Movenpick Hotel, Muharraq

27-28 April

About the Hackathon 25

Welcome to the .bh hackathon! This event is dedicated to fostering innovation and inclusivity in the digital landscape by focusing on the universal acceptance of Arabic domain names and email addresses. Participants will collaborate to develop solutions that enhance the accessibility and usability of Arabic digital identities, using the latest technical standards of universal acceptance of internationalized domain names and email addresses. Join us in this exciting journey to shape the future of the internet, where every language is technically supported and celebrated.

Prize

1ST PLACE

BHD 1,000

2ND PLACE

BHD 750

3RD PLACE

BHD 500

Objectives

The primary objectives of the hackathon are as follows:

  • Introduce participants to the importance and potential of universal acceptance of internationalized domain names (IDNs) and email addresses.
  • Provide training and practical knowledge about the implementation of IDNs and internationalized email addresses.
  • Familiarize participants with the latest technical standards for IDNs and Unicode.
  • Develop and deploy a website using generative AI tools
  • Integrate AI-powered document intelligence features to your website
  • Encourage teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills among participants.
  • Showcase innovative solutions that enhance the accessibility and usability of global digital identities.

Challenge Overview

Create an informative, modern website with Arabic domain name and Arabic content on the topic of Universal Acceptance of Internationalized Domain Names and Email Addresses. The website should effectively communicate the importance and benefits of universal acceptance. The website could be designed for a specific audience (e.g., businesses, governmental entities, students, web developers, etc.) or for a general audience. Tailor the content to be clear, engaging, and accessible for the chosen group. Use AI tools to create the website and/or generate content.

Getting Started

Step 1

Get your team’s ID from the organizers.

Step 2

Get your own domain name and deployment server credentials from the organizers.

  • Team id
  • deployment server URL
  • username
  • password
  • domain name assigned to the team

Step 3

Use the provided credentials to log into your deployment server. Confirm that you can access and manage the server settings

Step 4

Develop your website using Generative AI tools introduced in the workshop.

Step 5

Log into your deployment server using any ssh client (e.g., PuTTY, OpenSSH). Confirm that you can establish a secure shell connection.

Step 6

See further instructions and the details of the problem set out below.

Tasks

Develop and deploy a website with
Arabic domain name

Identify your target audience and identify relevant UA resources for that audience (i.e. how would you educate this audience about UA?). Brainstorm ideas about what your website content will be, how the website will present the information in an informative and engaging manner. You can use wireframes and prototype your website. The website’s content must be in Arabic.

Build a website using Generative AI tools presented at the workshop. Include content from UA resources (links provided at the end of the document, including content in Arabic). You can also generate content using Generative AI tools for your website.

Your website’s content must cover at least the following concepts, adapted to your target audience:

Business or Government Audience Academic or Technical Audience
  • Supporting a diverse, multicultural and multilingual Internet.
  • Enabling greater competition, innovation, and consumer choice.
  • Social and business opportunities.
  • Assisting governments and policymakers in communicating with their citizens.
  • Access to new customers and markets
  • UA Guide to Tender and Contractual Documents
  • Internationalized Email Address Acceptance by Websites
  • Internationalized Email Address Support Across Email Servers
  • UA readiness concepts: Accept, validate, process, store, display
  • Career advantages for developers and system administrators.
  • [academic] UA curriculum integration
  • Report bugs related to UA in products and services
  • Career advantages for developers and system administrators.

Development:

  • Choose at least one backend and one frontend technology/framework you are comfortable with.
  • Feel free to utilize open-source templates and frameworks to expedite development.

This will be shared through a link for a folder per team on the day of the hackathon.

Include an email subscription option

The website should include an email subscription option that accepts non-ASCII emails, validates them, and stores them (e.g. in a file or database). The subscriber should then receive an email from the website developers’ Arabic email address acknowledging/verifying their subscription. Domain name should be valid as per IDNA2008 (or as a more advanced check, it should conform with the relevant script LGR: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/second-level-lgr-2015-06-21-en).

As an example, a valid Arabic mailbox name should only contain Arabic letters, Arabic digits, or ASCII digits (but not a mix) and hyphens. Arabic script covers all allowable code points at https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0600.pdf, and not just limited to those used in Arabic language.

Example subscription template (yours should be in Arabic, the look and formatting is up to you to customize, this is only an example)

Example email confirmation sent to subscribers (yours should be in Arabic):

From: [your Arabic email address]

To: [the subscriber’s email address]

Subject: Thank you for subscribing to our website

Message body:

Hello,

Thank you for subscribing to our website. We will keep you updated with news about universal acceptance of internationalized domain names and email addresses.

Regards,

The [website] team

Apply linkification using the Unicode standard

For this task, you will perform linkification (link detection) of URLs (which may contain non-ASCII characters) in plain text. You will automatically convert IDN URLs and Email addresses into clickable links.

Add a page or section to your website listing examples of internationalized domain names. Include a textbox where website users can enter long UTF-8 text. Your system should identify the valid IDNs and email addresses within the text and display them on the webpage as hyperlinks.

Use (and implement) the latest draft Unicode Linkification Standard detailed here: https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24217r2-uts58-working-draft.html

As you are implementing this task, identify any issues with the draft standard UTS58 to be provided as feedback to improve the standard.

Example Linkification page on your website:

Integrate AI features

Implement an innovative idea for a feature in your website leveraging generative AI technology to support your target audience learning about UA principles. Incorporate AI tools into your website. This is an open-ended task and creativity is highly valued.

Given a document about TRA regulations, use Generative AI tools to create informative and interactive content on your website. Examples include:

  • Chatbot: add a chatbot that can answer questions about the provided document.
  • Quiz: generate a quiz based on the document and verify user answers or generate/show the answer when the user gives up.
  • Translation: translate the document to a given language.
  • Summarization: provide a summary of the document.

Note that the documents can be in Arabic or English and should be interacted with in any language. For example, a document can be in Arabic. If you implement a chatbot feature, the user can ask an English question and your chatbot should be able to answer in English, getting information from the Arabic document (and vice versa, a document can be in English and your quiz can be in Arabic, for example).

Presentation:

  • Prepare a clear and concise presentation of your idea and implementation.
  • Highlight the features, benefits, and potential impact on the target audience’s understanding of UA.
  • Demonstrate the functionality and usability of your website features.
  • Each team will be allocated a total of 5 minutes for their presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session.

Teamwork:

Foster a spirit of teamwork and cooperation among participants.

Utilize each other’s strengths to develop a well-rounded solution.

Evaluation Criteria

Technical Evaluation:

Universal Acceptance

Task Criteria Total Score Team
score
1 Website is deeployed on Arabic domain name 5
1 Website content is properly displayed in Arabic 5
2 Subscription form accepts and validates internationalized email address 5
2 Internationalized email address is properly stored without breaking or corrupting 5
2 Email sent from participant’s provided Arabic email address to the subscriber email address confirming subscription 10
3 The user can input characters from their local script into a text field 5
3 Links correctly identified and hyperlinked 5

Artificial Intelligence

Task Criteria Total Score Team
score
1 Website is created using AI tools 10
1 At least some content is created using AI tools 10
4 AI feature is correctly implemented and functioning 10
4 AI feature goes beyond a simple prompt, showing good prompt engineering skills 10

Website Quality, Desgin and Usability:

Criteria Total Score Team
score
Relevance and coverage: The website effectively addresses the topic of UA to a target audience, covering the main UA concepts.
Accuracy: Content is factual, well-researched, and free from errors.		 4
Aesthetic Appeal: The design is modern, clean, and visually engaging. 2
Navigation: Clear and intuitive structure, with easy access to all sections. 2
Layout: Website interface is right aligned and responsive 2

Presentation Evaluation:

Criteria Total Score Team
score

Time for presentation is used effectively to communicate the idea, implementation, and impact

3

Presenter exhibited a good understanding of topic and can respond effectively to questions and comments

3

Creative thinking in the method of presentation

4

Resources

Participants will have access to curated technical guides, tutorials, and code samples to support their projects during the hackathon. These resources include practical materials on implementing Universal Acceptance, Email Address Internationalization, and integrating AI into multilingual internet solutions. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, these tools are designed to empower you throughout the hackathon.

Useful links:

  • UA Day 2025 Presentations
  • Universal Acceptance Quick Guide: UASG005
  • Introduction to Universal Acceptance: UASG007
  • Quick Guide to EAI: UASG014
  • EAI – A Technical Overview: UASG012
  • UA Compliance of Some Programming Language Libraries and Frameworks – UASG018A
  • EAI – Evaluation of Major Email Software and Services: UASG021B
  • Universal Acceptance Readiness Framework: UASG026
  • Considerations for Naming Internationalized Email Mailboxes: UASG028
  • UA-Ready Code Samples in Java, Python, and JavaScript – UASG043

Organizers

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) was established in 2002 promulgating the Telecommunications Law in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Ever since its inception, TRA’s focused on liberalizing and developing the telecoms sector by promoting an effective and fair competition between established operators and new entrants while protecting the interest of consumers.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization head-quartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the Internet’s stable and secure operation.

Supporting Partners

AUBH is the first comprehensive, purpose-built, American-model co-educational University in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and is supported by the Elm Fund. The University offers a holistic journey for students and a unique approach to education that fosters interaction and collaboration between students, faculty, and the professional community.

Infiniteware is an artificial intelligence company that helps organizations tap into the power of artificial intelligence by making sense of their data and embracing automation. The inception was around 2009 as it is the brain child of Ameen Altajer.

Contributor

GoDomains is a domain registrar, web and email hosting provider. We are a
TRA Accredited Domain Registrar for Bahrain ccTLDs ending “.bh”.

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