The internet is no longer limited to Latin-script languages. For billions of people who communicate using diverse languages, alphabets and writing systems, meaningful access to the internet is no longer merely a technical option – it is an essential requirement. This reality has given rise to Universal Acceptance (UA), a global movement that unites stakeholders from nearly 200 countries to ensure the seamless use of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and internationalized email addresses (Email Address Internationalization – EAI) across digital platforms.
The concept of Universal Acceptance emerged from the recognition of a fundamental yet systemic challenge: enabling non-Latin domain names and email addresses to be consistently recognized and supported by internet-based services. Today, dozens of country-code top-level domains exist in non-Latin scripts – such as .հայ (Armenia), .中国 (China), .срб (Serbia), and .ලංකා (Sri Lanka). While these domains are technically valid, they often remain partially unsupported or non-functional across various systems, applications and software environments.
To address this challenge in a coordinated and sustainable manner, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) launched the Universal Acceptance initiative more than a decade ago. As part of this effort, ICANN established the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), bringing together leading technology companies such as Apple, GoDaddy, Google, Microsoft and Verisign.
The UASG’s mission is to support key stakeholders – including software developers, administrators of public and private systems and providers of domain name and email services in adapting their platforms to become fully UA-ready. To achieve this goal, the group has developed and made publicly available a broad range of training programs, technical guidelines, analytical reports and practical resources that enable professionals to modernize software solutions and ensure full support for IDNs and EAI.
Armenia was among the early adopters of this global effort to promote equal access and inclusivity in the digital space. Through the initiative of the Internet Society NGO, the manager of the Armenian-language IDN .հայ, and the dedicated work of technical specialists, Armenian-script domain names and email addresses have already been made UA-ready. Nevertheless, achieving long-term and comprehensive Universal Acceptance requires sustained collaboration and ongoing commitment from the global internet community.
