The .cat team at ICANN81: building a more open and inclusive Internet

This month, the .cat Foundation team participated in the 81st annual ICANN meeting, held in Istanbul. This gathering was a unique opportunity to connect with key industry players, advocate for the interests of the Catalan digital community, and contribute to shaping the future of the Internet.

ICANN 2030: a new era

The 81st ICANN meeting was a key platform to discuss the crucial new phase that the organization will undergo in the coming years. Thanks to the role of Nacho Amadoz, Policy and Regulation Manager of the .cat Foundation, and representative of the Foundation within ICANN, where he serves as Vice President of the GNSO, we were able to learn about the upcoming changes the organization will experience over the next 5 years.

One of the most significant changes is the call for new candidates to join ICANN’s Board Policy. This will allow new organizations to participate in decision-making and in defining the future of the Internet.

The future of domains: more diversity and opportunities

The meeting also focused on the future of domains. New conditions for requesting new domains were discussed, and a key highlight was the role that Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) will play. These will allow the use of characters from any alphabet, including Catalan characters like accents. This is a fundamental development to promote linguistic diversity on the Internet and make it more accessible to all, especially for minority languages like Catalan, providing them an opportunity to strengthen their digital presence.

Security and trust in the digital space

As active members of the GeoTLD Group, we participated in several meetings and worked on implementing the NIS2 directive, which establishes new cybersecurity requirements for essential services. We have made progress in implementing this regulation to ensure the highest security and reliability of the .cat domain.

Collaboration and international visibility

In addition to formal meetings, we took the opportunity to connect with other registries such as .org, .ad, and .art, as well as key providers like Core. We strengthened our relationships and explored new collaboration possibilities.

The 81st ICANN meeting was an important milestone for the .cat domain. We worked to build a more open, inclusive, and diverse Internet, helping languages and cultures like Catalan have their own digital space.

.cat triumphs in the city of cats

Meetings like those organized by ICANN allow us to experience heartwarming moments, such as the excitement of attendees – both cats and people – over our .cat merchandising. Who said a domain is only for humans?