RightsCon 2026

Update on RightsCon 2026

Following the host government’s announcement that RightsCon 2026 has been postponed, and subsequent guidance from the organizers advising against travel to Lusaka, all Internet Society and Internet Society Foundation–organized events will no longer take place as planned.

We were looking forward to engaging with participants from across the digital rights ecosystem. We remain committed to this community and to our partnership with Access Now, and will continue collaborating with partners worldwide to advance a safer, more open, and globally connected Internet.

We look forward to future opportunities to engage, advance shared goals, and strengthen our collective impact.

WhenWhereWhatWho
6 May 2026
09:00-10:00
Roundtable
Room 104
When Knowledge is Spoken: Archives Beyond TextDistributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) 
6 May 2026
10:15-11:15
Dialogue
AG03
ZAAB – Zambian Alliance for Agroecology and BiodiversityGreen Screen Coalition
6 May 2026
14:00-15:00
OnlineDisconnected in Crisis: Reframing Connectivity in Disaster Zones as a Human RightJoanna Kulesza
6 May 2026
15:15-16:15
Lightning Talk
Banquet 2
Digital surveillance & authoritarian powers

Off the Map: GPS/GNSS Interference’s Affect on Aid Delivery
Interplanetary Networking SIG
6 May 2026
16:30-17:30
Dialogue
Room 5
Intimate to whom? Global South perspectives on image-based abuseChayn
6 May 2026
21:30-22:30
OnlineDriving sustainable change: ISOC Haiti’s Community Network Model in Rivière Salée, BaradèresInternet Society Haiti Chapter
7 May 2026
09:00-10:00
Roundtable
A112
Trump-proofing the US regulatory state to protect free speechCenter for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
7 May 2026
11:30-12:30
Dialogue
Room AG01
Designing responsible AI infrastructure in the Global South: who really pays the price?Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)
7 May 2026
11:30-12:30
Workshop
Room 3
Whose Knowledge Counts? Fighting Access Gaps on Wikipedia in AfricaWhose Knowledge
7 May 2026
11:30-12:30
Roundtable
Room A104
Weaving a wiser Web: centering marginalized knowledge in digital spacesWhose Knowledge
7 May 2026
12:45-13:45
Roundtable
Room 103
Benchmarking Beyond Borders: Making AI Testing Truly GlobalCenter for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
7 May 2026
12:45-13:45
Workshop
Room 1
SOLE Voltaje: a tool to connect the unconnected to create other possible internetsFUNDACIÓN SOLE COLOMBIA
7 May 2026
12:45-13:45
Workshop
Room 2
Smart, Green, and Sustainable Connectivity: Leveraging Renewable Technologies and LEO Satellites for Universal Internet InclusionInternet Society Zimbabwe/Solusi University
7 May 2026
14:00-15:00
OnlineTools for the future: grounding global carbon data in local knowledgesGreen Screen Coalition
7 May 2026
15:15-16:15
Dialogue
Room 5
Local voices, Global answers – how to respond to TFGBV with knowledge from the larger worldChayn
7 May 2026
15:15-16:15
Dialogue
AG04
Surveillance or security? Unpacking state repression: exploring methods, challenges, and pathways forwardWOUGNET
7 May 2026
15:15-16:15
Lightning Talk
Banquet 2
Digital Autonomy, inclusion and sovereigntyInternet Society Zambia Chapter
7 May 2026
21:30-22:30
OnlineResisting surveillance union busting: global strategies for collective worker powerEPIC
8 May 2026
10:15-11:15
Dialogue
Room 5
Shaping Digital Futures: Capacity Building for Community-Led Digital InitiativesRhizomatica
Date and Time

Tuesday 05 May 2026 –

Friday 08 May 2026

Location

Lusaka, Zambia and Online