As we head into the 11th edition of RightsCon – and our third virtual event – we’re reimagining RightsCon spaces and testing new, exciting ways to experience the program and platform, which is why we’re introducing The RightsCon Studio.
Participants can think of the RightsCon studio as their homebase for RightsCon: start your day (wherever you’re located) with a Rise and Shine welcome from regional voices, watch Program Previews to get a glimpse of what’s coming up, join In Conversation interviews with global leaders across sectors, take action with the coalitions highlighted in Community Voices, and get a recap on what you’ve missed in Program Reviews.
Whether you’re located in Brazil, France, or Myanmar, and joining in your morning, afternoon, or evening of our five days of programming, you can tune into the Studio on the homepage of the RightsCon platform.
Introducing our Studio host: award-winning journalist Melissa Chan
Joining you in the Studio as the anchor of your RightsCon experience is Melissa Chan, a seasoned and multi-award-winning journalist whose long list of accolades and achievements include two Human Rights Press Awards from Amnesty International, an Emmy nomination, and co-founding the Yale J
RightsCon's Call for Proposals is a testament to the power of collective action for human rights in the digital age. Every year, hundreds of people from around the world – activists, technologists, business leaders, policymakers, journalists, and more – submit session proposals for consideration into our community-centered program. Taken as a whole, these proposals illustrate what we hold in common, and the hard-won victories, stories of change, and ideas for the future that connect our network across borders and boundaries.
As we gear up for the 11th edition of RightsCon (June 6-10, 2022), we want to provide a first look at the results of the Call for Proposals, and what you can expect from our program in 2022. The numbers tell a story about our community, our shared priorities and challenges in the digital sphere, and our renewed momentum to secure human rights for all as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We received 1170+ proposals from 815+ host institutions for RightsCon 2022, an 11 percent increase from 2021. Session proposers came from 112 countries – the most ever recorded for our program – with 11 countries represented for the first time, and substantial increases in participation from Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Since our first summit in 2011, RightsCon’s program has expanded and transformed to respond to the most pressing human rights challenges in the digital age. To keep pace with the needs of our network, Access Now has continued to experiment with and adapt our session formats, and introduce new spaces to find solutions, build partnerships, and achieve tangible outcomes.
In 2019, our team launched Solve My Problem (SMP), a focused, time-intensive format, which enables organizers to meet with participants in a series of closed-door sessions, and form lasting partnerships with key stakeholders. Solve My Problem promotes collaboration and coalition-building as a tool to address a defined problem at the intersection of human rights and technology.
As our team looks to the future of RightsCon, we’re sharing more information about the special formats that exist outside of the Call for Proposals. We see Solve My Problem as a successful first step in a movement-based model, and a unique opportunity to support our community beyond the summit period.
To build on our past success and continue to push the boundaries of the format’s potential, we spoke with past session organizers from 2019-2021 about the SMP experience. Based on the input we received, we are excited to share our learnings and introduce a re-envisioned Solve My Problem for the 11th edition of RightsCon (June 6-10, 2022).
What have we achieved?
In previous iterations, Solve My Problem consisted of a set of two closed-door sessions, scheduled either consecutively or on different days of the summit. Session organizers coordinated participants and c
We’re excited to announce that registration for the 11th edition of RightsCon (June 6-10, 2022), the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, is now open! Both paid and free tickets are available to all participants, with Early Bird rates ending on March 11, 2022.
From Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10, 2022, join us for a week of collaborating, learning, strategizing, and networking with a global community of business leaders, activists, technologists, policymakers, journalists, philanthropists, researchers, and artists. Taking place entirely online and across every timezone, we invite you to join us from wherever you’re located.
Our approach to registration
Each year, our team centers our efforts around lowering barriers to participation, in order to ensure RightsCon remains an accessible and welcoming space to all. Following the same inclusive ticket policy as last year: any participant can choose between a free or paid ticket when registering for RightsCon 2022. To facilitate participation for those in our community who need financial support to engage at RightsCon, our <
Today is the official launch of the Call for Proposals for our 11th summit (June 6-10, 2022)! Ready to start your RightsCon journey? You have until January 13, 2022 to submit your session proposal and help shape the agenda for human rights in the digital age.
We are in the midst of a pivotal moment. The explosive revelations of the Pegasus Project have prompted successful efforts to regulate and restrict the spyware industry. The disclosures of former Meta (Facebook) employees has shined a light on the company’s business model and content moderation practices. The recognition of prominent voices in our community, such as Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa and
The dates are set for the 11th edition of RightsCon, which will take place online from June 6-10, 2022, and the Call for Proposals will officially open next week!
The RightsCon program is sourced directly from the Call for Proposals: we review hundreds of session proposals from all around the world in order to build an agenda that reflects the most urgent priorities and challenges for human rights in the digital age.
An effective session is structured around a goal, suited to the format, and designed with the participant experience in mind. Over the years, in both online and offline iterations of RightsCon, we have adapted and strengthened the different formats available to session organizers. With partners and peers, we also experimented with closed-door options and free-flow spaces, and sourced ideas from outside of the Call
Access Now is thrilled to announce that the 11th edition of RightsCon will take place entirely online and across every time zone from Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10, 2022.
Since 2020, the RightsCon community has convened online. Initially a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the online platform and program we have built together has become far more than a substitute space and instead has been an important home for today’s global human rights movement.
From 2,750 registered participants at our last in-person event in Tunis in 2019 to more than 9,200 at our most recent event in 2021, hosting RightsCon online has substantially increased its accessibility and resulted in a more representative program and community. This year we celebrated our 10th anniversary and saw a 20% increase in participation from 2020, doubled the number of participants supported through our Connectivity Fund, and saw women leading the program, making up 59% of session organizers.
We’ve learned a lot – and are continuing to adapt – in this online space. We are excited about the opportunities to build on your feedback and improve the RightsCon platform, program, and experience for the year ahead.
At the same time, we recognize the possibilities present in exploring the new hybrid formats that have emerged. We’re working toward a potential 2023 return to in-person, all while remaining committed to maintaining the vibrant opportunities for online participation that we’ve developed in the last two years.
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The RightsCon team is excited to share our Outcomes Report for the 10th anniversary edition of RightsCon, which took place across all time zones from Monday, June 7 to Friday, June 11, 2021.
RightsCon 2021 was our second summit hosted online, bringing with it opportunities to strengthen our platform for a growing global community. From creating informal spaces for connecting on Social Hour, to showcasing vibrant “after dark” performances and hosting our largest community-built program, this year’s event was both memorable and inspirational.
Our annual Outcomes Report provides insight into the state of human rights in the digital age. The full report details community insights, achievements, survey results, and learnings from the summit. You can explore the highlights below and read the full report for an in-depth look into RightsCon 2021.
For the past 10 years, RightsCon has been a central platform for the human rights and technology community to convene, connect, and coordinate. From the first summit in San Francisco, to the many that followed – in Rio
Here’s a quick round up of news, updates and more, since our 10th anniversary summit. As a reminder, registered participants can still login and revisit hundreds of recorded sessions on the RightsCon platform.
If you're like us, you're missing the discussions, the connections, and the energy from the most recent RightsCon (held from June 7-11, 2021). Since we met two months ago, our team has been compiling success stories, key achievements, and feedback on your experiences for the RightsCon 2021 outcomes report.
There is a lot to cover in this year’s report. We dive into the numbers that shaped RightsCon, learning that – as a sneak peek – 59% of session organizers identified as women and 579 program sessions resulted in an astounding 1,320 hours of content. You can learn more in the full report, available later this month.
Did you catch RightsCon in the news?
Conversations that started at RightsCon made it to the headlines in the weeks following the event, reaching a broader audience globally. This includes discussions on safeguarding digital civic space, how digital rights are key to a post pandemic recovery, and China’s impact on internet governance.
We have seen reporting on Twitter’s Vijaya Gadde’s revelation that the company
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