The RightsCon Summit Platform is now open for registered participants to login, explore, and start building a personalized program for the sessions they wish to participate in ahead of the summit.

Whether you’re joining us in-person or online, the RightsCon Summit Platform is your homebase for the event. You can navigate all 600+ sessions using filters, see who is speaking, and chat with other participants.

With over 600+ sessions happening in-person, hybrid, or online, the RightsCon program can feel both exciting and overwhelming! Whether you’re a RightsCon veteran or joining us for the first time, we recommend navigating the program through our handy filters, which include:

• 3 modes, including in-person, hybrid, or online
• 19 program tracks, such as artificial intelligence and freedom of the media
• 6 intersecting themes, such as disability rights and health
• 6 formats, such as workshops and dialogues

Languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, and French

To learn more about navigating the program, review our guide on the RightsCon Summit platform.

If you’re joining us in San José, we want to help set you up for success and have put together the following checklist for you to review before departing.

• Double check you’re registered: Whether you’re a speaker, participant, or session organizer preparing to join us, it can be easy to miss one important step: registration! All participants must be registered to receive their badge and enter the venue. Registration closes on June 2, so get your ticket now!

• Confirm your visa and entry requirements:  Be sure to check if you need a visa to Costa Rica ( you can use Sherpa) and review general entry requirements to confirm that you have all the necessary documents with you. These might include your registration confirmation email, details about your accommodation, your return flight itinerary, and the duration of your stay. You may be asked to provide this information upon entry into Costa Rica. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at [email protected].

• Be prepared to travel: We strongly recommend having the following documentation printed or saved on your phone to facilitate a smooth entry to Costa Rica:  your return flight ticket, accommodation confirmation, and your invitation letter for RightsCon (available upon request at [email protected]).  

If you’re arriving at the Juan Santamaria International airport (SJO) in San José,  the RightsCon team will be waiting for you on arrival either before or after customs, just look for our logo! 

If you run into any issues during your travel or upon arrival, our team and our destination management company, TAM, will be present at the airport to provide support.  Our team can be reached through [email protected] 

While the airport does have free WiFi available, we encourage you to use the public network with caution. 

After you go through customs, you’ll pass through an area with car rental and other services before exiting the airport (you end up outside quite quickly!).

To leave the airport, you can use any of the following modes of transportation:

• Wait for your hotel shuttle: most, if not all, hotels in San José have a free or low-cost airport shuttle service that runs hourly or by appointment. Reach out to your hotel to determine what options are available to you. Note: RightsCon shuttles will run between the airport and key hotels in the San José area on Monday, June 5 and Thursday, June 8th, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. (More information in thissection)
• Take a taxi: visitors are encouraged to take the official orange taxis from the airport. Official airport taxis have a yellow triangle on the car doors and official taxi stands are located just outside the airport exit.
• Use Uber (limited availability): While Uber is available in San José, drivers are not allowed to enter the main area of the airport, and thus you may be required to walk to meet them either at the airport’s upper floor parking lot or outside of the airport. Please see the below section on transportation in San José to learn more about using Uber in Costa Rica.

Please note that San José experiences heavy traffic throughout the day, but especially during rush hours. As a rule of thumb, take the shuttle an hour prior to your desired time of arrival. For those hosting early morning sessions (before 10 am), take the first shuttle available, leaving between 7:30 am – 8 am.

Hotels to Convention Center Service: RightsCon will provide continuously operating shuttle services between 6 hotel zones and the Costa Rica Convention Center (CRCC) on Monday, June 5th – Thursday, June 8th.  Shuttle service will run from approximately  8:00am – 8:00pm each day. Shuttle frequency will depend on the hotel zone. Please refer to this map for hotel and CRCC locations.

Airport Shuttle Service: Shuttle service will be provided between Juan Santamaría International Airport (San José Airport) to the CRCC and the hotel zones on Monday, June 5th. Shuttles will also be available from the CRCC to Juan Santamaría International Airport on Thursday, June 8th. We will also be offering a baggage storage service throughout the summit (more information on this section)

Shuttle Schedule

Shuttle Frequency

All shuttles will be clearly marked with RightsCon branding and there will be a point of contact at each stop to provide guidance and support.

In order to access the RightsCon venue, all participants must be registered and have their badge in hand: think of your badge as your all access pass to the summit and wear it everywhere.

You can pick your badge up during the following dates and times:

• Sunday, June 4 from 10:00am-8:00pm Costa Rica time at the DoubleTree Hotel
• Monday, June 5 – Thursday, June 8 from 8:30am-5:00pm Costa Rica time at the Costa Rica Convention Center

In order to pick up your badge, please have your registration confirmation email on hand and be ready to share your full name with our team. If you have any issues picking up your badge, we will have a troubleshooting desk available at the DoubleTree and the Costa Rica Convention Center to provide support.

Once you have your badge, you will be asked to select between a green or red lanyard. If you choose the red lanyard, you are indicating that you do not want to be photographed or recorded in any way.

Our summit venue, the Costa Rica Convention Center, is a bioclimatic, eco-friendly, and sustainably-designed space located just outside the city center. Check out our detailed venue map below to get familiar with the spaces available. Upon arriving at the venue, but before entering, you will proceed through a bag check and pick up your badge at the registration desk.

• Mindfulness room: A space for you to rewind and recharge
• Lactation room: Comes with a privacy screen and a fridge
• Medical services: For any medical attention and face masks
• Gender-neutral bathrooms
• Baggage storage service: Available throughout the summit. Located near the entrance.

Before RightsCon kicks off, we invite you to join one of the satellite events or regional meetups happening on Monday, June 5, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm CST. For more details on what to expect from these sessions and how to sign up, as availability is on a first-come, first-served basis, check out our blog post. 

If you’re a session organizer or a speaker, visit our Session Organizer Hub to view format-specific guides, facilitation tips, promotion kits, and more!

There is wifi and communal seating at the venue within our Community Village for people to tune into online sessions on their personal device with a headset. However, we don’t suggest this as an option for session organizers, speakers, or facilitators, given the possibility of background noise.

Our guidance is to take online sessions from your hotel room if you can. There are a few hotels within walking distance, such as the DoubleTree and the Raddison which would be good options to consider if the hotel you are staying at is too far to go back-and-forth.

While we will provide lunch and coffee at the venue, you should plan to grab dinner with colleagues (or new connections from RightsCon!) around the venue, near your hotel, or in one of San José’s neighborhoods.

Want somewhere to hang out near the venue? Come join us at the DoubleTree Hotel, Access Now’s homebase for the duration of RightsCon. 

Here are a few of our recommendations:

1. El Novillo Alegre (Sabana): Argentinian steaks, salads, and seafood. See the menu here.
2. Grano de Oro (Sabana): Upscale dining experience with a comprehensive wine list. Vegetarian options available. See menu here.
3. Inédito Gastro Tour (Sabana): A food-court style space with various options and live music. 
4. Kawah (Heredia): Breakfast platters, rice bowls ranging from teriyaki to Caribbean curry, and a comprehensive dessert menu. See the menu here.
5. Leño y Carbón Heredia (Heredia): Barbecue restaurant with a variety of meats and sides. See menu here.
6. Taj Mahal (Escazu): Authentic Indian cuisine with a variety of vegetarian options. See menu here.
7. Árbol de Seda (Escalante): Vegetarian burgers, rice and beans, soups, and salads. See the menu here.
8. Gambas (Escalante): Seafood specialities ranging from soups, tuna tartare, to rice dishes, and ceviches. See the menu here.
9. Isolina (Escalante): Upscale dining experience. Gluten-free options available. See the menu here.
10. Samadhi (Escalante): Vegan and vegetarian-friendly, with a large cocktail menu. See menu here.

Throughout the week, we’ll have a range of  After Dark events  and Creative Spaces for you to explore. On Monday, June 5, we will kick off with an Opening Ceremony reception party after the day’s programming concludes. The creative spaces will include  live performances, art exhibits, film screenings, and wellness activities such as  yoga and guided meditation to help participants unwind each day. All After Dark and Creative Spaces will be added to the program schedule the week of May 22.

Whether you are joining us as a participant, session organizer, or speaker, be sure to promote your participation with your network using our Canva templates. Our promo kit contains tailored graphics templates you can use to promote your session across various platforms. También disponible en Español! 

We have intentionally planned spaces, both in-person and online, to account for the diverse needs, abilities, and priorities of participants. The entrance, interior, and bathrooms in our venue in Costa Rica are wheelchair accessible. There are also wheelchair accessible parking spaces at the venue, as well as accessible, well-lit routes from the parking spaces to the venue entrance.

As shown in the map, the venue also includes a private lactation room for people who bodyfeed, a staffed medical room for medical emergencies or situations in distress, and a quiet multi-purpose for mindfulness, multi-faith worship, and calm.

For more information on our approach to accessibility, and a detailed breakdown of access information for both in-person and online participation check out our blog post. 
If you have an access request that you feel comfortable sharing with us, you will be able to indicate that in the registration form or you can also reach out to us at [email protected].

All participants participating as part of the media will receive a media kit. If you have any questions on attending RightsCon Costa Rica as press, reach out to us at [email protected]

The health of the RightsCon community, including staff and participants, is important to us. We’ve not forgotten the impact and risks posed by transmissible diseases, such as Covid-19, for participants and the communities in which we live and work, particularly for those who are at greater risk. If you’re feeling sick while at RightsCon, you can visit the medical services in our venue, where we’ll have rapid tests and resources available.  The onsite nurse can also advise of nearby hospitals and places to get a PCR test. You can read our full COVID-19 policy here. 

As we embark on our first hybrid summit, our Security Working Group (SWG), an internal committee composed of our RightsCon, SecOps, and Code of Conduct leadership, has reviewed, tested, and adapted our internal security and safety processes to ensure we remain positioned to best understand risks posed to the RightsCon community, both online and in person, and respond effectively to issues should they arise. 

Broadly, we encourage participants to undertake a risk assessment, consider the risks related to attending this event in Costa Rica, understand the conference environment, and implement measures or take necessary precautions to ensure their own safety. You can read more about our approach to safety and security in our blog post.

If you’re experiencing an issue while attending RightsCon, there’s multiple ways to get in touch:

• Code of Conduct: Need to report a conduct issue? Please reach out by email at [email protected] (PGP public key available here).
• Security Question: If you have any other concerns related to your attendance that are not covered above, you can reach out to us at [email protected] or ask at the information desk.
• Online? Use the RightsCon Platform ‘Helpdesk’: If you have an online issue or tech problem contact the Help Desk through the online chat function at any stage.
• In-person? Approach the ‘Info Desk’: This is located at the entrance of the Costa Rica Convention Center that’s open during in-person programming hours. Immediate security concerns can be directed to the emergency number linked on your credential.
• Security Question: If you have any other concerns related to your attendance that are not covered above, you can reach out to us at [email protected] or ask at the information desk. Contact +1 (657) 620 1363 for any security-related emergencies.
• Emergency Services: If appropriate, call the Costa Rica emergency services:
  • Police Emergency – 911
  • Ambulance: 911 or 128
  • Fire Service – 911 or 118

From its wildlife and rainforests to its volcanoes and tropical beaches, there is so much to see in Costa Rica! Don’t take our word for it, check out the video below from Essential Costa Rica, who has officially recognized RightsCon. 

We also recommend exploring the official Costa Rica website, for  tips on must-visit spots, fun-filled activities, and recommended itineraries. 

Remember to pack both sunblock for those sunny days and an umbrella for sudden tropical showers (RightsCon is taking place during the rainy season!).

Coming soon: pro tips on places to explore from the Access Now Costa Rica office!