The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) deeply regrets that RightsCon 2026 will not proceed in Lusaka, Zambia from 5-8 May 2026.
RightsCon is one of the foremost civic spaces where digital rights defenders, civil society organizations, technologists, policymakers, and researchers come together to share knowledge, build solidarity, celebrate human rights, and advance the human rights agenda in the digital age. Its de facto cancellation inflicts a serious blow on these networks at a moment when they are already under strain from shrinking civic space, reduced funding, and mounting pressure on independent voices worldwide.
We are particularly saddened by the loss of what would have been a landmark gathering on the African continent — the first edition of RightsCon ever held in Southern Africa. This event in Lusaka carried immense promise: an opportunity to centre African perspectives and priorities, to strengthen connections between global and regional digital rights communities, and to amplify the voices of local activists, researchers, and advocates who seldom have the chance to engage with international counterparts on home ground. That opportunity has now been lost.
We also think of the hundreds of participants — individuals and organizations operating on constrained budgets in a period of devastating funding cuts — who made financial commitments and travel arrangements in good faith. Many were already travelling or preparing to depart. The human and institutional costs they now bear are real and should not go unacknowledged.
As the Chair of the FOC, we call on all governments and international organisations to protect and preserve the open, inclusive spaces in which digital rights and governance are debated and advanced. These discussions are not optional, and they cannot be postponed. At a time when internet freedom is under unprecedented pressure, the need for multistakeholder engagement on digital rights is more urgent than ever. We stand with the RightsCon community and with Access Now, and we look forward to discussions and efforts to support multistakeholder civic spaces on digital rights and freedoms.
The FOC Strategy and Coordination Meeting, originally planned as a hybrid satellite event of RightsCon, is shifting to a fully remote meeting from May 4-5.
Switzerland, FOC Chair 2026