In 2019, the RightsCon community gathered in the Middle East and North Africa region for the first time, in Tunis, Tunisia. As a new democracy and emerging hub for startups, Tunisia provided an important platform for regional and global conversations of critical importance. RightsCon Tunis hosted 2,797 registered participants from 122 countries and more than 750 organizations. The program was historic in size and scope, covering over 450+ sessions and piloting new formats that emphasized strategic convening (Solve My Problem) and elevated important conversations (Landmark). Read more about what our community achieved during our time in Tunis in the outcomes report below. |
Digital Security Consultant, Frontline Defenders
French Ambassador for Digital Affairs
Writer and Political Analyst
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Director of Information Security, Human Rights Watch
High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations
Professor, Techno-sociologist, Columnist
CEO and Co-Founder, Cloudflare
President, Tunisia Access to Information Authority
Director of Product Management and Civic Integrity, Facebook
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, United Nations
Executive Director, RedesAyuda
Global Head, Business and Human Rights, Verizon
Co-Founder, Digital Grassroots
World Correspondent, Buzzfeed News
Access Now would like to thank the following events for their contributions to the digital rights community.
Participants applied design-thinking approaches and tools like the business model canvas to create specific plans for human rights tech initiatives.
The Young Leaders Summit engaged and integrated young people into the solutions-mapping and decision-making processes of issues at the intersection of technology and human rights.
This event shared stories from activists and digital experts from Palestine, Kenya, Lebanon and Russia, and debated key questions at the heart of Article 19’s content moderation campaign.
JNC followed up on their successful workshop on Global Digital Justice in Bangkok in March 2019. Drawing from the building blocks that came out of the meeting, the workshop developed key categories and the framework of a Digital Justice Manifesto.
Hosted by IO Foundation, this workshop introduced TOR and OONI and explored use applications for both tools.
The Association for Progressive Communications, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, and the Columbia Global Centers | Tunis and close partners are hosting their seventh Disco-tech event in conjunction with the 2019 RightsCon Summit in Tunis.