The .cat domain will coordinate an international group for two years to define and share best practices that contribute to the visibility of linguistic communities on the internet.
The .cat domain will lead one of the 19 projects selected —out of more than 1,000 submitted worldwide— to receive a grant from ICANN’s Grant Program (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN is a nonprofit public interest organization established in 1998, and its mission is to ensure a stable, secure, and unified global internet by coordinating the allocation and management of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, domain names, and protocol parameters.
The trajectory of the .cat Foundationat (Accent Obert since june 2025), based on its commitment to defending digital rights promoting multilingualism, and building a fairer, more open, and accessible internet, is the driving force behind the proposal that has earned ICANN funding.
Twenty years of experience managing the .cat domain have positioned Accent Obert as one of the world’s leading experts in the digital presence of linguistic communities. Indeed, it was the .cat domain in 2005 that opened the door for other cultural communities to be represented online, independently of states, through the so-called geoterritorial domains (GeoTLDs).
“Twenty years ago, the Catalan-speaking community proved that it wanted – and was able – to have its own voice on the internet. With this project, we renew and strengthen that initial commitment, providing data and knowledge that enable informed and strategic decisions about the digital identity of our community”, said Bea Guzmán, head of domini .cat, which currently has more than 113,000 users.
An international-scale project to make linguistic communities and geoterritorial domains visible
The project presented by Accent Obert It stems from a firm conviction: cultural and linguistic diversity is an essential strength of the internet. But today, not all communities are represented on equal terms. And it must be defended — or built.
Under the title “Assessing GeoTLD’s performance for enhanced Internet accessibility: An open source methodological approach” and with the support of the geoTLD Group i ISOC-CAT (a founding entity of Accent Obert), the project will develop an open-source methodology to analyse how traditional search engines – as well as those powered by Artificial Intelligence – treat domains that represent cultural, linguistic, or regional identities on the internet.
“The goal is to document, analyse, and disseminate best practices that help strengthen their visibility and build international alliances for a fairer and more inclusive internet governance”, said Pep Masoliver, Chief Technology Officer of Accent Obert.
Led by the .cat domain, the project involves the participation of eleven additional geoterritorial domains — .barcelona, .bzh, .cologne, .eus, .gal, .hamburg, .koeln, .london, .quebec, .scot, and .wien — has an approximate budget of €300,000, and is expected to last two years.
Another step in the internationalization of Accent Obert
This recognition comes at a key moment for the organization: the public launch of Accent Obert, which aims to broaden the reach of the .cat Foundation. “It will allow us to workd side by side with other organizations around the world that share both challenges and values similar to ours.in the framework of the main space of representation in the digital world,” celebrates Joan Abellà, its director. This grant reinforces Accent Obert’s vocation to contribute its local perspective to major global future debates in the digital sphere, placing the Catalan-speaking community at the center of discussions on governance and the presence of minoritized languages on the internet.
The project is already underway, and its results will be made available to the entire ICANN community and all organizations dedicated to defending digital and linguistic rights.
