September 29 2024 Agenda
From TCU Wiki
Plenary
11:30 to 13:00 Networking Hour
It's the last day! Come say goodbye to new and old friends, and have lunch at the many different vendors at the venue! This is also a great day to exchange contact information, solidify collaborations, and more!
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Self-Organized Socials |
| Check out the list of self-organized Socials taking place at off-site (but close by) locations, ranging from meetups to numerous activities. https://pad.riseup.net/p/GG-Socials-2024 | |
| A Sample of Today's Socials: Global Coalition for Tech Justice Meetup (convened by Digital Action) |
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CirclesYou can find detailed Circle descriptions the end of this page. You can also organize your own self-organized Circle or Booth in the empty spaces (marked SOC TBD) by following these instructions. | ||
| Circle 1 | Building The Asia Digital Rights Community | Incident Response Working Group | Digital Security Providers in Eastern Europe: New Solutions to Familiar Challenges? |
| Circle 2 | World-wide Autonomous Comunication Over HF Band | Countering digital authoritarianism and online repression in Central Asia | Return of the Zines: A Hands-on Approach to Censorship Circumvention |
| Circle 3 | Self-Organized Circle to be determined (SOC TBD) | (SOC TBD) | (SOC TBD) |
| Circle 4 | (SOC TBD) | (SOC TBD) | (SOC TBD) |
| Circle 5 | (SOC TBD) | (SOC TBD) | Maximizing Engagement in your Digital Literacy Workshop through Gameplay |
| Circle 6 | Is it Time to Create Certification for Digital Security Practitioners? | Securing the Digital Frontline: Threat Analysis for Human Rights Defenders in Thailand and Vietnam | The Costs of Protection: The Global Landscape for Data Privacy and Security Tools |
| Circle 7 | GenAI & LLMs in COMO & TS: Where Do Human Rights and Communities Fit in Today’s Hottest Acronyms? | How to Stop Promising/Doing Audits and Start Promising/Doing What is Actually Needed | Safeguarding NGOs and Digital Rights Organizations: Tackling Insider Threats and Beyond |
| Circle 8 | Digital Iran Reloaded: Gamers’ Circumvention Tactics in the IRI | CTRL + ALT + DEL: Learnings on Movement Building from the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assemblies | Building a Digital Rights Movement Among the Francophone Community |
| Circle 9 | Activate the Network: Collective Training Against Internet Shutdowns | Bridging the Gaps Between Activists and Hackers: How To Talk With Each Other About Security | Supporting Asian HRDs in the Frontline: How We Shape the Local Supporting System and Model |
| Circle 10 | What Are Your Operations and Admin Challenges? | Growing Support for FOSS Sustainability | Managers Meetup |
| Tor Project & Tails Village (Booth 9) | Leveraging Weblate and automated checks for higher quality localization. | Tor Browser, Tails, and You | |
| Calyx Institute Village (Booth 12) |
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| Clean Insights Tea House (Booth 19) |
Clean Insights Tea Time | ButterBox: Life Without the Internet Made Smoother | Clean Insights Tea Time |
| SplinterCon Village (Booth 3) |
Echoes of Isolation: Gathering First-Hand Accounts from Fragmented Networks | Bridging the Void: Deploying Satellite Solutions for Isolated Communities | The Real ESCAPE GAME: 1 Hour to Break Out of the Splinternet! |
| APC Village (Booth 21) |
Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in Open Source Projects | Safety for Voices: South-South Strategies for WHRDs in Digital Spaces | |
| Outline Village (Booth 79) |
Knowledge sharing across circumvention tool providers and Outline SDK users around the world | ||
| WANA Café (Booth 81) |
The MENA Alliance for Digital Rights | ||
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BoothsEach booth has a number, which can be found on top, center above a booth's "window". You can find detailed Booths & Villages descriptions at the bottom of this page. | ||||
| Location | |||||
| Booth 1 | |||||
| Booth 2 | Safe Sisters Fellowship Program | Safe Sisters | OONI Run v2 Demo | Open Observatory of Network Interference | |
| Booth 3 | SplinterCon by eQualitie Village | eQualitie | SplinterCon by eQualitie Village | eQualitie | |
| Booth 4a | Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline | Access Now | Numun Fund | Numun Fund | |
| Booth 4b | Conexión Segura y Libre | Conexión Segura y Libre | Horizontal Booth: Tools for your digital security | Horizontal | |
| Booth 5 | Join the Localization Lab Community! | Localization Lab | |||
| Booth 6 | Vietnam Rise: Navigating in hostile environments | Vietnam Rise | Emergency Assistance to Frontline Activists | Emergency Assistance Program | Freedom House | |
| Booth 7 | Usability and Accessibility Clinic | Accessibility Lab
UXD Lab Ura Design Decent Design |
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| Booth 8 | Digital First Aid Kit | CiviCERT | Holistic VPN Stack Exploitation: Risks & Threats Across VPN Layers | Breakpointing Bad / OTF ICFP Fellow | |
| Booth 9 | Tor Project and Tails Village | The Tor Project and Tails | Tor Project and Tails Village | The Tor Project and Tails | |
| Booth 10 | Open Technology Fund | Open Technology Fund | Human Rights @ Meta | Meta | |
| Booth 11 | Journalism for the Future / network booth | supernova.is | EFF | The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) | |
| Booth 12 | Calyx Institute Village | Calyx Institute | Calyx Institute Village | Calyx Institute | |
| Booth 13 | HURIDOCS (Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems) | HURIDOCS | Quad9 | Quad9 | |
| Booth 14 | GlobaLeaks | GlobaLeaks | Digital Defenders Partnership | Digital Defenders Partnership | |
| Booth 15 | FACTER: Revolutionizing Digital Investigation for Newsrooms to Counter Mis/Dis/Mal Information | Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) | Digital Rights Litigation in West Africa | Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative | |
| Booth 16 | |||||
| Booth 17 | Omidyar Network’s Digital Trust and Safety Strategy | Omidyar Network | Amnesty Tech | Amnesty International (Tech Programme) | |
| Booth 18 | |||||
| Booth 19 | Clean Insights Tea House | Guardian Project | Clean Insights Tea House | Guardian Project | |
| Booth 21 | APC Village | Association for Progressive Communications | APC Village | Association for Progressive Communications | |
| Booth 22 | International and regional projects looking at the intersection of digital rights and freedom of expression | Article19 | International and regional projects looking at the intersection of digital rights and freedom of expression | Article19 | |
| Booth 79 | Outline Village | Outline | Outline Village | Outline | |
| Booth 80 | Greenhost | Greenhost | Freedom of the Press Foundation | Freedom of the Press Foundation | |
| Booth 81 | WANA Café | SMEX | WANA Café | SMEX | |
| Booth 82 | The Palestine Booth | collective | |||
| Booth 83 | Digital Justice House | Team CommUNITY | Digital Justice House | Team CommUNITY | |
Evening Celebration
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DJ Talie
Time: 18:00 Natalie (DJ Talie) brings a fresh mix of Afrobeats, Amapiano and AfroHouse in her set, creating a unique blend of rhythms and grooves bringing great vibes and buzz on the dancefloor all night. |
Partners
Equity Fund Sponsors
Circle Descriptions
| Activate the network: Collective training against Internet shutdowns | We will explore how capacity building can empower activists and organizations to form effective coalitions in the fight against internet shutdowns. Join us to discuss strategies, share experiences, and debate the best approaches to promote resilience and coordinated action in contexts of digital censorship. This session aims to be a catalyst for inter-organizational collaboration, strengthening a global network united by the defense of online freedom. |
| Africa Regional Meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in the African region. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse African projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the Africa digital rights community. |
| Amplifying research on digital rights through popular culture | How can research and digital rights organizations do more to democratize access to information about the future of digital rights? Researchers, technologists, journalists, activists, and creatives are invited to explore together the creative use of media to amplify information about privacy, safety, and the threats of the future. This includes discussing how we can cut through cynicism and apathy about digital autonomy, and how to use popular culture, including film, music, and social media, to put key safety and access information in front of more people. |
| Asia Regional Meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in the Asia region. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse Asian projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the Asia digital rights community. |
| Bridging the gaps between activists and hackers: How to talk with each other about security | There is a lot of powerful, open security-related technology that remains known and used only to specialists and hackers - technology that could be used by journalists, activists and other persons with high security needs. However, there are many barriers between activist and hacker spaces, many of which are related to communication problems and lack of awareness of people's needs. As a hacker and UX developer, the facilitator will help lead the exchange of ideas and issues between these two communities. |
| Bridging the void: Deploying satellite solutions for isolated communities | Explore the potential of satellite technology to bridge the gaps in isolated digital spaces. This circle will cover the technical, logistical, and regulatory landscapes of satellite deployment, offering a practical guide to implementing these solutions in censored and restricted environments. |
| Building a digital rights movement among the Francophone community | During the very first Franchophone monthly meetup hosted by Team CommUNITY, facilitators identified the need to better coordinate efforts across French-speaking countries in Africa and the Middle East to identify patterns of digital threats. Many long-standing will meet in-person for the first time during this circle. However, other GG participants are invited to help continue building community-driven knowledge and strategize advocacy campaigns within the French-speaking digital rights community. |
| Building a new privacy-preserving and decentralized messenger | Join the Phoenix R&D team to discuss what the future of secure messaging might look like and what your needs are for messaging applications.Phoenix R&D is currently building a new generation of open-source messenger combining privacy, security, and decentralization. It is based on a new standard for end-to-end encryption they co-authored (Messaging Layer Security protocol https://blog.phnx.im/rfc-9420-mls/) and a tech stack they have been developing. |
| Building the Asia digital rights community | This circle is a networking-cum-strategizing space for digital rights defenders from Asia. It will be facilitated to establish cross-country networks and enable regional collaborations. In addition, participants will co-design strategies to effectively sustain the momentum in the Asia digital rights community; create more welcoming and engaging spaces; and identify ways in which more people can participate and be helped in their digital rights work in the region. |
| ButterBox: Life without the internet made smoother | Facilitators: Guardian Project, Digital Society of Africa, ColnodoThe ButterBox serves as a hotspot and ecosystem, offering curated apps, local encrypted chat, and the ability to share resources via USB. This year it has been deployed in various regions. Join this session to learn about various ButterBox use cases, see a demo demonstrating its functionality, and hear from field agents who implemented the ButterBox in diverse scenarios. This includes digital security trainings, sharing entertainment within apartment buildings, supporting indigenous offline communities, and preparing for internet shutdowns. There will also be time to brainstorm the future of Butter, where you can provide feedback on what you would like to see in the future. |
| Challenges in data-driven journalism | Engage in a collaborative session that delves into the challenges and opportunities in data-driven journalism. Share experiences, tools, and techniques that aid journalists in uncovering and narrating impactful stories through data. |
| Clean Insights Tea Time | Join the Guardian Project team twice a day to delight in delicious ethical and organic Insightful Tea while chatting about ways in which your work can detox from harmful tracking and data collection practices. |
| Co-leadership for sustainable organizations | Co-leadership is an innovative model to enable sustainability, allowing for alternatives to single-leadership, distributing power and decision making within organizations. Learn about how this approach helps center trust, mutual care, and collaboration, while uplifting the differences in lived experiences. In addition, why its critical to fostering organizational resilience and wellbeing. The Engine Room will also share their experience implementing this co-leadership model, and the experience of other participant's reflections on their journey towards co-leadership models. Participants will also discuss how this model can impact equity, collaboration, wellbeing, funder relations, remote work, decision-making, and strategy setting. Space will also be provided to surface skills, knowledge, practices to be cultivated, and how we can collectively support each other. |
| Community Networks Circle | This circle brings together people working on building community internet infrastructure, and folks interested in learning and discussing the synergies between digital rights and community networks. It focuses on mapping out points of collaboration while addressing contextual digital rights needs towards advancing technology rights with local communities. |
| Countering digital authoritarianism and online repression in Central Asia | In Central Asia, digital rights are facing a significant decline as governments introduce restrictive laws targeting independent media, journalists, bloggers and anti-corruption reporters. Online freedom is increasingly being curtailed by surveillance and privacy crackdowns. The circle brings together leading media lawyers and human rights activists from the region to address these pressing issues. |
| CTRL + ALT + DEL: Learnings on movement building from the digital rights Asia-Pacific assemblies | What comes next after two Digital Rights Asia-Pacific (DRAPAC) Assemblies in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Taipei, Taiwan? This Circle is open to anyone who wants to discuss how the digital rights movement in the Asia-Pacific can continue to: 1 Empower peoples across Asia-Pacific to regain control of our civic spaces, fundamental rights, social platforms, and digital technology from the dominance of big tech and interference by the state. 2. Platform innovative alternatives in approaching and strategizing human rights advocacy in Asia-Pacific by centering local grassroots communities and strengthening networks across borders.3. Shift our thinking and culture towards more open, inclusive, and participatory decision-making processes and governance structures within the regional digital rights movements. |
| Current blocking trends, how states in different countries do it | Participants will discuss current trends in the field of government blocking and censorship on the Internet. Together they will examine the methods used by governments to control and restrict access to information online, as well as discuss the challenges facing users and technology companies. Topics for discussion:1. Current trends in government blocking: analysis of recent events and changes in censorship policies in various countries.2. Methods of implementing censorship: studying the technologies and methods used by states to block access to certain resources and services on the Internet.3. Impact on Freedom of Information: The implications of government censorship for freedom of speech, human rights, and the development of the Internet community.4. Development prospects: the search for new approaches to bypassing blocking and protecting user privacy, as well as the role of technology companies in this process. |
| Design sprint for everyone: Simple steps in building bite-size digital security tip cards | If you wonder how to create engaging and clear digital security tips and how-tos that you can share easily with people online? The Human Rights Centered Design community invites you to this hands-on workshop to take simple steps and tools to build visually appealing info cards, infographics, and presentations to spice up your conversations with diverse communities and add fun to knowledge sharing. You will take away some design tricks and pros and cons for aiding tools, as well as a new communication toolkit by Superbloom to streamline your creative process. Organizers: The Human Rights Centered Design Community, The Calyx Institute, SuperBloom |
| Developing robust signalling channel | Participants will explore strategies around new signalling channels that might be able to help censored users get essential information to make anti-censorship connections. Users in highly censored regions face difficulty gaining access to anti-censorship tools given that they are prime targets of blocking by censors. A signalling channel is a highly available (i.e., difficult for censors to block), method of communication, typically low-bandwidth, that aims to provide users access to more robust anti-censorship tools. In most cases, a user makes a request to a signalling channel and gets a response that includes secret keys and/or addresses of proxies or bridges for users to make a censorship-resistant connection. Despite the existence of many censorship-resistant tools, options for signalling channels are limited. With many cloud providers opting to discontinue support for domain fronting. |
| Developing stories and talking points to support fundraising | Storytelling, explaining your work succinctly, and differentiating your program from others are all critical to fundraising successfully. In this circle, participants will go through best practices in these tools and practice communicating their impact for potential funders. |
| Digital challenges for journalists and activists during the conflict | Journalists and activists in Eastern Europe are vulnerable during conflicts because of their coverage of difficult societal topics, which ultimately makes them targets. Participants will discuss digital risks and threats these Eastern European activists and journalists face during conflicts, including exploring common threats, and possible common solutions for security specialists. |
| Digital Iran reloaded: Gamers’ circumvention tactics in the IRI | Participants will discuss current circumvention methods used by gamers in Iran, how methods could be improved based on preliminary findings in the field. |
| Digital rights after the fall: What should we do with the digital heritage of a dictatorship | When modern digital dictatorships fall, they will leave behind an all-inclusive digital police state system, as well as the possibility of the next political system to repeat the same mistakes using inherited tools. In this collaborative discussion, participants will talk about the use of digital tools by the Russian government, and their future. What data should be deleted forever? What systems will require strong policies governing their usage? What should we not be afraid to use for the good of the people? This is our call for help for participant’s collective imagination, hope, and creativity, as well as knowledge, and experience |
| Digital Rights in Portugal: Where do we go from here | A get-together for Portugal-based digital rights orgs and activists to sit down, share their struggles and achievements, establish bonds and think up what we can accomplish together. |
| Digital security providers in Eastern Europe: New solutions to familiar challenges? | This circle is for those wanting to support digisec work in Eastern Europe, South Caucuses and beyond. Learn about the most recent findings examining the work of digital security (digisec) specialists in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. They are a result of an annual assessment, carried out by the community since 2021, which focuses on the work environment, demand for digisec services within local civil society, security of digisec specialists and formats of their services, availability of resources, and other aspects essential to their work. Current findings in each country will be compared with both old and emergent trends being observed across the region, as well as the results of the annual assessments conducted in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Also discussed will be efforts to support the digisec community, build the capacity of its members, and potential solutions. |
| Digital security trainers meetup | This practioner meetup brings together digital security trainers. Meet and learn from digital security trainers from around the world, get updated on new trends and issues in the field, and share your knowledge. |
| Digital threats in the Arab speaking countries | This circle is for the Arab speaking countries to share their knowledge of the current threats and issues, including direct digital security threats, such as attacks and censorship, and tactics such as laws, police asking people to unlock their phones, etc. Participants will help map current issues in the region, and collect intel and responses, and, if time permits, define and suggest actions to address the gap between supply and demand. |
| Discriminatory UX: How software can gatekeep people | Many initiatives are built on powerful and usable software that we use every day. But what happens when software tools keep us from being included based on disabilities, citizenship or language skills? Participants will discuss tools they use for their work, and the issues they are facing. |
| Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Meetup | Join this meetup to connect with individuals and organizations working in the regions of Easter Europe, Central Asia, and Caucasus. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the digital rights communities in these areas of the world. |
| Echoes of isolation: Gathering first-hand accounts from fragmented networks | Participants are invited to share, analyze, and reflect on personal accounts, weaving a rich tapestry of stories that highlight the human dimension of digital fragmentation. |
| Exchanging feminist methodologies, politics and practice in capacity building and feminist technology | This circle is for folks who identify as feminist tech trainers and feminist movement facilitators. Come learn about different approaches and methodologies to learning spaces, and why creative methodological approaches are so critical in shaping caring, collective and engaged training spaces. The internet can be, for many activists and marginal identities, a space of violence, surveillance and constantly evolving and confusing technologies. Come share and learn from a place of care, fun, creativity, awareness of the diversity of contextual realities and the knowledge of the trauma people carry. Learn about how to respond with methodologies that speak to challenging hierarchies in training spaces and how to be agile and creative - cornerstones of learning spaces for feminists. |
| Fostering diversity and inclusion in Open Source Projects | Join this engaging discussion on how diversity and inclusion influence every aspect of open source projects. Learn from others' experiences and insights on creating a welcoming and equitable open source community based on conversations with open source projects under Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0) initiative. While code is crucial, the management of open source projects, the diversity of contributors and users, selection of communication channels and transparency among others are equally important. |
| From wristbands to smartphones: Designing for physical safety! | In this engaging hands-on workshop, Circulo and Natalia Project will share their firsthand experience designing technology and initiatives focused on physical safety. This workshop will provide a space for participants to discuss their strategies for safeguarding themselves and their networks in the field. Let's circle up and collaborate to enhance our collective knowledge about safety protocols and the features technology can embrace to boost safety. Circle Facilitators: Okthanks, Guardian Project, Civil Rights Defenders |
| GenAI & LLMs in COMO & TS: Where do human rights and communities fit in today’s hottest acronyms? | In this circle, participants will explore the human rights impacts of Generative AI (GenAI) and underlying technologies, such as foundation models or large language models (LLMs), on content governance. As AI-driven platforms increasingly rely on these technologies for content governance, they risk unintentionally suppressing legitimate content while fueling violence online, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups and those living in the Global Majority. Learn about how these systems are deployed in the Global Majority, where considerations of local language, context and cultural nuances are critical, e.g., during elections in fragile democracies or in conflict zones. In addition, a case study on Discord will be presented, as the platform is currently piloting ECNL’s framework for meaningful engagement in AI while developing LLMs for enforcing content moderation policies. |
| Growing support for FOSS sustainability | This Circle brings together FLOSS funders who will share their approaches to funding sustainability for human rights FOSS projects, learn from participants about the sustainability challenges their projects face, and explore ways that the funding ecosystem can be more responsive to their needs. Free and open source code is the foundation for the technology that human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and other at-risk communities rely on to access the internet and communicate safely and securely. Despite the critical role they play, many FOSS projects struggle to find funding that supports their long-term sustainability. The essential, day-to-day bug-squashing, security updates, community management, and operational activities needed to maintain reliable and secure technologies are either squeezed into new-feature proposals, or too often left unfunded altogether. More funders are stepping up to address this challenge. |
| Guardians of Change: Strengthening cybersecurity in civil society | Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a pivotal role in driving positive change in today's interconnected world. However, CSOs' impact can be hindered by cybersecurity threats. This circle aims to empower civil society leaders and activists with the knowledge and tools to bolster their cybersecurity defenses. Through discussions on emerging threats, best practices in digital security, and practical tips for implementation, participants will leave equipped to safeguard their organizations and advance their missions securely in the digital age. Join us in becoming the Guardians of Change in the fight to strengthen cybersecurity within civil society. |
| Horse before the cart: Empowering change with representative local data | Digital rights and IF programs will continue to be a vital lifeline amid the proliferation of censorship and surveillance technologies, and declining internet freedom year after year. This brings essential reflections into focus: Are these crucial programs of tomorrow (and the decades beyond) prepared? Do they appropriately address community needs and priorities? How do we ensure that local voices are represented in our program goals and activities? If our future work is to impact local populations at a significant scale, it necessitates working from a deep understanding of the communities we endeavor to help. Participants will discuss how program management can synergize - not just intersect - with audience research and impact assessment insights that help us understand, and bring into focus, local priorities for future change. |
| How do we get the internet we want? Feminist provocations and questions for Internet governance | The current moment is a reckoning at a global level on internet governance. The power of technology companies has been growing unabated, in spite of the existence of processes for internet governance. This year marks 20 years of the World Summit of Information Society and in 2024, the Global Digital Compact has been introduced by the United Nations for establishing shared principles for digital cooperation and governance worldwide. All these processes forefront inclusion and multistakeholderism, but the lived experience for most activists from a marginalised location has been of inaccessibility and opacity. What is needed right now is a coming together through spaces like the Global Gathering, to determine feminist, queer and radical perspectives on internet governance and more active engagement. As part of the background for this panel, please check out: Preliminary feminist provocations on internet governance and WSIS+20 https://giswatch.org/node/6358/ |
| How to stop promising/doing audits and start promising/doing what is actually needed | Trainings, ToTs, Checklists, Audits - why is our fixation on formats so obsessive? The vicious circle "Applications writers - Donors - Practitioners - CSOs (clients)" makes us to forget what we actually wanted to help to provide real assistance. Not "X audits for $Y money within 12 months" - but real help.Let's think together and discuss how could we (practitioners) communicate with applications writers donors and CSOs - in the end to make the programs/projects to reflect what is actually needed a real help instead of "audits/trainings/ToTs/etc".I hope to have a honest relaxed conversation" |
| Identifying AI-Generated content: how? | Join us to discuss the issue of the identification of AI-Generated Content! How and when should we try to implement it? Whose responsibility should it be? How should it be regulated? Is it technically feasible to do it? How will it impact online content sharing, trust, privacy and the safety of civil society?We'll talk about everything - join us! |
| Incident response working group | The Incident Response Working Group is an ongoing series of meetings between censorship circumvention tool developers, human rights workers, and help desk administrators to discuss how to better respond to incidents of escalated blocking and Internet shutdowns. The group discusses what barriers exist to collaboration and coordination among multiple stakeholders through structured workgroup sessions. The goal is to help end users get back online faster by reducing the time to detect incidents, develop mitigations, and deploy those mitigations to end users. |
| Is it time to create certification for digital security practitioners? | There's a growing community of digital security practitioners, who work with the civil society and are often funded by charities and grants. These practitioners often have varying degrees of competence, and sometimes, if they are not technically competent enough, they might do more harm than good. It would seem that establishing some sort of a certification for such practitioners could be a good idea, but there are both positive and negatives. Join this circle to explore these open questions. |
| Journalists, sources and whistleblowers: Increasing threats to press freedom | Journalists, researchers, advocates and whistleblowers holding public and private malign interests accountable are encountering insidious attempts to deter, undermine and silence their work. These attempts are less obvious, less visible and harder to explain to the public than overt tactics like jailing unfriendly journalists, barring foreign outlets or promoting state-controlled propaganda, but they are effectively eroding press freedom, free speech and accountability. Looking at examples of malign donor influence silencing academic research, killing unfavorable media stories, lawfare against journalists and media outlets - compounded by retaliation against whistleblowers and the aggressive use of NDA’s - Libby Liu, Arzu Geybulla and Naomi Seligman will share insights from recent whistleblower cases and convene a conversation on what these tactics look like around the world. |
| Knowledge sharing across circumvention tool providers and Outline SDK users around the world | In the ever-changing censorship environments, tool providers and content providers must adopt new circumvention technologies at a faster pace. In this circle, we will host a discussion about the situation of censorship circumvention work in different regions (e.g, what are some unmet needs right now, how are censors getting ahead of the cat-and-mouse games, and what are some lessons learned); at the same time, we invite tool providers that have integrated Jigsaw’s Outline to share their experience about how the technology is performing in different regions. |
| Latin America regional meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in the Latin American (LATAM) region. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse LATAM projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the Latin America digital rights community. |
| Law and policy for IBSA | Participants will share their thoughts on the current state of law and policy protection against Image Based Sexual Abuse, and to identify measures that platforms and governments can take to address the concern effectively with minimal harm to encryption, freedom of speech and abuse by procedure. |
| Let’s ATT&CK the complexity of threat information sharing | Participants will discuss how threat sharing platforms and frameworks can be made more relevant to the specific threats faced by civil society, journalists, and human rights defenders and more accessible to digital security providers. As many frameworks, such as MITRE ATT&CK, were developed for large enterprises, they do not reflect the on-the-ground reality of serving at-risk communities. Learn about new framework for sharing threat information (including tactics, techniques and procedures in addition to indicators of compromise) between digital defenders supporting CSOs, journalists, and HRDs as well as with the wider cybersecurity community. This Circle will provide a space for digital defenders to contribute peer review to these new framework while identifying opportunities for supportive incentives and positive feedback loops to enhance threat sharing. |
| Leveraging weblate and automated checks for higher quality localization. | Participants will share best practice on localizing Internet Freedom applications and learn about how Tor Project migrated from Transifex into Weblate, a free software project. |
| Make it worse: Help us build the creepiest shutdown simulator | Engage in a challenge aimed at creating the most dystopian shutdown scenario. This circle is a collective exercise in understanding the extreme edges of digital isolation, encouraging participants to imagine and construct the architecture of a comprehensive shutdown simulator. |
| Managers meetup | Managers in the digital rights field are still navigating complex issues that started in 2020 that range from team health to fundraising challenges. Come meet other managers, and gain valuable insights, best practices, and get answers to your pressing questions. This is a great opportunity to cultivate stronger solidarity and support between managers in the field. |
| Maximizing engagement in your digital literacy workshop through gameplay | Teaching new concepts and skills to adult learners can be tricky business; we all have a million tasks on our to-do lists. Gaining and sustaining the attention of your workshop participants requires a wide variety of strategies. This circle will debut a new card game explicitly designed to teach fundamental data privacy skills to workshop participants and individual groups of learners through a bespoke card game. In addition, participants will learn about experiences developing new games, and help invent a new a game! |
| MENA regional meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse MENA projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the MENA digital rights community. |
| North America regional meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in North America, including Canada and the USA. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the North America digital rights community. |
| Nowhere feels safe: Digital transnational repression against women human rights defenders in exile | Repressive governments use invasive surveillance, online harassment and defamation campaigns to reach across borders and threaten women activists in exile and diaspora communities. What are the methods and silencing effects of gender-based digital transnational repression? How can we defend and empower the individuals and communities at risk? This circle discusses the findings of the Citizen Lab’s research into digital threats against women human rights defenders living in exile or in the diaspora and seeks input on recommendations for measures of protection and risk mitigation for targets of digital transnational repression. |
| On selective protection and regulations: TFGBV and hate speech against gender and sexual rights defenders | The Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN) brings together feminist researchers and civic society organisations from the Global South to produce evidence and context-based analysis in issues such as access; algorithmic inequality and surveillance; online gender-based violence; and gendered labour in the digital economy. In this Circle, participants will share insights on governments’ and technology organisations’ preferences and selective attention when dealing with online and technology-facilitated violence; and the role of gender and sexual politics in this process. |
| Policy workers meetup | Join this circle meetup tailored specifically for individuals working at the intersection of digital rights and policy. This event offers a unique opportunity to connect with fellow experts and advocates dedicated to shaping the future of digital rights and internet governance. Learn from real-world experiences and policy initiatives related to the impact of technology on human rights. |
| Rapid response to internet censorship: How can we do better? | Participants will discuss how we can do better in building capacity for rapid response to internet censorship. They will focus on collecting best practices and discuss how we can foster collaborations between network measurement projects, civil society organisations, litigation networks and media organisations. |
| Reflecting on surveillance studies research methodologies: The good, the bad and the ugly | The rising tide of authoritarianism has led to an increased uptake of suppressive surveillance by governments across the world. Many dedicated researchers and other internet freedom community members have worked to understand and counter repressive surveillance tactics through several different methodologies, including network measurement, supply chain, forensics, and ONSINT. This circle will be for learning the challenges the researchers face, and learning the gaps in surveillance-research funding. |
| Reimagination of freedom: Digital rights and kinship through "The Ground Screams to Whisper Ancestral Mapping" | This Circle will explore how the ancestral mapping exercise from "The Ground Screams to Whisper" can serve as an innovative approach to addressing digital rights abuses exemplified by services like 23andMe. Participants will engage in a collaborative discussion on the intersections of digital rights personal data sovereignty and the importance of kinship and community in the digital age. Participants will delve into the potential of using arts and crafts-based ancestral mapping as a means to reimagine freedom and privacy in the context of digital rights. |
| Researchers meetup | Connect with fellow researchers at this circle meetup designed specifically for those investigating topics and subjects in digital rights and internet freedom. This event offers a space to share insights, discuss recent findings, and explore emerging trends in the field. Whether you're a seasoned researcher or new to the field, this meetup provides a supportive environment to enhance your work and impact. |
| Resilient Networks: Hosting federated services in adversarial conditions | A hands-on workshop addressing the deployment and sustainability of federated services in adversarial conditions. Participants will learn to navigate the complexities of maintaining decentralized networks in spaces of surveillance and restriction, drawing on real-world examples and practical techniques. |
| Return of the zines: A hands-on approach to censorship circumvention | More people are online than ever before. But because of increasing levels of censorship, fewer people seem to share the same online experience as populations. In this circle, participants will revisit a pivotal era when photocopiers were revolutionary tools in a fight for access to platforms and audiences. In this hands-on workshop on zine-making, participants will delve into the contemporary power of zines to promote peer-to-peer content sharing. Together, participants will discuss how this grassroots strategy can expand publishers' reach and enhance news consumers' access to information, especially in today's restricted internet environments. |
| Rising digital authoritarianism in South Asia | This session will explore the alarming rise of digital authoritarianism in South Asia. Participants will examine trends such as internet shutdowns, online censorship, increased surveillance, and the suppression of privacy rights and freedoms of speech and expression. Additionally, participants will discuss the significant challenges faced by human rights defenders, both inside and outside the courts, in their broader efforts to resist digital authoritarianism. |
| Running Tor relays in/by the Global South | Tor relays form the backbone of the Tor network, and they are run by volunteers from around the world. Without volunteers Tor would not be possible, however the majority of volunteers are located in the Global North. We need to further (and perhaps genuinely) decentralize the Tor network, and so in this Circle we will talk about how to run Tor relays in our own contexts, and why it matters for the future of privacy. |
| Safeguarding NGOs and digital rights organizations: Tackling insider threats and beyond | Security directors from HRW, Access Now, AI, and other NGOs will tackle the issue of insider threats, focusing on their impact on non-profits and digital rights organizations. With participants, they will define insider threats, discuss the unique risks they pose, especially during crises and events, and provide practical examples from the field, and touch on the broader threat landscape. Participants will engage in an open discussion to share their experiences and strategies for managing insider threats, both physical and digital. In addition, participants will engage in an exercise developing realistic scenario-based training to better equip their teams. Leave with concrete solutions and resources to strengthen your organization's security against insider threats such mitigation strategies, including robust access controls, cybersecurity measures, and scenario-based trainings. |
| Safety for voices: South-South strategies for WHRDs in digital spaces | Acknowledging that the threats and attacks targeting women and gender-diverse human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the digital sphere are an extension of patriarchal, racist, and colonial systematic violence, this circle seeks to establish a platform for critical reflection rooted in South-South collaboration. Participants will learn about two studies aimed at documenting the patterns of violence and the tools of resistance employed by WHRDs within their territories. Participants will also share experiences and the development of collective strategies to safeguard their voices. Grounded in a holistic feminist protection approach, the circle aims to foster solidarity and resilience among WHRDs facing digital threats. |
| Securing the digital frontline: Threat analysis for human rights defenders in Thailand and Vietnam | In this Circle, participants will recent research findings related to digital security risks for human rights defenders in Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the physical threats that lead to these risks. Explore effective protection mechanisms, share lessons learned, and discuss strategies to enhance the safety and resilience of digital advocates in these regions. |
| Shield or Sham: How useful are digital security trainings? | This circle aims to dive into a critical examination of digital security training’s role in strengthening resilience and threat resistence of journalists, human rights defenders and marginalized groups. Do trainings work? can traditional security trainings keep up with the sophisticated tactics of cybercriminals, in particular when they are state-sponsored? Are trainings equipping individuals and organizations with the necessary tools to better protect themselves, or are they providing a false sense of security? And if trainings do not work, what is the alternative? This circle seeks to explore the effectiveness of digital security trainings in fostering a culture of cyber resilience versus their potential to please donors and funding trends and presenting an “easy fix” to a complex problem. |
| Strategic litigation reimagined for justice | Strategic litigation is an essential tool for advancing human rights in the digital space and holding corporations and governments accountable. Participants will discuss the prioritization and funding of legal cases that centralise the needs of communities most impacted by digital rights violations from an intersectional approach. Participants will collectively imagine a future that prioritises racial, social, economic and environmental justice. |
| Supporting disrupted media | Media organizations are facing fundamental disruption after a decade of over-reliance on algorithmic amplification. In response, a new group of media entrepreneurs is emerging, focusing on meeting community needs. This conversation will explore the intersection of technology and media strategy, examining the challenges and opportunities in this evolving landscape. Participants will discuss the impact of algorithmic amplification on traditional media, the rise of community-focused initiatives, and the potential for innovation in the industry. We'll consider how emerging technologies and changing consumer behaviors are reshaping media business models, and what this means for the future of information dissemination and community engagement. |
| Supporting Asian HRDs in the frontline: How we shape the local supporting system and model | Participants will hear from three Asian digital security supporting groups on their experiencing developing service models that reflect their local socio-political environments and threats. Based on these sharings, participants will discuss how to find the resources grow support work in their locality and region. |
| Sustainable self-hosting? | As Big Tech services continue to be enshittified, made costly, or become untrustworthy, self-hosting is an increasingly attractive option. But sustainable, long-term self-hosting can be difficult. It can be expensive, require lots of effort, come with numerous risks and burnout. Participants will share their experiences self-hosting, and explore available tools, best practices, and support networks. They will also map out what is missing. |
| Tactics for engaging tech stakeholders in digital rights advocacy. The experiences and future opportunities across Indo-Pacific region. | Indo-Pacific is a critical region for global security and economy; yet, civil society in the region faces multiple challenges from digital authoritarianism. These challenges cannot be addressed by one group or a single expertise alone. In this circle, participants will hear from CSOs in the region and the lessons they have learned. In addition, participants will explore strategies to fill current gaps. |
| Technologists meetup | Join the Technologists circle meetup, tailored for individuals at the forefront of technology and digital rights. This event is an excellent opportunity to engage with technology leaders, developers, and tech enthusiasts who are shaping the future of digital infrastructure with cutting-edge solutions. Whether you’re looking to share your expertise or learn from others, this meetup is a hub for advancing tech-driven solutions in the realm of digital rights. |
| Technology, data and elections: The role of data and technologies in electoral processes | There is an unprecedented number of elections happening in 2024. In this circle, participants will discuss government usage of data-intensive technologies - which goes hand-in-hand with the involvement of private companies - during election cycles. Participants will discuss risks involved, and what can be done to avoid the abuse of technologies during the election cycle? This includes biometric voter registration and e-voting and verification technologies, which often result in the development of nationwide databases containing masses of personal data and technologies that put privacy and electoral integrity at risk; and technologies that are redefining political campaigning and advertising practices. What can be done to prevent the manipulation of opinion through these measures, which also many times exclude voters. Collaborators: Privacy International, The Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan), Fundacion Karisma (Colombia), Derechos Digitales (Chile), R3D (Mexico) |
| Testing OuiSync for shutdown scenarios | This circles is dedicated to testing Ouisync in simulated shutdown conditions. Ouisync is a p2p file sharing tool developed by eQualitie. Participants can test the app, providing critical feedback and insights to enhance its robustness and efficacy in real-world applications. |
| The case of El Salvador: strengthening civil society and media through capacity-building in a fragmented country | Participants will learn about the capacity-building program being run in El Salvador for CSO's and independent media outlets in the middle of surveillance and repression by the current government. |
| The costs of protection: The global landscape for data privacy and security tools | In this circle, participants will Identify the best and most useful tools (commercial or open source) available in their region, languages, and cultural context for meeting regional digisec/privacy needs. They will also discuss how existing tools or strategies could be modified/expanded to make them available to users in more parts of the world. Lacking effective national data privacy policies, individual internet users who want to protect their digital privacy and security often need to install and use VPNs, ad blockers, password managers, mail clients, or services like DeleteMe to protect their PII. These solutions are frequently recommended by digisec experts, but for citizens in the Global Majority, using these tools is often hindered by social, political and economic factors, including costs, exchange rates, credit card requirements, the quirks of banking systems, or the fact that interfaces, documentation, and the apps themselves are designed for the English-speaking market. |
| The future of decent work in the planetary digital capitalism: AI, automation and digital platforms | This circle aims to generate dialogues and discussions around the future of work in the dawn of generative Artificial Intelligence, the automation of intellectual work and the increasing platformization of the economy. These developments have the potential of reshaping the planetary economy, imposing additional risks on human rights, but most importantly they challenge the work itself of digital rights defenders, policy makers and academics. This circle offers a scenario to discuss if we should adapt or resist these technologies, and both the tactics and strategies that should arise. |
| The how and why of Rapid Response | We are often expected and incentivized to rapidly respond to censorship events and we want to. But at what cost? How can we respond in ways that are generative and beneficial? Is there a useful entropy we should introduce to rapid response? |
| The LLephant in the RooM: What are we doing about AI? | AI is no longer avoidable, and has crept quickly yet steadily out of mere pop phenomenon into the reality of how many of us operate as mission-driven, public interest organizations. Participants will discuss their fears, blind spots, and hopes for ethical and helpful interactions with these systems as the world moves increasingly forward with them. In addition, they will explore what could be done to address AI's impact on confidentiality, the integrity of our research (i.e. code, fuzzing, security), public communications, internal organizational security, and other aspects? |
| The MENA Alliance for Digital Rights | The MENA Digital Rights Alliance is a civil society coalition advancing digital rights in the Middle East and North Africa region. We are a group of 12 local and global civil society organizations and activists who believe in the power of collective action and cross-border solidarity in the fight against rising digital authoritarianism. We’ll delve into current and emerging regional trends, threats and opportunities, create shared priorities, and strategize on potential joint advocacy and campaigning. This Circle will set our strategic plan and focus areas for the upcoming year and discuss each other's work. We want to set shared priorities to create joint efforts and advocacy campaigns.The MADR meets already every month, online. This meeting will be a continuity of our yearly in-person meetings. These in-person convenings are to set an agenda for the year and they do participate in building momentum for the alliance's advocacy efforts. |
| The Real ESCAPE GAME: 1 Hour to Break Out of the Splinternet! | An immersive, interactive challenge where participants must collaboratively navigate and escape a simulated splinternet. This circle synthesizes the learnings of SplinterCon, testing participants’ problem-solving abilities and resilience under pressure in a gamified format. |
| Tools of resistance: Showcase of existing solutions and open mic for new projects | A deep dive into the evolving arsenal of tools designed to navigate and subvert the splinternet. Participants are invited to not only explore established solutions but also to present nascent projects and innovative ideas. This circle fosters the sharing of insights and the co-creation of resilient digital strategies. |
| Tor Browser, Tails, and You | How do Tails and the Tor Browser currently fit into the digital security toolbox for your communities? How could they become more helpful in that toolbox? Come and discuss it with the Tor Applications Team and the Tails Team. |
| Updates about Tor and Tails | Come and hear updates regarding the future of Tor and Tails. |
| VPN Community Initiative | This meetup brings together diverse experts working on VPNs, or in the VPN ecosystem. This includes commercial and non-commercial VPN providers, developers of circumvention and VPN-adjacent technologies, researchers, policy advocates, and others. The VPN Community Initiative is a year-long community-building program, run by Team CommUNITY, focused on building solidarity and knowledge-share between different actors working in/with the VPN ecosystem with the goal of advancing standards and ensuring the needs of the most at-risk are made known to VPN companies so they can improve their offerings for these users. |
| VPN infrastructure: challenges & needs | Share working experiences, missing links, and other ideas to better accommodate infrastructure for VPN providers. |
| VPN provider transparency: Addressing threats that shady VPNs pose to VPN clients and providers | Participants will learn about threats VPN clients and providers face from the myriad of VPN apps distributed on Google Play and elsewhere, and hear from current researchers looking at suspicious VPN providers and including potential links to malicious actors. Participants will explore current gaps in understanding VPN related threats, map out new issues and challenges, and explore opportunities and solutions to address them. |
| Western Europe regional meetup | Connect with individuals and organizations actively working in Western Europe. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from diverse projects, gain valuable insights, and expand your professional network. This meetup is designed to foster meaningful connections and enrich the Western Europe digital rights community. |
| What are your operations and admin challenges? | When it comes to operations and finances, what are the hardest things for you as a civil society activist in the internet freedom space? We want to know! We’re building an organisation, interalia, aimed at lowering the operations barriers for civil society with equity and care at its heart – let us worry about admin, so you don’t have to. We have plenty of experience working in this field, but we’d love to hear about your specific struggles, questions, and challenges. How can we help as intermediaries providing a layer of care and security for you? |
| Why is threat sharing hard, and what could it look like instead? | When we imagine the outcomes of sharing data on digital attacks, what do we most want to see in the world? What is holding us back, and can we dream big enough to make change? Join us this circle and step outside the day-to-day operational practice of our organizations, to think about the theory of change of more inclusive and effective collective action, develop user stories for what successful threat sharing ecosystems and capabilities might look like, and plan with others who share our goals. |
| Working on the well-being of workers | Let's talk about policies for the well-being of workers and how to build democratic processes within the organization. |
| World-wide autonomous comunication over HF band | In the circle, learn about a project that is connecting isolated communities in the Amazon rain-forest, Central Africa and fisherman boats far away from the shore in Bengali Bay, in Bangladesh. The High-frequency Emergency and Rural Multimedia Exchange System (HERMES) project is a telecommunication system which provides very long range communication capability (hundreds / thousands of kilometers links) by using skywave propagation on the HF band. |
| You are here: Splinternet | Explore the fragmented digital landscapes that parallel and diverge from the monolithic internet. This circle sets the stage for SplinterCon, guiding participants through the disjointed realities of the splinternet. We delve into the emergent barriers, alternate pathways, and new modalities of connection that define this digital periphery. |
Booth & Village Descriptions
| Villages | ||
| Tor Project and Tails Village | The Tor Project & Tails | At the Tor and Tails booth you can learn more about tools that can help you be anonymous on the internet. Come to chat with us about how to use the Tor Browser or the Tails OS to protect your privacy online and bypass censorship. Learn more about our community and how to volunteer. And if you would like to partner with us for digital security training in your area. |
| Calyx Institute Village | Calyx Institute | The Calyx Institute's mission is to educate the public about privacy in digital communications and to develop tools that anyone can use. One of our featured tools is CalyxOS, an Android mobile operating system that puts privacy and security into the hands of everyday users. |
| Clean Insights Tea House | Guardian Project | Come by to have tea and chat with the Guardian Project team about their work on privacy-preserving measurement, internet shutdown resilience, anti-censorship and more!https://cleaninsights.org/gg |
| SplinterCon by eQualitie Village | eQualitie | Join us at the SplinterCon booth, an initiative by eQualitie dedicated to exploring, challenging, and counteracting global internet fragmentation. Our focus is on resilient, decentralized tools, along with the developers and communities that support them.At our booth, you can:• Breakout from a simulated shutdown environment that mimics a pocket splinternet.• Participate in interactive workshops that reflect the current state of the web.• Test circumvention tools.• Share your experiences with internet fragmentation.• Learn from the expertise of advocates working in affected regions.The SplinterCon booth is a space for discussing the challenges and opportunities of a constantly fragmenting internet, offering you a hands-on experience of navigating and thriving in this evolving landscape. |
| APC Village | Association for Progressive Communications | The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is a membership-based network of organisations and activists. It was founded in 1990 to empower individuals, organisations and social movements to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to build strategic communities to contribute to equitable human development, social justice, participatory political processes and environmental sustainability. |
| Outline Village | Outline | Outline is an open-source project created by Jigsaw that provides a safer way for individuals and organizations to access the open internet. Jigsaw is a unit within Google that explores threats to open societies, and builds technology that inspires scalable solutions. |
| WANA Café | SMEX | Join our booth for dialogues on WANA’s digital future and a taste of local flavors!" |
| Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline | Access Now | We are a free-of-charge resource for civil society around the world. We offer real-time, direct technical assistance and advice to civil society groups & activists, media organizations, journalists & bloggers, and human rights defenders. |
| Amnesty Tech | Amnesty International (Tech Programme) | Members of Amnesty International’s Tech Programme will engage with attendees on the programme’s work, which includes countering the digital surveillance of activists, banning facial recognition technology for mass surveillance, and working to ensure reproductive rights activists can share accurate abortion information online. We will use the booth as an opportunity to interactively demo our tools for activists, such as verification kits to scan devices for spyware infections, as well as our surveillance camera map in New York City. The proposed activities will share information on different technological threats to activists, as well as providing them with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and educate others. |
| Conexión Segura y Libre | Conexión Segura y Libre | Conexión Segura y Libre is a Venezuelan NGO dedicated to the defense of digitals rights and internet freedom. This year we launched an anti-censorship newsreader app, which uses an integrated VPN powered by Psiphon and Outline. We are excited to share this new project with the international digital rights community. |
| Digital Justice House | Digital Justice House | Learn more about the Digital Justice House initiative and toolkit which focuses on three organizational policies to improve the health of the digital rights teams: the right to disconnect, the four-day work week, and the unlimited vacations. Get advice and have your questions answered on why this matters and how to best implement these policies to improve health of your team and impact of your work. |
| Digital Defenders Partnership | Digital Defenders Partnership | Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) is an international programme that contributes to strengthening the resilience of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) by increasing their digital security through a holistic and sustainable approach. We envision a world in which HRDs contribute to social justice while enjoying safety, well-being, freedom, and dignity. |
| Digital First Aid Kit | CiviCERT | The Digital First Aid Kit is a free resource to help rapid responders better protect themselves and the communities they support from the most common digital emergencies. Learn how to use the resource, navigate through the 12 available workflows to diagnose your digital security problem, and find support from CiviCERT members. |
| Digital Rights Litigation in West Africa | Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative | The Booth seeks to showcase opportunities for collaboration to litigate digital rights in West Africa |
| EFF | The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) | The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is excited to offer an opportunity to engage in conversations about the formation of coalitions and the implementation of effective tactics for interdisciplinary engagements. In addition, we will be presenting some of our innovative projects and providing complimentary stickers for collection, as well as offering a selection of distinctive EFF merchandise available for purchase. |
| Emergency Assistance to Frontline Activists | Freedom House | EAP provides short-term support to human rights defenders (HRDs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and survivors of severe religious persecution on the basis of belief or non-belief. The program has worked to support individuals and organizations in some of the world’s most repressive and conflict-ridden environments. On a yearly basis, the program supports more than 1,000 HRDs, CSOs, and survivors of severe religious persecution with emergency assistance, urgent advocacy grants, and preventive security projects. |
| FACTER: Revolutionizing digital investigation for newsrooms to counter mis/dis/mal Information | Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) | FACTER is a first-of-its-kind digital investigation tool designed exclusively to facilitate newsrooms in countering mis-, dis-, and mal-information (MDM) in Pakistan. The Facter database, which can be accessed by newsrooms via a Chrome extension, is updated with fact-checks by a team of digital investigators and editors on a daily basis. The booth will showcase the Facter project, what sets it apart from other fact-checking initiatives, its functioning, SOPs, and technical infrastructure. |
| Freedom of the Press Foundation | Freedom of the Press Foundation | Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a nonprofit working at the intersection of human rights, journalism, and technology. A unique organization in the security and internet freedom community, FPF has pioneered a multilayered approach to preserving and extending the privacy and security of journalists in the interest of advancing a free, adversarial press.
Our digital security training team provides support to journalists and media-makers working in the public interest through trainings, consulting, and security assessments; run ongoing digital security programs, and participate in conferences and events around the world throughout the year. We also write security guides that address common digital security concerns and conduct research on the latest digital security developments. |
| GlobaLeaks | GlobaLeaks | GlobaLeaks is free, open-source software enabling anyone to easily set up and maintain a secure whistleblowing platform. Thanks to GlobaLeaks. everybody can easily set up a secure and anonymous whistleblowing initiative. Designed to be user-friendly, the software is customisable to your needs and protects the whistleblower’s privacy and submissions by default. |
| Greenhost | Greenhost | Greenhost is a digital infrastructure provider in the community. We help organizations to have a safe and trusted place on the internet. The booth will be a place to connect with our users and potential new users. |
| Holistic VPN stack exploitation: Risks & threats across VPN layers | Breakpointing Bad / OTF ICFP Fellow | This booth showcases tools and techniques Breakpointing Bad has developed for identifying threats to VPNs, including risks that might be less well publicized and understood. We have planned three demonstrations: 1. Client Information Leakages - Participants will see CryptoSluice identify applications with weak or no encryption that put them at risk even when using a VPN. 2. VPN Server Attack Demo - Participants will see exploits developed by Breakpointing Bad that seriously undermine VPN security.3. Suspicious VPN Providers - Participants will see preliminary results about suspicious VPNs and how they put users at risk. These tools and techniques address risks and threats VPN clients are exposed to across different components of the VPN software/operational stack. |
| Horizontal Booth: Tools for your digital security | Horizontal | Horizontal is an international CSO that support activists, journalist, and human right defenders with technology tools and trainings. We will demo our 2 flagship products:
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| Human Rights @ Meta | Meta | Meta's Human Rights Team will be present to answer your questions and hear your feedback about our policies and work to protect human rights defenders across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. We'll also be hosting two interactive sessions: a tabletop exercise simulating how we respond to conflict and crisis situations, and a structured consultation and update on our Trusted Partner and HRD escalation channels. |
| HURIDOCS (Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems) | HURIDOCS | For the last 40 years, HURIDOCS has supported the human rights community by providing essential tools and solutions for documentation and information management, and offering strategic advice on standards and methodologies for human rights documentation. At this year’s Global Gathering, HURIDOCS will present the roadmap for ongoing and further developments of our flagship tool Uwazi, share the Rapid Response Documentation Principles and showcase Uwazi integration with Tella. Stop by to learn more about how HURIDOCS can support you, your organization or your community. We look forward to seeing our friends and allies, building new connections and exploring potential synergies! |
| International and regional projects looking at the intersection of digital rights and freedom of expression | Article19 | During the Global Gathering regional and thematic specialists will be facilitating sessions, working with human rights defenders, and providing training. Our booth will be staffed throughout the Gathering and we are looking forward to meeting you and to learning more about your projects too. Our booth will be part of the Job Fair, so feel free to stop by and meet our colleagues to learn more about our work with partners around the world. |
| Join the Localization Lab community! | Localization Lab | We have localized nearly 200 internet freedom tools and resources into 220 languages, and we need your help to do more! Drop by our booth to learn about our work and how we can fight tech bias together through co-design, collaboration, and research. Sign up to join our global network of contributors, explore other collaboration opportunities, or help us build our Unified Glossary on-site by translating into your local language, one word at a time. |
| Journalism for the Future / network booth | supernova.is | Is there any kind of journalism about digital rights that covers not only problems we face now, but ones that are yet in the boiling pot, soon ready to be served to citizens? Can we catch it before it damages society, vulnerable groups, the internet infrastructure? We invite journalists and anybody interested in the prevention of the anti-utopian future rather than sorting out the rabble after, for the conversation about what can be done differently in informing our audiences and networking for future collaborations across the borders. |
| Numun Fund | Numun Fund | The first dedicated fund for feminist tech in, and for the Larger World. Our aim is to seed and sustain feminist technology infrastructure for movement organising, and we understand digital technologies to be an important part of movement infrastructure. |
| Omidyar Network’s digital trust and safety strategy | Omidyar Network | Come learn more about Omidyar Network, our approach to grantmaking, and our strategy as it relates to Digital Trust and Safety. |
| OONI Run v2 Demo | Open Observatory of Network Interference | Stop by the OONI booth to see a demo of our improved OONI Run tool! This tools helps people crowd source network measurements and we currently working on improvements requested by the community. Stop by to see how it works! |
| Open Technology Fund | Open Technology Fund | OTF would like to host a booth at Global Gathering to showcase our organization’s funding and service options for participants. The booth will include informational brochures, an outline of support services to the community, and a highlight of our key funding mechanisms. OTF looks forward to the opportunity to meet with community members in the Internet freedom space and offer support for their programs. |
| The Palestine Booth | collective | The battles we fight share the same roots no matter where we are in the world. As we approach one year into the US-Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and across Palestine, and as we witness Western powers’ unconditional material support for it, we want to make use of the space we have to hold conversations on how to understand this genocide, and 76 years of occupation, how it intersects deeply with our spaces, and how we – as digital rights activists, academics, researchers, technologists, and journalists – can and should shape our work to engage meaningfully. We would also use the space to honor the lives of our martyrs, share art, and raise funds for our contacts in Gaza. |
| Quad9 | Quad9 | Quad9 is a Swiss NGO providing a free service that replaces your default Domain Name Server (DNS) configuration. When your computer performs any Internet transaction that uses the DNS (and most transactions do), Quad9 blocks lookups of malicious host names from an up-to-the-minute list of threats. And we have the data to prove it's effective. As opposed to some other public DNS services, Quad9 respects your privacy and does not market in personally identifiable information about you or your DNS queries. |
| Safe Sisters Fellowship Program | Safe Sisters | Safe Sisters is showcasing its first public exhibit of fellowship products from our community champions. The exhibition will include collections from TFGBV research, Digital rights creative content and Digital safety resources from 7 African countries. |
| Usability and accessibility clinic | Accessibility LabUXD Lab Ura Design Decent Design |
Join us at our Usability and Accessibility Clinic, where you can connect directly with seasoned design, accessibility, and usability experts ready to assist you with your specific needs.This clinic invites tool teams, designers, developers, decision-makers, and project managers to engage in focused discussions about their usability and accessibility challenges. Whether you're seeking a second opinion on design features, struggling with user engagement strategies, or looking to enhance accessibility features, we are here to assist. |
| Vietnam Rise: Navigating in hostile environments | Vietnam Rise | There seems to be reservations from funders and NGOs about funding and working on Vietnam projects due to increasingly harsher government crackdowns. This tendency for risk aversion hurts civil society and grassroots organizing. Vietnam Rise would like to showcase that it is possible to work in Vietnam. We would like to showcase new tactics and work with new communities and issues to navigate in hostile environments but at the same time integrate security into our processes. |
