The Global Gathering is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together digital rights defenders from around the world for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and rejuvenation. Co-designed with a diverse, global community, for the 2025 edition we are returning to our roots with a more self-organized format grounded in open space facilitation.
This year’s themes will include innovative grassroots approaches to technology challenges; circumvention and secure communication technologies; and organizational sustainability. Additionally, in light of the shifting landscape and funding freezes impacting the digital rights field, TCU is offering expanded space to partners to support urgent work that requires in-person coordination.
While program formats will center around Booths, Villages and Circles, the heart of this year’s gathering is organic networking and collaboration - made powerful by our walled, forested venue with permanent booths, that evokes the spirit of a small town or renaissance fair.
Booths: Flexible Spaces for Sharing, Creating and Connecting
Booths are a cornerstone of the 2025 Global Gathering, offering flexible spaces for participants to showcase their work, host interactive activities, or provide direct support to participants. They offer a dynamic way to engage directly with attendees and forge trust-based relationships and collaborations.
Each booth shift typically lasts two hours and takes place in one of the venue’s permanent wooden kiosks—all equipped with electricity.
How can I host a Booth?
Booths have electricity, internet, and furniture.
We are currently accepting Booth proposals! Submit a proposal by logging into the GG platform and selecting “Submit a Booth Proposal” from your dashboard. This option is only available if your GG application has been approved.
There are many ways you can use a Booths including:
Showcase your project or organization and connect with attendees through conversation, materials, and Q&A.
Run a tool demo, allowing participants to try out your project firsthand.
Host a game or activity, especially one with an educational or awareness-raising goal.
Host a community space inside your booth, creating a hub for individuals from a particular network to collaborate, share, and network.Bring any devices, materials, demos, and decorations you need.
Offer a service, such as digital security support or UX consultations.
Curate an exhibit that creatively showcases your work at the intersection of digital and human rights.
Share research or published work with participants and answer their questions.
Host a mini-workshop that allows attendees to engage with your team and learn something new.
Pro Tip: We highly recommend you decorate your booth in a fun and creative way, and bring your computer or devices if you want to showcase virtual materials. More information about Booth sizing and amenities is available here.
Circles: Collaborative Discussions Rooted in Action
Given the current state of the digital rights field, we are adopting an open space facilitation model for Circles - creating a more agile, participant-driven program focused on urgent needs.
Circles are 45-minute collaborative discussions facilitated by one or more participants. They can take the form of strategic discussions, action-planning around common challenges, knowledge exchange, or informal networking meetups.
How it will work: Instead of submitting proposals months ahead of the event, participants will submit a request for a Circle just prior to and during the event itself - directions forthcoming.
While we will be dedicating less venue space to Circles this year, participants are encouraged to propose Circles in nearby areas—such as the central park directly in front of the venue.
Things to keep in mind:
Circles are 45-minute collaborative discussions facilitated participants.TCU will be pre-populating the agenda with a limited number of Circles, including practitioner and regional meetups on Day 1, and field-wide conversations focused on the impact of the recent funding freeze throughout Day 1, 2 and 3.
For venue-based Circles, we will prioritize those that:
Advance ongoing urgent work;
Address acute field-wide digital rights challenges;
Reflect this year’s themes: innovative grassroots approaches to technology challenges, circumvention and secure communication technologies, and organizational sustainability; and
Are of interest to a large percentage of participants.
For social meetups or more niche areas (for example, IF in Cuba), we can work with you to identify nearby locations to host your Circle. In some cases, space may be available in a Regional Village space.
We encourage Circles to reflect collective interest, not just individual ideas. Proposals with multiple collaborators will be prioritized. Consider reaching out to colleagues and organizations that can co-facilitate or contribute to your Circle. To support this, we will:
Provide a virtual community space on our Mattermost for networking and planning; and
Help connect you with specific participant profiles if desired.
Villages: Partner Run Spaces for Focused Collaboration
Villages are thematic spaces run by partners and designed to foster deeper engagement around specific topic areas. Each Village is shaped by the goals of its organizer - ranging from informal networking hubs to highly structured working spaces. For example:
Some Villages will function like cafes, where organic conversations and informal networking takes center stage.
Others function like mini-conferences within the GG, hosting a mix of public and private “Circles,” or collaborative talks, focusing on advancing goals, knowledge or collaboration.
Some Villages are entirely private, providing a space for cohorts or teams to meet, strategize, and reflect.
How can I host a Village?
The well-equipped venue, surrounded by trees, supports recovery and networking.
If your organization is interested in running a Village, please reach out to gather@digitalrights.community
Preview:2025 Villages
We are still working closely with partners to finalize the list of 2025 Villages, but here is what you can expect:
Regional Community Villages serve as informal hubs for people working on or in a particular region. Setup cafe-style, they are ideal for spontaneous conversations and organic networking. Each regional village will have limited slots for Circles focused on urgent regional needs.
There will be several spaces available to host Villages and Circles.Thematic Villages features both in-depth conversations and activities around a specific topic area, such as circumvention tech or information integrity. Activities can include educational sessions, collaborative talks, trainings, workshops, design sprints, or hackathons.
Project-Focused Villages are used by projects to host priority conversations for stakeholders, run demos, or host Q&As and workshops. Unlike project-focused Booths, which are limited to two hour slots, Project-Focused Villages offer a full day or more of programming, and feature significantly more space to support extended activities.
Private Villages are not open to the general GG participants. Generally, they are hosted in the morning, and can range from team retreats to cohort gatherings. These are invite only.
