In 2018, the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional At-Large Organization (LACRALO) began its journey toward promoting the Universal Acceptance (UA) of domain names and email addresses in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region when it created a working group to study the possible impacts and needs for the adoption of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). A great deal of learning and relationships were acquired during this process, paving the way for a significant achievement: sharing the UA knowledge with the LAC software development community.
One of the benefits related to the global efforts to promote UA is generating awareness among software developers around the world concerning the need to update and prepare their systems for multiple scripts. It did not take long for the LACRALO members to see the potential of this opportunity and deploy their natural skills to help accomplish this long-term goal. The "LACRALO UA Training Program" was a joint effort between LACRALO, ICANN, and the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), designed to increase UA awareness across the LAC region and engage with technical stakeholders directly. Launched in late April 2021, this training program consisted of four sessions delivered from 4 to 25 May 2021 covering key topics such as email address internationalization, UA for Java developers, and how to engage in UA activities. Over 150 participants from 14 LAC countries volunteered in the training.
Teachers, students, and training operators overcame many challenges to participate in these sessions, which forced them to develop new technical and diplomatic skills. LACRALO was able to engage a multinational and skilled team to deliver the training. Teachers from the ICANN regions of the Asia Pacific (APAC), North America (NA), and Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) kindly shared their knowledge and experiences. Interpreters gave their best to provide accurate interpretation during live classes and to translate materials. Seventy-five software developers from the African, LAC, and NA regions attended live training sessions and demonstrated dedication during the exams and the discussions. Last, but not least, we were lucky to have the brilliant coordination from the ALAC member and LACRALO's IDN-UA Working Group Chair, Sylvia Herlein Leite, who made sure everything was orchestrated with excellence. Congratulations to Sylvia and all the LACRALO members for guiding us during this training. Special thanks also to Professor Farah Adeeba from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (UET), UA Steering Group (UASG) member, Dennis Tan Tanaka, Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO) councilor, Mark Datysgeld, ICANN fellow Sávyo Vinícius de Morais, and our ICANN organization (org) colleagues, Sarmad Hussain and Champika Wijayatunga, for their wonderful classes.
ICANN org is proud to support this effort. To all parties involved in the successful 2021 LACRALO UA Training Program, please receive our sincere congratulations and count on us to continue this great journey for many more thousands of miles moving forward.
For more information on LACRALO, please visit here.
