In March of 2014, more than 700 attendees from more than 65 countries and 375 institutions gathered in San Francisco for the third RightsCon event.
Those who attended know how incredible those three days were: We developed strategies and partnerships, highlighted corporate and government leaders and laggards, launched some incredible new apps, demoed awesome new tech, and hosted more parallel meetings than a summit in Geneva.
Even many of you who didn’t attend found ways to participate, by viewing the livestream, participating in remotely accessible sessions, or catching up later via YouTube.
RightsCon Silicon Valley (RCSV) led to real outcomes, and many of the conversations we had in the sessions and hallways at Mission Bay Conference Center are still impacting our work today.
Nevertheless, San Francisco is so last year. Southeast Asia is what’s hot right now.
It’s where 600 million people are getting online, and a full 40% of the world’s internet users reside – and where we see businesses and activists using emerging technologies to develop economies and champion human rights, while simultaneously facing censorship, surveillance, and attacks on basic freedoms.
That’s why we’re holding RightsCon in Southeast Asia (Manila) this 24-25 March 2015 with EngageMedia and local partners Foundation for Media Alternatives. We’re counting on you to make this conference just as awesome and amazing as the last. RCSV’s program was rich and substantive because it was developed by the experts: you.
So what do you want to do at RightsCon Southeast Asia (RCSEA)? Do you want to help build a global network neutrality coalition? Talk shop with fellow frontline defenders about the best way to keep activists safe using mesh networks? Run a demo on your new encryption tool? Discuss policy with corporate decision-makers about real-world impacts of their terms of use?
You can do that.
In the next month, we’ll be accepting proposals for the RCSEA program. We have a distinct style at our conferences: We encourage small, participatory sessions, and want you to think outside the panel/audience format. All our attendees are experts, and you can take advantage of that fact.
Head here to find out more about the process and timeline. Ready to submit a proposal? Get typing. Need to learn more about financial support? Read our guidelines.
Proposals are due November 15th, and we’ll announce the week of January 12th.
One final note: We’re big believers of diversity of every kind. We encourage you to submit proposals that are diverse in gender and regional representation, and are multistakeholder in nature. If you need recommendations, we’re more than happy to help.
See you in Manila!