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RightsCon Rundown

In 2023, RightsCon will be a hybrid convening taking place in San José, Costa Rica and online through the RightsCon platform, from Monday, June 5 to Thursday, June 8. The venue for in-person participants is the Costa Rica Convention Center, a bioclimatic, eco-friendly, and sustainably-designed space located near the airport and just outside the city center.

The RightsCon platform, which we have used since 2020, will host the full program as well as provide access to online programming with features that enable networking between participants including one-on-one and group chats, and creative spaces for connecting and socializing. The platform will use different video streaming and conferencing services, including Vimeo, Zoom, and Frameable (previously Social Hour).

Registration is available through the RightsCon platform. To register, choose whether you will join us in-person or online and then select your ticket type based on your stakeholder group. You will then be prompted to create an account or sign-in if you have joined us at RightsCon 2020, 2021 or 2022. Once you’ve completed the registration form, an email will be sent confirming your registration. If you have questions about discounts or are interested in registering a group, please email us at [email protected].

Registration for in-person participation will close on May 29, 2023 or until venue capacity is reached. Registration for online participation will close just before the event begins, on June 2, 2023.

Yes! If your session is accepted as part of the RightsCon Costa Rica program, or if you are associated as a speaker in a session, you will receive a set of discount codes to use for your registration at the end of March. Due to the nature of the summit, in which a high proportion of the people who participate will also take part in official programming, we ask that session organizers, speakers, and facilitators with the means to do so contribute towards the full or a portion of their tickets.

If you are unable to participate at RightsCon, you can request a full refund of your in-person ticket up to seven (7) days before the event starts. If you purchased an online ticket, you can request a full refund up to a day before the event starts.

Unfortunately, the ability to exchange your ticket type is not available on our platform at the moment. If you would like to change your ticket from online to in-person or vice versa, we will issue a refund of your current ticket and you will need to process your registration again. To request a switch, please get in touch with our team at [email protected].

Whether in-person or online, creating a safe space for participants is our top priority. Our Security Working Group (SWG) –  an internal committee composed of our RightsCon, SecOps, and Code of Conduct leadership, will implement security and safety processes to ensure every participant enjoys a safe, enriching experience. You can learn more about our general approach to safety and security in our 2019 blog post and stay tuned for specific guidance ahead of RightsCon Costa Rica.

At this time, we are following the guidelines set out by the Costa Rica government, which is fully open to tourists, and does not mandate vaccines, testing, masks, social distancing or other requirements for travelers or gatherings. We encourage in-person participants to be fully vaccinated and test themselves regularly. While we will take preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are not able to guarantee that participants who choose to attend RightsCon Costa Rica in person will not be exposed to the virus while attending the event. We strongly advise participants to take all precautions based on their health conditions and personal circumstances. You can learn more about our approach and our guidance for participants here.

We are thinking intentionally about ways to ensure that every aspect of our summit – from the venue to programming and participation are accessible to as many participants as possible – whether they’re joining online or in-person. We are making sure that both the interior and exterior of our event space in Costa Rica are physically accessible to participants, and we are optimizing the functionalities of our website and platform to improve the user experience.

In the coming months, we will share more details about our approach to accessibility and the specific steps we are taking to broaden access across RightsCon spaces.

If you have an access request that you feel comfortable sharing with us, reach out to us at [email protected]. At the time of registration, when filling out our form, you will also have the space to indicate any access requests.

We are taking a holistic approach to sustainability. When building our program, special attention will be paid to session proposals that relate to sustainability and environmental justice. The venue we will be hosting this year’s RightsCon in is a champion of sustainability, guaranteeing maximum sustainability in the development of each of its events through a commitment to bioclimatic, eco-friendly and sustainable design and architecture. In addition, we are committed to minimizing single use plastics and reducing waste where possible. This includes reducing food waste and prioritizing local, sustainable, and plant-based menu options. Lastly, we are committed to using a portion of ticket revenue – up to $15,000 USD – to offset travel emissions and support accredited and independently verified environmental projects in Latin America.  Over the coming months, we’ll share more details about further steps we’re taking and the sustainability projects we’re funding.

Both in-person and online tickets for RightsCon Costa Rica can be purchased here, with early bird pricing available until April 7. The cost of a ticket should never be a barrier to participation, and free online tickets are available for all, as well as free and discounted tickets upon request for in-person participants.

The RightsCon platform will open for both online and in-person registered participants on May 22, 2023, two weeks before RightsCon kicks-off. Participants will then have the opportunity to explore the platform, create a public profile, and build their own personal agenda for the sessions they wish to participate in.

Don’t worry, we believe the cost of a ticket should never be a barrier to participation. For those that choose to join us online, a free ticket is available for selection at the time of registration for those who need it, regardless of sector or location. Given the higher cost of hosting participants in-person, including for food, beverage, and venue space, we ask that those who require a free or discounted ticket apply through a form on our website. Ticket income significantly contributes to making RightsCon possible and we ask those with the means to cover the full or partial cost of their ticket – for example, private sector representatives or organizations that may have budgets for events – to consider doing so.

We are happy to offer group rates on paid tickets for organizations or companies sending a delegation of 5 or more to RightsCon either in-person or online. If you are interested in group or discounted rates, please email us at [email protected].

Requirements for Costa Rica vary from country to country. To find out if you need a visa, navigate to Sherpa, a useful tool for getting up-to-date international travel requirements. Simply enter the issuing country of your passport, where you’re traveling from (including if you have a connecting destination), your dates of travel, and click see requirements. Your trip summary will include whether or not you require a visa for your connection or final destination, COVID-19 guidance, and other documentation requirements.

Additionally, check if any visa exceptions apply to you. Consult with your local Costa Rica consulate, if available in your city, or on official Costa Rica government sites (e.g., Costa Rica embassy in Washington, DC) if any visa exceptions apply to you. For example, visa-required foreign nationals may be exempt from needing a Costa Rica visa if they have a valid multi-entry visa or a valid permanent resident card to Canada or the US, or a valid permanent resident card for Switzerland, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Iceland, or the European Union.

Our Community Support Fund provides financial support to members from civil society who wish to attend RightsCon in-person or online. The fund offers support for in-person participation in Costa Rica including flights, hotel or both, as well as support for online participation including, connectivity, translation and other services.

Applications for the Community Support Fund closed on April 4, 2023. Participants that applied for the fund can expect to be notified about the status of their application by April 12, 2023.

If your session is accepted as part of the RightsCon Costa Rica program, or if you are associated as a speaker in a session, you will receive a set of discount codes to apply towards registration fees. Additionally, through the Community Support Fund, we offer travel support for in-person participation in Costa Rica (including travel and accommodations), as well as direct financial support for online participation (including connectivity, translation and other services). While the fund is intended for session organizers, facilitators, and speakers, because we ourselves are a nonprofit organization, we are unfortunately only able to provide funding to a small subset of applicants and are unable to guarantee funding, as our resources are limited. We will prioritize applications from communities who are traditionally underrepresented in global convenings.

Applications for the Community Support Fund are now closed as of April 4. 2023. Participants that applied for the fund can expect to be notified about the status of their application by April 12, 2023.

We firmly believe in the importance of multilingual diversity in convening spaces like RightsCon, and continue to work to increase non-English programming through the below approaches. 

For all sessions, Session Organizers have the option to run their session in the language of their choice. While we don’t know yet how much of the program will run in other languages, we’re confident there will be a number of sessions, given 14% of proposals were submitted in languages other than English. 

For online Workshops, Fishbowls and Private Meetings, Session Organizers will be able to enable live-interpretation and live closed-captioning in Zoom. The Community Support Fund offers funding that can be applied for translation support; however, applications for the fund are now closed as of April 4, 2023.

For in-person sessions, we are providing simultaneous translation into Spanish for our mainstage programming through a headset. Closed-captions will also be made available for our mainstage program through a mobile device.

Aside from the above, participants are welcome to bring their own translator to accompany them to sessions and support through whisper or consecutive translation. Translators will be provided with a free ticket if they apply through our discount form. 

When the program launches in May, you will be able to easily navigate the schedule by language to identify non-English sessions.

As always, we welcome your feedback on how we can improve our efforts and provide better support