Galicia, A Mesa pola Normalización Lingüística, the Royal Galician Academy (RAG), and Vieiros.
“PuntoGal will always have a place in its history for the entities that supported our journey at different points in the process. The founding entities will always have this honor, as well as the other 93 who became advocates for .gal and decisively helped to earn the public’s trust in the project,” says PuntoGal’s Director, Darío Janeiro. “Today, PuntoGal has 115 associated entities, which are the heart of the domain, and several thousand registrations, which are its lungs. Each and every one of them is essential, indispensable,” he concludes.
The list of pioneers included 35 public administrations, 15 companies, and 43 associations of various types. Among them were the Museo do Pobo Galego, the Royal Galician Academy, the Cathedral of Santiago, ADEGA, the Professional Association of Journalists of Galicia, the Consello da Avogacía Galega, the Xunta de Galicia, the Parliament of Galicia, Television de Galicia, FEGAMP, the three Galician universities, R Telecomunicacións, *La Voz de Galicia*, *El Correo Gallego*, Editorial Galaxia, and Gadis, among others. The full list can be viewed here: [https://asociacion.gal/pioneiros/
The current list of entities associated with PuntoGal is available here: [https://asociacion.gal/socios/
As noted by the president of PuntoGal in his welcome letter on the domain’s website, “PuntoGal is a factor of social cohesion, reminding us that we are a people with a unique language and culture, shaped over many centuries and aspiring to a shared project for the future. It is an element that strengthens our identity, uniting all Galicians—those within administrative Galicia, as well as Galician speakers and cultural members outside it, whether neighboring or in European and American countries to which many Galicians moved in search of a better life.” None of this would be possible without the individuals and entities that form part of the pioneers of PuntoGal.