.eus (Basque Country)

• oñati.eus  (municipality)
• iñigourkullu.eus (former president)
• añarbe.eus (public water company)

.wien (City of Vienna)

• flüchtlinge.wien (city administration of Vienna)
• wiener-bürgermeister.wien (city administration of Vienna)
• spö.wien (Social Democratic Party Vienna)

.tirol (Region of Tyrol)

• qualität.tirol (marketing for agrecultural products from Tyrol)
• bärig.tirol (tourism marketing Kitzbühel, Tyrol)

.koeln / .cologne City of Köln, Cologne)

• bürgerrat.koeln (city administration)
• mobilitätsbericht.koeln (city administration)
• segensbüro.koeln (Evangelical Church association)
• kölner-haus-und-grundbesitzerverein.cologne (association of home and ground owners)

.frl (Province of Fryslâ)

• fryslân.frl (province of Fryslân)

.stockholm (City of Stockholm)

• förskola.stockholm (city of Stockholm kindergarten/pre-school)
• äldreomsorg.stockholm (city of Stockholm elderly care)
• föreningsservice.stockholm (city of Stockholm associations and organised activities)
• hållbart.stockholm (city of Stockholm environmental activities)
• leverantör.stockholm (city of Stockholm info for suppliers and contractors of the city)
• socialtstöd.stockholm (city of Stockholm social care)
• växer.stockholm (city of Stockholm expansion of the city)
• funktionsnedsättning.stockholm (city of Stockholm disability care)
• tillstånd.stockholm (city of Stockholm authorisation

.gal (Galician region and society)

• amariñalucense.gal (local agency)
• gopiña.gal (cooperative group)
• coruña.gal (local government)
• festivalirmandiño.gal (music festival)
• digochiño.gal (TV program)
• quentiñosdaforxa.gal (art foundation)
• amoriños.gal (pet stylist)

.swiss (Switzerland)

• étude-a2l.swiss (business)
• projeteur-enveloppe-bâtiment.swiss (business)
• journéedulait.swiss (business, registered but not active)
• swissclôture.swiss (business)
• taxiphonepublicité.swiss (business)
• bütikofer.swiss (business)
• rüti.swiss (city administration, registred but not active)

.cat (Catalan region and community)

• aixetòmetre.cat (environmental services: Water-FCC Group)
• aliançadigital.cat (alliance empowering digital Catalan)
• aliançapalmarenca.cat (cultural and regonal local society)
• aracomerç.cat (local commerce)
• calçotapp.cat (guide for a local tradition)
• calfont-sagàs.cat (rural farm and shop)
• comerçdelvendrell.cat (local commerce)
• confrariamarededéudemontserratlleida.cat (religion – local chapel)
• dolorsboschagustí.cat (artist)
• e-comerç.cat (e-commerce)
• fembarça.cat (candidacy for FC Barcelona)
• galàxia.cat (digital tools for Catalan speakers)
• institutfrançais.cat (French school)
• joaquimmicó.cat (Catalan writer)
• laforçadelacarn.cat (Catalonia’s meat sector campaign)
• latevaassegurança.cat (Catalan insurance)
• latraçacultural.cat (local culture platform and agenda)
• libertània.cat (Catalan literary society)
• mogutspelbarça.cat (Barça match commentary – radio)
• pompeufabrallançà.cat (local school)
• sosteniblòmetre.cat (environmental services: Water-FCC Group)
• taral·la.cat (music and education festival)  includes the Catalan character ŀl (Unicode U+0140)
• terranúvol.cat (personal blog)

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The GeoTLD Universal Acceptance Local Initiative continues to support geoTLD registries and their local stakeholders in organising Universal Acceptance (UA) training and awareness activities within their cities, areas or regions. The GeoTLD Group and ICANN have agreed to continue this important initiative.

Universal Acceptance (UA) means that all valid domain names and email addresses are accepted, validated, stored, processed, and displayed correctly. Achieving UA guarantees that language-specific characters in domain names and email addresses, as well as the use of TLDs that extend beyond the two- or three-character format are seamlessly supported. UA is of critical concern to geoTLD registries and their local stakeholders.

The GeoTLD UA Local Initiative is managed by the GeoTLD Group in cooperation with ICANN.  It helps geoTLDs to organise UA activities and outreach customised and tailored to local needs, and address local demand for training.  The local initiative promotes cooperation between GeoTLD registries and their local stakeholders on UA.

Planned activities include

• 21 November, UA training in Rennes, France, organised by the .BZH registry
• 28 November, UA session for students and teachers of the Faculty of Informatics UPV/EHO of the University of the Basque Country, organised by the .EUS registy

Additional initiatives are being planned for Spring 2026.

Earlier this year the Local Initiative supported events organised by .ALSACE in Strasbourg and .CAT in Barcelona.  More information is available on the GeoTLD UA Local Initiative webpage https://geotld.group/geotld-ua-local-initiative/

The post GeoTLD Universal Acceptance Local Initiative Continues appeared first on Geotld Group.

On 16-17 September, members of the GeoTLD Group gathered in Leeuwarden, Fryslân, for their annual meeting.  The event was hosted by .frl (dotLocal), the geoTLD representing the province of Fryslân (Friesland), one of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands.

Over the two-day program, members exchanged the latest updates on their respective geoTLDs, discussed preparations for the upcoming round of new gTLD applications with the ICANN program lead, and explored broader trends shaping the Internet and domain name industry.

A highlight was the engagement session with the ICANN community, where the GeoTLD Group exchanged views and shared updates with the leadership from ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee (GAC), the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG), and the Brand Registry Group (BRG).

Looking ahead, the GeoTLD Group will next convene during the ICANN 84 meeting in Dublin.

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A two-year research project, aimed at assessing the effectiveness of geoTLDs in enhancing accessibility of online content and services for their specific communities, regions, and language groups, has been awarded an ICANN Grant.

The project is led by the team of .cat and involves a collaborative team of GeoTLD Group members, including in alphabetical order .barcelona, .bzh, .cat, .cologne, .eus, .gal, .hamburg, .koeln, .london, .quebec, .scot, and .wien, and is proudly supported by the GeoTLD Group.

GeoTLDs are top-level domain (TLD) extensions based on a geographic name, geographic identifier, geographic origin, or cultural community, created with the purpose of serving their respective region. They play a key role in promoting local digital identities of cities, regions, languages, or cultures on the internet. 

The research will explore the performance of geoTLDs in both traditional search engines and emerging AI-based search environments. By analyzing how search engines handle content hosted on websites using geoTLD addresses, the project aims to contribute to a better insight in how geoTLDs help to make content and services easily discoverable and reachable by the community the geoTLD serves. The research findings are expected to support best practices and inform the broader digital ecosystem about the role of geoTLDs for digital inclusion and enhancing local relevance on the Internet.

Links 

.cat announcement: https://domini.cat/en/icann-grants-pioneering-study-cat/

ICANN Grant announcement: https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-announces-first-cohort-of-grant-program-recipients-29-05-2025-en

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This event is supported by the GeoTLD Universal Acceptance (UA) Local Initiative, set up by the GeoTLD Group, in cooperation with ICANN, to actively support geoTLD registries and their local stakeholders in organising Universal Acceptance (UA) training and outreach within their respective cities, areas, or regions.

• Event details https://domini.cat/universal-acceptance/
• About the GeoTLD UA Local Initiative https://geotld.group/geotld-ua-local-initiative/

The post Universal acceptance: the internet, Catalan with all its letters! appeared first on Geotld Group.

Highlights included:

• A discussion with ICANN on the draft Applicant Guidebook and concerns over the proposed process for new geoTLD applications.

• An update on NIS-2 implementation across EU member states.

• Launch of the geoTLD SEO research, led by .cat, exploring domain visibility in search engines.

• News from the GeoTLD Universal Acceptance Local Initiative, promoting full digital inclusion for all scripts and languages.

 Watch the full session here – Zoom recording / Audio recording 

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The GeoTLD Group is excited to announce the official launch of the GeoTLD Universal Acceptance (UA) Local Initiative. The UA Local Initiative, developed in cooperation with ICANN, provides a platform to actively support geoTLD registries and their local stakeholders in organising Universal Acceptance (UA) training and outreach within their respective cities, areas, or regions.

Universal Acceptance (UA) refers to the principle that all valid domain names and email addresses – regardless of script, length, or format – should be accepted, validated, stored, processed, and displayed correctly by all internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems. 

UA is of critical concern to geoTLD registries and their local stakeholders. GeoTLDs are top-level domain (TLD) extensions based on a geographic name, geographic identifier, geographic origin or cultural community, created with the purpose of serving their respective region. They play a key role in promoting local digital identities of cities, regions, languages, or cultures on the internet. Achieving UA guarantees that language-specific characters in domain names and email addresses, as well as the use of TLDs that extend beyond the two- or three-character format are seamlessly supported.

GeoTLD UA Local Initiative

Universal Acceptance (UA) and geoTLDs support a common goal: ensuring that everyone can navigate and communicate on the internet using the domain name and email address that best aligns with their interests, identity, business, culture, and language. The GeoTLD UA Local Initiative helps geoTLDs to organise UA activities and outreach customised and tailored to local needs, and address local demand for training.  It promotes the cooperation between GeoTLD registries and their local stakeholders on UA and the organisation of UA events and training in the local language.

The UA workshop in Strasbourg on 20 March, organised by the .alsace registry, was the first event supported under the GeoTLD UA Local Initiative.  

Visit the dedicated GeoTLD UA Local Initiative webpage for updates, resources, and information on past and upcoming initiatives in other regions.

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Universal Acceptance (UA) is the principle that all domain names and email addresses on the internet are recognised and can be used without restriction across various applications and devices, regardless of their language and length. PuntoGal (.gal) answers all the UA questions you never asked in one informative UA slide in English and Galician . 

PuntoGal celebrates Universal Acceptance Day with an event at the Faculty of Communication in A Coruña.  On Friday 28 March, coinciding with the celebration of World UA Day, PuntoGal is organising a UA awareness and training event at the University of A Coruña (UDC), in cooperation with ICANN and the Professional College of Computer Engineering of Galicia and the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers.  More details on the event, which can be followed remotely, can be found here.

source https://dominio.gal/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/universalacceptance.pdf 

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On 20 March, the .alsace registry hosted a Universal Acceptance (UA) workshop in Strasbourg, bringing together regional stakeholders to explore the often overlooked challenge of ensuring that all domain names and email addresses work seamlessly across the digital ecosystem.

Universal Acceptance is a foundational requirement for a truly inclusive Internet. It ensures that all domain names and email addresses are treated equally, regardless of length, script, language, or whether they use a newer or non-traditional top-level domain (TLD). From Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) to long-form or brand-specific TLDs, UA ensures that users are not held back by technical limitations in apps, websites, or devices.

Without Universal Acceptance, users may encounter software or systems that do not recognize or properly support their domain or email address — whether because it’s longer than expected, or is written in a non-Latin script. UA addresses these real-world barriers by promoting updates and awareness across the digital supply chain.

The workshop was part of the agenda of NDDCamp Alsace, the regional event focused on domain name innovation and industry trends. Key presenter and trainer at the workshop was Benoît Ampeau, Director of Partnerships and Innovation at Afnic and Head of Afnic Labs. His expertise helped participants understand the technical and strategic aspects of Universal Acceptance, and provided actionable insights for implementation.

The workshop was made possible with the support of the GeoTLD UA Local Initiative — a collaboration between the GeoTLD Group and ICANN aimed at promoting Universal Acceptance and building UA technical capacity across the Internet community.

The post Acceptation Universelle / Universal Acception (UA) appeared first on Geotld Group.

On stage, Josu Waliño (.eus, GeoTLD Group Vice-chair), Ronald Schwärzler (.vienna, .cologne/.koeln, GeoTLD Group Treasurer), and Benjamin Louis (.alsace) engaged with GAC members, addressing key questions about geoTLDs.

In its official Seattle Communiqué, the GAC noted that it met with “Geographic gTLDs (geoTLDs) to familiarize GAC members with the objectives and practices of these registries, in preparation for expected applications of this nature in the next round of New gTLDs, and the role governments may be called to play in the process.” The GAC also expressed appreciation for the GeoTLD Group’s efforts in facilitating the session.

The GeoTLD Group, in turn, extends its gratitude to the GAC leadership and secretariat for supporting the event and to GAC members for their participation. The group looks forward to continued engagement and future collaboration with the GAC.

ICANN 82 – GeoTLD Group GAC Capacity building session – zoom recording

Picture below:  GAC Chair Nicolas Caballero, introduces the GeoTLD capacity building session, with seated on stage, Benjamin Louis (.alsace), Josu Waliño (.eus), Ronald Schwärzler (.vienna, .cologne/.koeln)

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