Month: February 2024

Gearing up for ICANN79

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced a programme of preparations ahead of ICANN79, with a series of sessions designed to get the ICANN community ready for the upcoming ICANN79 forum, to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 2 to 7 March 2024.

The preparatory programme for ICANN79 is being held from 20 to 22 February and includes a dozen sessions looking at various topics of interest to the ICANN community. These include updates on Universal Acceptance (UA), International Domain Names (IDN), the relationship between the ICANN board and the community and the implementation of new gTLD programmes etc.

The ICANN79 community forum is an ideal opportunity to address important topics for internet governance and the management of domain names, such as:

Domain name policies: to discuss changes and proposals for policies relating to the assignment and management of global domain names.

Network security and stability: to address cybersecurity matters and measures to ensure the stability and reliability of the internet infrastructure.

Privacy and data protection: to discuss matters relating to the privacy of internet users and the measures to protect their personal data in the context of domain names.

New domain extensions: to review requests for new domain extensions and discuss the criteria for approving and managing these.

The ICANN operates through a multilateral governance model that includes the participation of different interested parties, such as governments, companies, civil society organisations, technical and academic communities and the internet industry. The community forums organised by the ICANN are fundamental for ensuring that the decisions made benefit all internet users.

The cultural and geographical domains .barcelona, .cat, .eus and .gal meet in A Coruña

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

A Coruña recently hosted a meeting of representatives for the cultural and geographical domains of .barcelona, .cat, .eus and .gal. Held on 1 February, the meeting enabled the participants to share their plans for the future, commercial actions planned for this year and forecasts about the evolution of the market and the network.

The four domains are part of the GeoTLD group, which brings together domains with geographical, linguistic and cultural identities such as .scot (Scotland), .london and .bzh (Brittany). The group coordinates shared communication actions with the public and governing bodies for the network, such as the ICANN. Some of the most important domain registration companies also took part in the meeting, which offered the chance to work together for the future of cultural and geographical domains.

The session began with a presentation by the director of Cidade das TIC, Alfonso Martínez, on the importance of new infrastructures and decentralisation for the value of ICT industries. The decentralisation of regulating agencies was also addressed, taking the imminent opening of the AESIA in A Coruña as an example.

In the second part of the meeting, each domain set out their current situation and their plans for 2024. Topics addressed here included artificial intelligence, changes in European legislation, protecting user data, cybersecurity and cooperation amid geopolitical changes.

The meeting also served to discuss the possibility of implementing joint action, commercial action or brand measures in 2024. The session concluded with a working supper, the aim being to strengthen ties between registers and registration companies.

A new DistricteCultural.barcelona is here

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

A new edition of Barcelona Districte Cultural is here! The programme runs until 27 April and offers a chance to enjoy over 230 free shows, concerts, performing arts activities and film sessions around local community centres.

You’ll find productions from theatre companies which talk about migration, family relationships, war, love and memory. The elasticity of dance and the magic of circus also form part of the programme, courtesy of local and international companies with shows for all ages.

As for music, there are nine concerts planned in a wide variety of styles, including electronic music, pop, rap, soul and punk. For its part, the Petit Cineclub section will be screening a diverse selection of animated films which have won international awards.

Some of these options come accompanied by discussions, talks, presentations and complementary activities, and there are also special sessions for primary and secondary schools.

The full programme can be found on the website for Barcelona Districte Cultural, with free tickets already available. To stay up to date and make sure you don’t miss a thing, you can also sign up for the newsletter.

Una captura de l'espectacle de dansa 'Ego' de la companyia Humana.

Park Güell is written parkguell.barcelona

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

It’s one the symbols of our city, and one of the images most frequently sought by those who visit us. Park Güell has over a century of history and receives well over 4.5 million visitors a year.

Even so, this is space for city people. Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) has been regulating access to Park Güell since 2013, the goal being to preserve this iconic city site and to maintain it properly, in harmony with the use that local people and schools make of it.

Half a million Barcelona people used the local residents card to access the park in 2023 and nearly 160,000 people visited it as part of the Gaudir més programme. School visits practically doubled compared to the previous year.

At parkguell.barcelona you’ll find everything you need to plan your visit, as well as a detailed chronology of its construction, historical context and an extensive multimedia gallery. Come along and enjoy Park Güell, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Vista general de l'entrada del Park Güell, amb el drac en primer terme.