Hi all. Please find below the confirmation of the successful submission, thanks to everybody for the support. As you can see, the proposal is far from perfect, but may be good enough to get attention. I would like to make a couple of considerations. This is just the beginning of the work, we need to prepare the session, if the proposal is accepted, which means to contact potential speakers and participants in order to ensure contribution from the widest possible perspectives, but keeping in mind that the primary focus is not the development of technical solutions - that is being taken care by other groups like UASG - but the impact on the average internet user. So the focus will be on things like the user experience and the impact on deployment of local content. I would encourage all to subscribe to the ALAC IDN-WG, co-chaired by Satish and Edmon, as I assume that most of the discussion will take place there, as it is the natural place where the user perspective will be analysed and developed because of the focus of ALAC on users. Please find at https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/idn-wg the relevant information to join. Last but not least, there will be meetings where IDN, UA and Multilingualism will be discussed before the Global IGF in Berlin. The ones that I am aware of, and that I will attend, are SEEDIG (Bucharest, May 2019) and EuroDIG (den Haag, June 2019). Please share information about other opportunities to discuss these issues. Best regards, Roberto Begin forwarded message: From: "Internet Governance Forum via Internet Governance Forum" <no-reply@intgovforum.org<mailto:no-reply@intgovforum.org>> Subject: IGF 2019 Workshop Proposal Submitted Date: 15. April 2019 at 01:13:56 CEST To: roberto_gaetano@hotmail.com<mailto:roberto_gaetano@hotmail.com> Reply-To: "Internet Governance Forum" <no-reply@intgovforum.org<mailto:no-reply@intgovforum.org>> Dear Mr. Roberto Gaetano, Your Workshop Proposal for IGF 2019 titled Multilingual Internet: support local languages and scripts has been received. It will be evaluated according to the process outlined at https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/mag-workshop-review-and-eva.... The proposal data submitted is as follows: ==*1. Proposer (Contact Person)*== Gender: Male Family Name: Gaetano Given Name: Roberto Nationality: Italy E-mail: roberto_gaetano@hotmail.com<mailto:roberto_gaetano@hotmail.com> Stakeholder Group: Civil Society Regional Group: Western European and Others Group (WEOG) Organization: ALAC IDN Working Group Country where Organization is based: India ==*2. Theme*== Theme: Digital Inclusion 3. Issues: * Digital Divide * Social Inclusion * Multilingual [1] *4. Workshop Session Title*: Multilingual Internet: support local languages and scripts *5. Policy Question(s)*: 1. In what ways are domain names in writing systems other than basic Latin script ("internationalized domain names" or IDNs) and global use, accessibility, and acceptability ("universal acceptance" or UA) critical to a truly multilingual Internet? 2. What is the current state of IDNs & Universal Acceptance adoption worldwide? 3. What are the limitations of IDNs (eg., variant management, transitional issues) and how may they be managed? 4. Where are the impediments in the adoption of UA? 5. What actions need to be taken by communities, Governments, businesses and Internet Government organizations to address these? 6. Is the lack of Universal Acceptance hindering the deployment of Internet content developed locally? *6. Relevance to Theme*: The workshop aims at identifying factors that are limiting the Universal Acceptance of domain names and email addresses, including, but not limited to, identifiers written in non-ASCII (or Latin) scripts. Lack of Universal Acceptance affects Digital Inclusion, because it does not provide equal opportunities to users who are not familiar with Latin script and with the English language. The workshop addresses SDG10, that is to "Reduce inequality within and among countries". *7. Relevance to Internet Governance*: In order to ensure Universal Acceptance and a fully multilingual Internet we need to make policy decisions and define governance processes. Universal Acceptance and a fully multilingual Internet are of the paramount importance to achieve equal opportunity of access and best use of the content. The workshop aims not just at identifying factors that are limiting the Universal Acceptance, but also to gather and share the best experience and practice worldwide - this requires collaborative efforts and good governance processes, but also exploring the role of Governments. ==*8. Workshop Session Format*== Session Format: Round Table - U-shape - 90 Min ==*9. Diversity*== First Time in IGF: Yes b. Are you and/or your co-organizers coming from a *developing country [2]* or under-represented region? Developing Countries: Yes ==Diversity Options== Gender Diversity: Yes Geography Diversity: Yes Stakeholder Group Diversity: Yes Policy Perspective Diversity: Yes Accessibility Diversity: No Youth Diversity: Yes Local Diversity: Yes Diversity Information: The organisers will promote the event in the At-Large community to fill in the only gap in the diversity criteria *10. Workshop Session Description*: The session will start with a brief introduction of the topic and the speakers (10') Then the speakers will address the following points (30'): - problems arising from the lack of Universal Acceptance and different approaches to solve them; - successful stories about efforts to achieve Universal Acceptance, including examples of countries and actions; - examples of situation in which wider and easier access to the Internet content, in particular the one developed locally, can be achieved with Universal Acceptance. The main focus will be on the user experience rather than on technical issues and technical solutions. The floor will be open for contributions, local and remote (30'). The panelists will be asked for opinions about the way forward - this may include comments from the floor (15'). The moderator will close the session summarising the next steps (5'). *11. Workshop Session Expected Outcomes*: - Share information about the current scenario and pending issues; - Raise awareness about the obstacles that prevent universal acceptance and full multilingualism; - Identify paths to follow and indicate possible solutions to the present situation; - Identify potential policy issues. ==*12. Organizers Information*== Email addresses of organizers (comma separated): sbabu@ieee.org<mailto:sbabu@ieee.org>, edmon@registry.asia<mailto:edmon@registry.asia>, Filinafilka@gmail.com<mailto:Filinafilka@gmail.com>, desaradushi@gmail.com<mailto:desaradushi@gmail.com>, john+igf@jck.com<mailto:john+igf@jck.com>, lutz@donnerhacke.de<mailto:lutz@donnerhacke.de> ==*13. Speakers*== Email addresses of provisionally confirmed speakers (comma separated): sb@inapp.com<mailto:sb@inapp.com>,edmon@registry.asia<mailto:edmon@registry.asia>,Filinafilka@gmail.com<mailto:Filinafilka@gmail.com>,paf@netnod.se<mailto:paf@netnod.se> Speakers Availability: It may be that one of the speakers will present from remote ==*14. Moderators*== Online Moderator: Filinafilka@gmail.com<mailto:Filinafilka@gmail.com> Onsite Moderator: edmon@registry.asia<mailto:edmon@registry.asia> *15. Rapporteur*: sbabu@ieee.org<mailto:sbabu@ieee.org> ==*16. Session Interaction and Participation*== Discussion Facilitation: First and foremost, the topic will be widely discussed in the ALAC IDN Working Group in the months preceding the IGF, encouraging participation and discussion also in other fora, including national and regional IGF. Following this preliminary work, it is expected that the participation from the floor (local and remote) will be high. The moderator will act also as timekeeper making sure that the speakers stay within the topic and the time limits, providing enough time for contributions by the audience. Online Tools: Yes Online Participation: The Online Moderator will be in constant contact with the remote participants and will make sure their voice gets heard at the session. The organisers still need to evaluate how to make the best use of the facilities - this will be done over the next month or so. Other Tools: Yes Social Tools: The organisers still need to evaluate how to make the best use of the facilities - this will be done over the next month or so. *17. Relation to SDGs*: - GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure - GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities - GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities ==*18. Optional Documentation*== Additional Reference Document Link: Additional Background Paper : Thank you for your interest in holding a workshop at the IGF. Kind regards, IGF Secretariat. [1]https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/subthemes2019inclusion/multilingual [2]https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/WESP201...