LOS ANGELES - Level Domain Association (APTLD), announced the creation of a collaborative Universal Acceptance (UA) training program for members of the Asia Pacific (APAC) community. The APAC Regional Universal Acceptance Training Program will provide a series of trainings on the technical aspects of UA and also serve as a forum to discuss how to effectively address UA issues in the region, according to the official website of ICANN. 

Universal Acceptance is key to achieving a digitally inclusive Internet by ensuring that all domain names and email addresses – regardless of script, language or character length – are accepted equally by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems. This includes supporting all country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), new and long generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

The program is a joint effort between ICANN and APTLD designed to raise awareness of UA challenges in the APAC region, help build capacity to address those challenges, and assist ccTLDs and other stakeholders in developing and implementing robust IDN and UA-related systems and policies. The APTLD is the regional association for ccTLDs in the APAC region, which is home to over 3,200 languages written in a variety of scripts resulting in the greatest number of potential IDNs. APTLD membership currently includes 50 ccTLDs from the APAC region, and an additional 19 associate members made up of leading registries and registrars.

"In pursuit of its mission, APTLD always welcomes a collaborative approach as the most efficient tool to tackle industry challenges in the largest and most populated region on the planet," said Leonid Todorov, General Manager of APTLD. "For decades, ICANN and APTLD have partnered on a number of occasions and the time has now come to tackle the global challenge of UA and IDNs in a consistent and coherent way on equal footing."

"Building relationships and programs with forward-thinking organizations like the APTLD will strengthen our efforts to reach a more diverse Internet user base and help foster consumer choice and innovation through UA and the implementation of IDNs," said Sarmad Hussain, ICANN Sr. Director of IDN and UA Programs. "We look forward to working with the APAC community and launching similar efforts with other organizations committed to helping make UA a reality globally."

The new joint training program will consist of monthly webinars starting in January 2021. The online sessions, delivered by leading industry experts and practitioners, will address various UA and IDN-related topics each targeted at relevant regional audiences including policymakers, technical administrators, ccTLD managers, registrars and their resellers, and local regulators and businesses.

In addition to building partnerships like the one with APTLD, ICANN continues to support the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), which was organized by the community to help promote UA efforts around the world. For more information, click here.

The APAC Universal Acceptance Training Program is formulated under the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ICANN and APTLD.