Tbilisi hosted the Eastern European DNS Forum

Eastern European DNS Forum (EE DNS Forum 2020) will be held in Tbilisi on November 18-19 to discuss the issues of internet domains and digital infrastructure development across the region. The annual forum is organized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and supported by Caucasus Online as the Registry of the .GE Georgia top-level domain.
DNS is one of the basic systems of the Internet that provides connection to websites. The forum scheduled in Tbilisi was aimed at raising awareness about it. Considering the current epidemic conditions, the event will be held in a fully remote format.
The online forum was opened by the Chairman of the ICANN Supervisory Board, Maarten Bottermann. 

He spoke about IDN's Universal Acceptance (UA), which makes it possible for users to type web page addresses on the Internet in their native languages.
According to Bottermann, ICANN is working with its international partners to make the Internet an even more inclusive space for communities of different language groups, and IDN and Universal Acceptance (UA) are especially relevant for this.
"The mission that ICANN seeks to accomplish is extremely important for the functioning of the Internet. Therefore, we must continue working together with international partners to make the implementation of the set strategic goals possible," said ICANN Supervisory Board Chairman Maarten Boterman.
At the forum, Director of Caucasus Online Revaz Kopaladze spoke about the changes currently leading to the development of Internet ecosystems - the growth of online trade, different preferences of users, and that DNS service providers need to make flexible and effective solutions in order to respond to the existing challenges.
The representatives of the Georgian government also attended the forum. Eka Kubusidze, head of the Department of Communications, Information and Modern Technologies of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, presented the country's broadband infrastructure development strategy for 2025 that envisions availability of 1 gigabit/second internet to enterprises and legal entities operating in Georgia, and 100 megabit/second to the population.
According to Eka Kubusidze, this is an ambitious plan set by the government that cannot be achieved without the protection of domain names.
"One of the main priorities for the Georgian government is to promote the development of the digital economy and broadband Internet infrastructure," - she said.
The forum was also attended by representatives of Eastern European Internet and telecommunications companies, interested parties and specialists that shared international experience with the forum participants, and also talked about the latest challenges and trends of the domain industry.
Along with Caucasus Online and ICANN, the forum also has gold and silver sponsors. The gold sponsor is the Georgian IT company GREENNET - a partner of the American IT and telecommunications company CISCO in the Caucasus region. The silver sponsor is the company OnCloud that offers users high-quality cloud services, as well as the Tier standard data center and cyber security services.