The 11th edition of RightsCon comes to a close today, and we have a lot to celebrate: a record-breaking 9,329 registered participants joined us for 560 sessions, we welcomed our first head of government, and introduced a brand new space for our community with the RightsCon Studio.The first event in our second decade of convening has sent a strong message: our community’s work is more important, necessary, and powerful than it has ever been.
Over the course of our five days together, we talked, listened, workshopped, and consulted, and the small selection of tangible outcomes below are a testament to why we come together:
Starting tomorrow (June 6), over 9,000 participants from 162 countries will engage in our largest program to date in the 11th edition of RightsCon. Across five days, we will host over 560 sessions that cut across 18 program tracks and eight intersectional themes from indigenous rights to health and gender justice.Registration ahead of the summit is an important step in our approach to convening safe, productive, and inclusive spaces at RightsCon. If you missed the registration deadline or are not able to participate in the full week of programming, here are ways for you to engage with us.There are many options available for you to view recordings of sessions, engage with members of the RightsCon community on socials, share resources, and tap into the momentum of the summit.
Throughout RightsCon, we will be updating our YouTube channel daily with a selection of fireside chats, musical performances, and studio interviews in conversation with global leaders from across sectors, including:
The RightsCon platform is now officially open! Registered participants can login, explore, and build their personalized program schedules for the 11th edition of our Summit Series, taking place from Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10.
The RightsCon platform is where you will view the program schedule, join sessions, meet other participants, attend private meetings, and watch performances. With a brand new RightsCon Studio and more than 560 sessions to participate in, be sure to set yourself up for the best possible experience by reading our guide (full of participant tips and resources), and making sure to:
Bookmark the platform, build your profile, and set your timezone;
Explore the full program, which is navigable by format, track, intersecting theme, or language;
Add to your personal schedule by marking which sessions you’re interested in attending;
Make plans to connect with others by checking out the full participant and speaker lists
The 11th edition of RightsCon is in two weeks (June 6-10, 2022) and we’re taking a moment to provide an update and reminder of the core policies, principles, and processes that help keep the summit a safe, productive, and inclusive space.As with past years, the core principles and policies governing RightsCon, such as our Code of Conduct and our Participation & Privacy Policy, remain in place. By registering, participants agree to read through and abide by these policies.readmore
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 Ya
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, o
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
