The Eastern European Regional DNS Forum (EE DNS Forum 2020) was held in Georgia on November 18-19, focusing on the development of Internet domains and digital infrastructure across the region. The annual forum was organized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and supported by Caucasus Online as the top-level country domain administrator of .GE Georgia.
DNS is one of the basic systems of the Internet that provides connection to websites. The forum held in Georgia served to raise awareness about it. Given the current epidemic situation, the event was held in a fully remote format.
The online forum was opened by Maarten Botterman, Chairman of the ICANN Supervisory Board. He talked about IDN and Universal Acceptance (UA), which makes it possible for users to type web page URLs into their native language. According to Botterman, ICANN is working with its international partners to make the Internet an even more inclusive space for representatives of different language groups, for which IDN and Universal Acceptance (UA) are of particular importance.
"The mission that ICANN is carrying out is particularly important for the functioning of the Internet. Therefore, we must continue to work with international partners to enable the implementation of our strategic plans, ”said Maarten Botterman, Chairman of the ICANN Supervisory Board.
At the forum, Caucasus Online Director Revaz Kopaladze spoke about the changes that are taking place in Internet ecosystems - the growth of online commerce, changing customer preferences and therefore the DNS service providers need to stay agile and effective to meet the challenges.
Representatives of the Georgian government also took part in the forum. Eka Kubusidze, Head of the Communication, Information and Modern Technologies Department of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, presented the 2025 strategy for the development of the country's broadband infrastructure, within the framework of which 1 Gigabit / s internet should be available for enterprises and legal entities operating in Georgia. Must have access to the Internet.
According to Eka Kubusidze, this is an ambitious plan set by the government, which cannot be achieved without protecting domain names.
"One of the main priorities for the Georgian government is to support the development of the digital economy and broadband Internet infrastructure," Kubusidze noted.
The forum was also attended by representatives of Eastern European Internet and telecommunications companies, stakeholders and specialists who shared international experience with the forum participants and also talked about the latest challenges and trends in the domain industry.
Along with Caucasus Online and ICANN, the forum also had gold and silver sponsors. The gold sponsor was the Georgian IT company GREENNET, which is a partner of the American IT and telecommunications company CISCO in the Caucasus region. The silver sponsor is the company OnCloud, which offers customers high quality cloud services and Tier standard data center services and cybersecurity services.
