DotAsia Leadership on IDNs: Spotlight on Edmon Chung

IDNs support young people in expressing their identity in their native language online, UA ensures that the Internet’s core protocols can be upgraded to become more inclusive and secure, and a Multilingual Internet is an important equalizer for the linguistically marginalized, bright minds of the future.

A multistakeholder approach to the development and implementation of policies and standards on the Internet as a global resource is crucial for maintaining an Internet we love. The technical community has completed the work on standards, and together with the linguistic community has ensured the secure and stable implementation of IDNs. ICANN plays a pivotal role in bringing together the different stakeholders to make UA of IDNs a reality. Government policies, corporate roadmaps, technical platform upgrades, updates to university networking 101 courses to include IDN (and IPv6 for that matter), as well as civil society movements for language justice, are all important components to realize UA for IDNs.

Asia is home to a significant portion of the world’s linguistic diversity. It is also experiencing the largest Internet growth globally— driven by rapid digital transformation, technological advancements, increasing digital infrastructure investments, and a large youth population now coming online. For youth and the elderly alike, a Multilingual Internet makes for a safer Internet simply because one can better discern a potential phishing domain in their own native language. The first thing any cybersecurity course would advise users to do is to check the email address and domain name before you click.

Universal Acceptance of IDNs enhances trust for the Domain Name System (DNS) which continues to be the core addressing infrastructure for the Internet. Every app, search, and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated prompt response relies on multiple domain names to locate resources and facilitate navigation through the Internet. The Multilingual Internet requires IDNs, and IDNs drive local language content, which in turn enriches data for machine learning to avoid linguistic and cultural bias in AI models. It is a linguistic cycle, beginning with IDNs and UA, that will support a diverse Internet for the Asia Pacific communities and prevent the homogenizing effect of globalization.

My mother tongue is Cantonese and I am proud of it being one of the oldest languages and among the top languages natively spoken in the world. Yet Cantonese is facing marginalization by the dominant Mandarin dialect. I believe linguistic diversity is important for a world that treasures knowledge and human development because every language opens a different window and perspective to see the world. Languages are becoming extinct as globalization advances, the Internet and AI are forces for hegemonic progression, and IDNs are an important counterforce against an English-first Internet. Multilingualism, IDNs and UA by-design are the foundation for an Internet that drives progress without forsaking an enriching environment and historical context for humanity to thrive and enjoy into the future. That is why I believe IDNs are important.

I am not young anymore, but I am reminded by the youth I have the privilege to work with through the NetMission program which DotAsia supports, that there should be “nothing for the youth without the youth.” Youth-led approaches to research, policy development and implementation should become an important component within any multistakeholder governance system. IDNs support young people in expressing their identity in their native language online, UA ensures that the Internet’s core protocols can be upgraded to become more inclusive and secure, and a Multilingual Internet is an important equalizer for the linguistically marginalized, bright minds of the future. I am excited to see the NetMission youth network taking on IDNs and UA advocacy alongside digital rights, addressing DNS Abuse, and other Internet governance issues.