The 14th edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, will take place in Lusaka, Zambia and online, from Tuesday, May 5 to Friday, May 8, 2026
The 14th edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, will take place in Lusaka, Zambia and online, from Tuesday, May 5 to Friday, May 8, 2026
We’re headed to Zambia in 2026!
We’re incredibly excited to bring back RightsCon to the African continent since RightsCon Tunis in 2019, and to host our first-ever summit in Southern Africa!
Our return to Africa carries deep significance. During RightsCon Costa Rica in 2023, visa barriers disproportionately impacted participants from Africa, preventing community members from attending in-person. In response, we made a commitment to bring RightsCon to the continent, and to do so with care and purpose.
We’ve seen a surge in digital rights advocacy, research, and innovation across Africa in the last few years, often in challenging political and economic environments. Our decision to host RightsCon in Lusaka is not only about honoring the commitment we made back in 2023, but also about recognizing the strength, resilience, and global significance of Africa’s digital rights community.
Read our announcement blog to learn more about the decision-making process, why we chose Zambia, our milestones for the next summit, and how we’re preparing for our return to Africa.
Security notice: Phishing email alert
We are aware that members of the RightsCon community received a phishing email sent from a compromised email account belonging to our platform partner, TechChange. We take this incident seriously and are in close contact with TechChange as they work to strengthen their security protocols to prevent future incidents.
If you received the phishing email, please do not open it or click any links. If you need support or have concerns, reach out to us at [email protected].
You can read TechChange’s official update here for more information.
The latest from RightsCon
The RightsCon Community
RightsCon offers a platform for thousands of participants from around the world to convene, connect, and contribute to a shared agenda for the future. Join our global community of business leaders, activists, technologists, policymakers, journalists, philanthropists, researchers, and artists, and explore opportunities to advance human rights in the digital age.
40,000+
participants
in 13 editions
20,000+
civil society participants
2,000+
government officials
4,000+
private sector participants
Meet a few of the organizations who join us year-after-year
For over a decade, we’ve welcomed leaders from around the world
RightsCon features prominent voices from companies, governments, foundations, think tanks, civil society organizations, universities, and international institutions. Check out a small selection of the experts that joined us throughout the last 13 editions.
RightsCon speakers have included
Meredith Whittaker
President, Signal
Owen Bennett
Head of International Online Safety, Ofcom, United Kingdom
Rashad Abelson
Tech Sector Lead, OECD
Alissa Starzak
Vice President & Global Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare
Lorraine Finlay
Human Rights Commissioner, Australia
Kehinde Adegboyega
Executive Director, Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria
Jo-Fan Yu
CEO, Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC)
Grace Githaiga
CEO, Kenya ICT Action Network
Alexander White
Privacy Commissioner, Bermuda
Akvile Liudziene
Environmental, Social, and Governance Manager, Nord Security
KS Park
CEO, Open Net Korea
Lea Kaspar
Executive Director, Global Partners Digital
E-Ling Chiu
Director, Amnesty International Taiwan
Antonio Zappulla
Chief Executive Officer, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Marwa Fatafta
MENA Policy and Advocacy Director, Access Now
Raman Jit Singh Chima
Global Cybersecurity Lead | Senior International Counsel & Asia Pacific Policy Director, Access Now
Aws Al-Saadi
Founder and President, Tech4Peace
Laura Tyrylyte
Head of Public Relations, Nord Security
David Sullivan
Executive Director, Digital Trust and Safety Partnership
Neema Lugangira
Chairperson, African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG); Member of Parliament, Tanzania
“The issues that RightsCon addresses deserve leader-level attention … these are some of the most important issues that we could be talking about today.” (2022)
Jacinda Ardern
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
“This was my first RightsCon conference and what an experience it was, hosting a conversation about healing, hope and protest was just what I needed during a summer during which Black people were grappling with mass deaths through COVID and evidence that we are still continually hunted and killed by the police. […] I hope this will be the beginning of a long relationship with RightsCon as they think about how anti-racist policies and practices can become part of human rights frames.” (2020)
Mutale Nkonde
CEO AI for the People, Key Constituent of the UN 3C Round Table on AI
“RightsCon is the Davos of Digital Rights.” (2017)
Matt Peacock
Group Director of Corporate Affairs at Vodafone Group
“I must say I’m amazed. It’s enormous. It gathers people from the NGOs, academics, private sector – a convergence and divergence of all these people.” (2018)
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin
Chair and President of the CNIL
“I mean where have you been if you haven’t been to RightsCon! This is where you get to do the real work… It’s where you get to meet people who you can mentor, who want to do what you’re doing, where you can meet people who have done what you’re trying to do, who can mentor you, and it’s where you can meet your peers, so you know you’re not the only crazy person who wants to save the world.” (2018)
Gbénga Sèsan
Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative
“Perhaps the most striking, joyous, part of it was being at a conference where diversity in all its forms was essential to its lifeblood – in contrast to most conferences I attend where diversity is too often thought of in terms of checking boxes.”
Bec Hamilton
Assistant Law Professor, American University
Thanks to our sponsors
We are grateful to our sponsors, who have invested in RightsCon over the last decade. RightsCon sponsorship offers a unique opportunity to advance policy on human rights in the digital age, support a global community of grassroots actors, and demonstrate an enduring commitment to human rights.
Keep up to date with RightsCon
Have a question about how to join us? Not sure where to start on your RightsCon journey? Get in touch with us at [email protected] to schedule a one-on-one chat with our team.
Subscribe to our newsletter, the RightsCon Rundown, for program updates, speaker announcements, community opportunities, and more.