APC at RightsCon 2022

Published on 30 May 2022
Page last updated on 8 September 2023

The 2022 edition of RightsCon will take place online from 6 to 10 June. RightsCon is an annual event that brings together different stakeholders working at the intersections of human rights and technology.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) sees RightsCon as a convening space for strategising and networking, as well as an opportunity to showcase APC’s work and perspectives on human rights in the digital space, a feminist internet, access and digital inclusion, social justice and environmental sustainability.

APC's participation at this year’s edition of RightsCon will focus on bringing alternative and global South approaches to discussions on due diligence and environmental and human rights impact assessments in the tech sector, integration of gender perspectives into national cyber policies, opportunities and mechanisms for contributing to the Global Digital Compact process and financing mechanisms for community-owned internet infrastructure.

More information on RightsCon and this year’s programme are available here.

Sessions organised by APC

Measuring the socio-environmental impact of the tech sector

Monday, 6 June | 17:15 - 18:15 UTC

APC will host a public session to discuss due diligence and environmental and human rights impact assessments in the tech sector. This event is part of a series of discussions being convened in the coming weeks to exchange, compare and contrast experiences from the perspectives of human rights, environmental justice and tech sector groups. The outcome of these discussions will be a concise report with recommendations on how to move forward the agenda of impact assessment of the tech sector, building on the learnings from environmental and mainstream human rights groups.

So, you want to build a community network? Financing mechanisms for community-owned internet infrastructure

Monday, 6 June | 18:30 - 19:30 UTC

Connecting the next 3.6 billion requires changing old network deployment models and policy/regulatory and financing frameworks. How will we help your community create change and digital equity? APC, together with ISOC, Connect Humanity and Connectivity Capital, are organising this panel of community network experts and experienced impact investors who are working on a new study that aims to catalyse communities to change local circumstances and increase digital equity and inclusion through adaptable and sustainable community network deployment and creative financing models.

Have your say: Providing inputs for the Global Digital Compact

Tuesday, 7 June | 14:45 - 15:45 UTC

APC, together with the Office of the UN Tech Envoy and Web Foundation, will organise a public multistakeholder session to discuss opportunities and mechanisms for engagement in this process.

In September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued the report Our Common Agenda, which looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents his vision on the future of global cooperation and reinvigorating inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism. Among other things, Our Common Agenda calls for a Summit of the Future in September 2023. The technology track of the Summit is expected to result in a Global Digital Compact. Taking place a year before the Summit, this community lab session during RightsCon 2022 is an opportunity for everyone in the RightsCon community – governments, civil society organisations, businesses, the academic and technical communities, and others of all ages from around the world – to provide input on the Global Digital Compact.

Integrating Gender Perspectives into National Cyber Policies: Co-creating a Framework

Thursday, 9 June | 14:45 - 13:45 UTC

Research addressing the intersections of gender and cybersecurity is still relatively scarce. Existing work on this issue recommends mainstreaming gender into cyber policies and norms, but there is still a need for more practical guidance on how to do it. To fill this gap, APC is conducting research that seeks to provide practical guidance on how to incorporate a gender perspective into cyber policies. This session will represent a first opportunity to receive feedback on this research and to brainstorm with the RightsCon community on how to incorporate a gender approach in cybersecurity policy.