RightsCon Continues: What’s next for 2026
July 7, 2026 • Event info • 7 min read
RightsCon Continues: What’s next for 2026
July 7, 2026 • Event Info • 7 min read
RightsCon team
This year, more than 5,000 members of the global digital rights community were supposed to meet in Zambia and online to tackle the most pressing issues shaping technology and human rights today. But that didn’t happen.
We were devastated when RightsCon 2026 was effectively cancelled by the government of Zambia. We know the significance of the summit and the role it plays in bringing together the people, organizations, and ideas that help shape a freer, more inclusive, and connected digital future. We also know that the work of our community does not pause simply because the summit could not take place. Our community needs spaces to connect, strategize, and move forward now.
Today, we’re excited to share RightsCon Continues.
RightsCon Continues is a series of initiatives that will take place throughout the remainder of 2026. After reviewing more than 1,400 community survey responses, speaking with partners and stakeholders, and carefully considering our operational and financial realities, one thing became clear: waiting until next year is not an option.
The first initiative is the RightsCon Continues Summit, a 24-hour global online event that will bring together the RightsCon community through our Summit Platform.
This summit takes a different structural approach than our usual RightsCon experience. Rather than recreating our annual summit, it will offer a more focused program built around a common theme of resilience, adaptation, and movement building. Through dialogues, workshops, roundtables, fireside chats and meetups, our multistakeholder community will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and explore how to respond to an increasingly complex digital rights landscape.
Whether you work in a small or large civil society organization, a private sector company, academia, a government or intergovernmental organization, foundation or media, the RightsCon Continues Summit is the space to expand your network, get and give feedback, take action, and reflect on the current state of the digital rights ecosystem and its ability to adapt and keep moving forward.
Mark your calendars: the RightsCon Continues Summit will take place on September 22, 2026.
Our team is currently reviewing the original RightsCon 2026 schedule, curating a compact program that reflects our focused, thematic approach and the diversity of our global, multistakeholder community. Please note that, due to the reduced scope and scale of the RightsCon Continues Summit, not all RightsCon 2026 sessions will be able to transition to this event. We will reach out directly to the session organizers whose sessions are selected by the end of July. If you have any questions in the meantime, please send us a note via [email protected].
We also want to acknowledge the incredible community that has stood firmly alongside us over the past few months. It has been deeply moving to witness the overwhelming outpouring of support from participants, session organizers, partners, and the digital rights community at large. We are also deeply grateful to our RightsCon 2026 sponsors for their continued support, solidarity, and understanding during this unprecedented time. In particular, we would like to thank Internet Society (ISOC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for their direct support of the RightsCon Continues initiatives.
The RightsCon Continues Summit is only the beginning. Our team is developing additional opportunities for the community to engage through the remainder of 2026, including official RightsCon presence at partner events, support for community members to participate in those convenings, and other initiatives aimed to strengthen our digital rights ecosystem.
We’ll share more information about the RightsCon Continues Summit, including session criteria, timeline, and scope in the coming weeks. Subscribe to the RightsCon Rundown to be the first to hear what’s next.
The threat to digital rights continues. The work of our community continues. And so does RightsCon.
Read the latest from RightsCon
This year, more than 5,000 members of the global digital rights community were supposed to meet in Zambia and online to tackle the most pressing issues shaping technology and human rights today. But that didn’t happen.
We were devastated when RightsCon 2026 was effectively cancelled by the government of Zambia. We know the significance of the summit and the role it plays in bringing together the people, organizations, and ideas that help shape a freer, more inclusive, and connected digital future. We also know that the work of our community does not pause simply because the summit could not take place. Our community needs spaces to connect, strategize, and move forward now.
Today, we’re excited to share RightsCon Continues.
RightsCon Continues is a series of initiatives that will take place throughout the remainder of 2026. After reviewing more than 1,400 community survey responses, speaking with partners and stakeholders, and carefully considering our operational and financial realities, one thing became clear: waiting until next year is not an option.
The first initiative is the RightsCon Continues Summit, a 24-hour global online event that will bring together the RightsCon community through our Summit Platform.
This summit takes a different structural approach than our usual RightsCon experience. Rather than recreating our annual summit, it will offer a more focused program built around a common theme of resilience, adaptation, and movement building. Through dialogues, workshops, roundtables, fireside chats and meetups, our multistakeholder community will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and explore how to respond to an increasingly complex digital rights landscape.
Whether you work in a small or large civil society organization, a private sector company, academia, a government or intergovernmental organization, foundation or media, the RightsCon Continues Summit is the space to expand your network, get and give feedback, take action, and reflect on the current state of the digital rights ecosystem and its ability to adapt and keep moving forward.
Mark your calendars: the RightsCon Continues Summit will take place on September 22, 2026.
Our team is currently reviewing the original RightsCon 2026 schedule, curating a compact program that reflects our focused, thematic approach and the diversity of our global, multistakeholder community. Please note that, due to the reduced scope and scale of the RightsCon Continues Summit, not all RightsCon 2026 sessions will be able to transition to this event. We will reach out directly to the session organizers whose sessions are selected by the end of July. If you have any questions in the meantime, please send us a note via [email protected].
We also want to acknowledge the incredible community that has stood firmly alongside us over the past few months. It has been deeply moving to witness the overwhelming outpouring of support from participants, session organizers, partners, and the digital rights community at large. We are also deeply grateful to our RightsCon 2026 sponsors for their continued support, solidarity, and understanding during this unprecedented time. In particular, we would like to thank Internet Society (ISOC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for their direct support of the RightsCon Continues initiatives.
The RightsCon Continues Summit is only the beginning. Our team is developing additional opportunities for the community to engage through the remainder of 2026, including official RightsCon presence at partner events, support for community members to participate in those convenings, and other initiatives aimed to strengthen our digital rights ecosystem.
We’ll share more information about the RightsCon Continues Summit, including session criteria, timeline, and scope in the coming weeks. Subscribe to the RightsCon Rundown to be the first to hear what’s next.
The threat to digital rights continues. The work of our community continues. And so does RightsCon.