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Ten years of the dot cat domain

Catalonia, Catalan and Catalan culture opened up an important door on the world 10 years ago when Icann, the body that assigns internet addresses, approved the domain name suffix .cat. It was the culmination of years of struggle that began after it became clear that Catalonia would not be granted its own specific domain name suffix (such as .es for Spain or .it for Italy) that states are normally granted. As is usual in such cases, Spanish opposition prevented approval. However, the State had no arguments against the suffix made possible by Icann's unprecedented decision, referring as it does to the culture and language. Not that Spain did not try to stop the initiative, but finally the soundly prepared arguments for the suffix that had support from the majority of the country's institutions and organisations won out. This meant, at the end of 2005, the .cat domain name suffix came into operation as a landmark moment that reinforced Catalan identity and improved the social prestige of the Catalan language, as well as making Catalonia and its culture more visible around the world. According to some analysts it was Catalonia's first step towards independence.

The data on the .cat domain, managed by the Fundació puntCat, also show a decade of success. Apart from being the first of its kind, an example other cultures have followed, such as the Basques and the Scots, use of the suffix has grown spectacularly and there are now more than 80,000 registered users. It is a symptom of the normality we would like for other aspects of the country.

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