In May 2026, the Research ICT Africa team travels to Lusaka, Zambia, to participate in one of the world’s leading summits on human rights in the digital age. RightsCon boasts over 40 000 participants from over 160 countries, platforming our team on a world stage where we will engage our stakeholders on issues such as digital public infrastructure, digital inequality, data governance and digital trade. With five sessions in the programme, RIA draws together partners across our network and projects, including the Data for Development team (D4D), Internet Lab, AI for Development (AI4D), Local Development Research Institute (LDRI) and the Centre for Intellectual Property and Technology (CIPIT).
Last year, we followed RightsCon to Taipei. Now, for their 14th edition, we look forward to contributing to its first-ever summit in Southern Africa. RIA is well-established in Zambia, where we provided capacity-building and technical assistance as part of the country’s data policy development process, funded through GIZ. With 60% of participants at RightsCon coming from the Global Majority, we look forward to seeing an increase in African participation in 2026. A critical moment for the Global South, the multistakeholder and civil society-focused model of RightsCon, combined with its African setting, presents an opportunity for local voices and organisations to capitalise on international attention for scaled digital impact.
Themes and trends shaping this year’s discourse will include:
- When the Internet goes dark: patterns, power, and pushback;
- Strength under strain: reinventing sustainability in uncertain times;
- Who shapes the future? Power, sovereignty, and the push for fair AI;
- Under pressure, still persisting: Defending LGBTQ+ rights in the digital age; and
- Examining AI’s footprint: Energy, labour, and extractive infrastructures.
You’ll need a ticket in order to take part in RightsCon’s sessions, including satellite events. Register for a ticket.
| Date of Engagement | Event Type | Time & Accessibility | Venue | Session Title | Participation | Focus |
| Tuesday, 5 May 2026 | Satellite Event | In-person. Open: register to attend. 09:00-11:00 GMT+2 | Room A116, Kenneth Kaunda Wing, Mulungushi Conference Centre | South-South Digital Public Infrastructure Approaches: Challenges and Opportunities | Research ICT Africa, Internet Lab, ECDPM, Institute of Development Studies, Aapti Institute | DPI researchers and practitioners from across the Global South will discuss how to close the gap between the technical framing of DPIs and their real-world governance implementations by situating them within their political, social and legal contexts. |
| Tuesday, 5 May 2026 | Satellite Event | In-person. Open: register to attend. 09:00-15:00 GMT+2 | Room AG05, Kenneth Kaunda Wing, Mulungushi International Conference Centre | D4D Joint Dissemination Workshop | Research ICT Africa, LDRI, CIPIT (Strathmore University), IDRC | This workshop brings together regulators, policymakers, and practitioners to engage directly with D4D research findings, determine what can be taken forward, and explore how insights can directly inform regulatory, legislative, and policy work. |
| Wednesday, 6 May 2026 | Main Summit | In-person. Open: register for a ticket. 10:15-11:15 GMT+2 | Room 3, Mulungushi Conference Centre | A Just AI Framework of Inquiry for the Global South | Research ICT Africa, ICRIER, AUDA-NEPAD, ACHR, Access Now | This session introduces RIA’s Just AI Framework of Inquiry, exploring its potential to provide an alternative pathway that centres marginalised voices, ensures economic sovereignty and demands AI systems produce tangible, just outcomes for all. |
| Wednesday, 6 May 2026 | Main Summit | Hybrid Open: register for a ticket. 12:45 – 13:45 GMT+2 | Room A102, Mulungushi Conference Centre | The Weaponisation of Trade and Its Effects on Human-centric Regulation of the Digital Ecosystem | Public Citizen, IT for Change, Data Privacy Brazil, Research ICT Africa | This discussion will focus on how digital sovereignty is being threatened, why the US weaponisation of trade matters, and what the effects of US trade policy are on domestic tech regulation in different countries. |
| Thursday, 7 May 2026 | Main Summit | In-person Open: register for a ticket. 12:45 – 13:45 GMT+2 | Room A110, Mulungushi Conference Centre | The Digital Inequality Paradox: What Does Access Mean in the Age of Digital Public Infrastructure? | Research ICT Africa, Access Now, Paradigm Initiative, Co-Develop | This session will develop actionable frameworks to ensure the DPI Initiative advances rather than undermines digital equity. It will also lay the foundations for concrete strategies advocating rights-based approaches to DPI development, policy tools for addressing demand-side barriers, and frameworks for holding DPI initiatives accountable to inclusion principles. |
