RightsCon 2019, human rights summit takes off in Tunisia

RightsCon,  world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age and it officially kicks off from Tuesday, June 11, to Friday, June 14, 2019. The event, created by AccessNow, is an initiative that defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world through policy and advocacy.

Since 2011, RightsCon has been convened in different power centres around the world — from San Francisco to Rio de Janeiro, Manila, Brussels, and Toronto. More than an annual conference, RightsCon is a movement that connects and mobilizes a global community between events to collaborate on the most pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology.

RightsCon Tunis will be the summit’s eighth iteration, the first hosted in Africa and the Middle East. As an emerging tech centre and growing democracy, Tunisia has been a beacon of hope for others across the region and the world. The event will be taking place at Laico Hotel & Palais des Congrès in Tunis, Tunisia.

This year’s event will see a blend of interactive and participant-driven sessions fostered by multi-stakeholder representatives who will map out strategies, partnerships and encourage the rise of a community dedicated in pursuant of an open, free and secure internet for the benefit of all.

Participants will come from wide geographical and stakeholder groups including representatives from governments, private companies, technologists and civil society, together with frontline users among others. Amongst these participants is Paradigm Initiative which will be represented by 6 team members.

Some of their  sessions include ‘Developing a Digital Rights model law for Africa’, Elections and Public Discourse in Africa: Do Social Media Platforms Level the Playing Field?’, ‘Changing Practices of Internet Manipulation’, ‘Kunyamazisha: Gagging Online Free Speech in Sub-Saharan Africa’, ‘Improving Cooperation to Advance Human Rights Online’, ‘Putting Users First! The Responsibility of Tech SMEs in the Global South to Respect Human Rights’, among others.