Today we released the public session list for RightsCon Online, the ninth iteration of our summit and the first-ever to be hosted entirely online. The session list is your first look at what to expect from RightsCon Online – 250+ sessions, supporting perspectives from 106 countries, and set to take place across all time zones and regions of the world.
In many ways, RightsCon Online is a turning point in our approach to convening. The curation of our public program required constant iteration and questioning, as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic rippled across different countries and contexts. How would we capture the magnitude of the human rights issues that drive our community to action in 2020? How would we provide an online platform that would allow people to connect, collaborate, and look ahead to the next year and the next decade?
In searching for answers, we returned to the core of our mission: providing a platform to strengthen the work of a community of activists, policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and researchers who are defending and extending human rights in the digital age.
Creating an online program in a moment of transition
In 2020, we received a record-breaking 1330 proposals through our Call for Proposals. By the time we announced the postponement of RightsCon Costa Rica in March, we had nearly completed our program review and session selection process for an in-person summit experience.
When we decided to pivot to an online summit, we knew that the Call for Proposals would form the foundation for our programmatic approach. We reopened our review for a second round, and revised our session selections based on the
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As the RightsCon community has grown, upholding its diversity and representation has remained our highest priority. Involving a wide range of regions, gender identities, and perspectives is essential for facilitating and building a shared agenda for our human rights in the digital age.
Every year, we’ve worked toward this goal with a few different initiatives, including through an inclusive ticket discount policy, by offering travel support funding to session organizers and speakers, and facilitating often burdensome visa application processes.
Transitioning RightsCon online this month offers an unparalleled opportunity to expand representation – it's one of the reasons we're offering free registration – but it also requires participants have access to a quality internet connection to meaningfully engage.
For RightsCon Online, we're launching a new Connectivity Fund to provide direct financial support for participants to connect and engage.
Session organizers, speakers, and participants can apply for three levels of funding support ($50 USD, $100 USD, or $150 USD), which they can use for:
- Direct connecting: Purchasing data top-ups or contributing to the cost of internet use;
- Support connecting: Travel to internet cafes or community centers to access computers;
- Secure connecting: Supplementing secure participation, by purchasing privacy screens or VPNs;
- Other support: Cost of childcare or other services enabling active engagement.
How it works
The Connectivity Fund is application-based and, as always, we will make funding decisions with a focus on amplifying the participation of underrepresented communities. In recognition that there is no one-size-fits-all model for supporting connectivit
Registration is now open for RightsCon Online (July 27-31, 2020), the ninth edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, and the first to take place entirely online.
The summit will be held across five days from Monday July 27, 2020 to Friday July 31, 2020, featuring a program with 200+ sessions and 8+ tracks, spanning multiple time zones, with both live and asynchronous content, so you'll be able to join from wherever you are.
When we announced we were bringing RightsCon Online, we emphasized the importance of convening – particularly in this moment – as a tool for connecting, strategizing, learning, and moving forward a collective agenda for human rights. We reaffirmed our commitment to providing a platform for a community of experts that is grounded in the same guiding principles of diversity and inclusion that inform our usual ticket discount policy. This year, in light of a shortened registration window and the challenges many in our community are navigating, we've opted to waive registration fees for RightsCon Online.
Hosting RightsCon Online to the same standard and quality as an in-person summit does however require significant investment. For this reason, at the end of the registration process, we’ll invite those with the means to contribute – representatives of the private sector or those who have event or travel-specific budgets, for example – to consider supporting the cost of the event and their participation.
Registration is availabl
Access Now is excited to announce that, for the first time, RightsCon will take place entirely online. From Monday, July 27 to Friday, July 31, 2020, we invite you to sign up, log in, and join us for the ninth edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age.
2020 is fast becoming the year defining the decade ahead. We are facing a demanding set of challenges and if recent events have taught us anything, it’s this: we are only as strong as the communities we build around us. From the COVID-19 pandemic to #BlackLivesMatter, from the internet shutdowns in Jammu and Kashmir to the global climate crisis and the protests in Hong Kong, the movement for human rights requires all of us, together.
RightsCon Online reflects this revolutionary spirit. A global iteration of our Summit Series, it will provide a critical platform for what is required in this moment: thousands of experts connecting, coordinating, and advancing a shared agenda for the future. Over the course of five days, our community-sourced program will convene technologists, business leaders, activists, policymakers, journalists, and academics who are committed to a vision of justice, equity, and structural change. And we want you to be a part of it.
The extraordinary moment we are living through reminds us why we do this work and why convening matters. When we asked our community what was needed most in this time, the responses reaffirmed the value of RightsCon as a space to connect, strategize, and learn from others. We heard from more than 700 individuals across 100 countries and 10 sectors – and 90 percent told us that if we brought RightsCon online this year, they would make that leap with us. As we build toward RightsCon Online, every decision we’ve made, every step we’ve taken, has come back to that s
Last month, we put a call out to our network asking for support in shaping how we’re bringing RightsCon Online. The results were an inspiring demonstration of the need for connecting our community this year and we want to share them with you.
We received over 700 responses from 100 countries across 10 sectors. The below infographics capture the survey highlights, sharing an overview of the responses and providing insight into the perspectives received from our session proposers.
When breaking down the demographics of survey contributors, we were excited to see representation that mirrored the participation we’ve had during previous years of RightsCon. The enthusiasm for RightsCon Online was encouraging, too: 90% of respondents were either likely or very likely to participate in a virtual version of our summit.
For us, it was telling that the majority of responses indicated a desire to see the in-person objectives of RightsCon – strategizing, connecting, and learning – come alive online.
Another compelling insight is what issue areas are mo
In recognition that we are collectively living through stressful and uncertain times due to COVID-19, we've compiled a list of resources from our community to help you navigate these strange waters. Here is the original Twitter thread.
Update October 27, 2020: Please note that we are no longer updating this article.
Recursos en español
Resources for digital security and resilience
Many of you are now working from home and the Tor Project has some great tips on ensuring your digital security while working remotely in times of COVID-19.
Similarly, Equality Labs has a great article covering digital resilience and how to transition to working from home.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a guide to be aware of the risks associated with various popular online tools so you can make an informed choice for what is good for you and your org.
You can also contact Access Now’s 24/7 Digital Security Helpline who can help you improve your digital security practices, or provide emergency assistance if you're already under attack. This service is available in nine languages.
Front Line Defenders put together
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Es con un gran pesar que anunciamos nuestra decisión de posponer RightsCon Costa Rica hasta el 2021.
La salud y la seguridad de la comunidad que celebramos en RightsCon ha sido y continúa siendo nuestra máxima prioridad. Dado la rápida expansión y el impacto de la pandemia del coronavirus (COVID-19), creemos que posponer el evento de este año es la única ruta responsable y práctica a seguir.
Si bien es cierto no podremos convocarnos físicamente este año, nuestros esfuerzos para 2020 no terminarán aquí. Cuando decidimos traer RightsCon a Costa Rica, fue en reconocimiento del importante trabajo que se realiza en la región y la oportunidad de fortalecer conexiones entre los movimientos latinoamericanos y globales. A la fecha, el compromiso de nuestra comunidad alrededor del mundo ha sido extraordinario y continuaremos profundizando estos lazos en el próximo año mientras trabajamos en identificar posibles fechas para 2021.
También entendemos ahora, más que nunca, la importancia de encontrar vías alternativas para conectar con la comunidad de RightsCon y avanzar en nuestro trabajo colectivo sobre los derechos humanos en la era digital. Nos comprometemos a trabajar con cada uno de ustedes para explorar formas en las que podamos continuar apoyando, convocando y coordinando en línea en los próximos meses.
Muchos de ustedes tendrán preguntas logísticas, incluidas aquellas relacionadas al reembolso de sus boletos o sus propuestas de sesiones. Nuestro equipo estará en contacto en breve con orientación sobre los próximos pasos y estará disponible para responder cualquier pregunta que puede surgir durante este tiempo.
Como siempre, contáctenos en [email protected]
Leer en español
It is with a heavy heart that we announce our decision to postpone RightsCon Costa Rica until 2021.
The health and safety of RightsCon participants, staff, partners, and their communities has been and continues to be our number one priority. Given the rapidly expanding scale and impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we believe postponing this year’s event is the only responsible and practical path forward.
While we will be unable to convene physically this year, please know that our efforts for 2020 will not end here. When we decided to bring RightsCon to Costa Rica, it was in recognition of the important work being done in the region and the opportunity to strengthen connections between Latin American and global movements. To date, engagement from our community around the world has been nothing short of extraordinary and we will continue to deepen these ties in the year ahead as we work to identify potential dates for 2021.
We also understand now, more than ever, the importance of finding alternative avenues to connect the RightsCon community and advance our collective work on human rights in the digital age. We’re committed to working alongside each of you in exploring ways we can continue to support, convene, and coordinate online in the months to come.
Please refer to our RightsCon Costa Rica Postponement Frequently Asked Questions for the latest up-to-date information.
As always, you can reach out to us at rightscon@accessno
Today, on International Women’s Day, we recognize the crucial impact and leadership of women, non-binary, and gender-diverse people within the RightsCon community, and the human rights and technology space, more broadly.
As the organizers of RightsCon, a summit that addresses global issues, we believe participants should embody the diverse range of experiences and perspectives present in the world. In shaping the agenda on human rights in the digital age, diverse participation, particularly with respect to gender, is critical for building a representative and rights-respecting future.
We recognize our responsibility to facilitate a convening space that is safe and representative of everybody. We ensure that diversity and inclusion form the guiding principles of our program development and planning. This is why we ensure that participants have the option to self-identify their gender, conduct a diversity audit of every session, and work with organizers to suggest voices they may be missing in their sessions.
The history of gender participation at RightsCon
Since 2016, we’ve seen near perfect gender parity among participants and session organizers. Judging by the numbers, RightsCon is definitely women-led – a fact that has shaped the development and impact of our convening for the better.
During RightsCon Manila in 2015, 49% of speakers identified as women. The year after, we started tracking and publicly reporting the demographics of our participants during RightsCon Silicon Valley in 2016, where 45% of participants were women. RightsCon Brussels in 2017 saw 45.4% women participation.
At RightsCon Toronto, we started to look at not just the demographics of participants but also of session organizers. What we found was exciting: 48.8% of participants were female identified, and of those, 52% were session organizers. This meant that women were (and are) leading the programmatic aspect of RightsCon. This trend continued at R
Sabemos que muchas personas están preocupadas por los nuevos avances relativos al brote de coronavirus (COVID-19) y el impacto de este en sus viajes, otros eventos sobre derechos humanos, y su participación en RightsCon Costa Rica.
La seguridad de la comunidad que celebramos en RightsCon es nuestra máxima prioridad, y el equipo de Access Now está tomando seriamente la responsabilidad de prepararse para el impacto que el COVID-19 podrá tener en nuestra cumbre. Tenemos en cuenta que el panorama mundial está cambiando rápidamente y queremos que conozcan nuestro enfoque para ayudar a aquellos que están sopesando las consecuencias de este brote.
A tres meses de RightsCon Costa Rica, programado a realizarse del 9 al 12 de junio de 2020, es difícil anticipar qué efectos tendrá el COVID-19 en nuestro evento.
Por el momento, continuamos con nuestra planificación de RightsCon Costa Rica, mientras seguimos de cerca las novedades sobre el brote y la respuesta internacional para determinar a finales de marzo cuál es el mejor camino.
A continuación, describimos los pasos que tomaremos este mes:
