The 13th edition of RightsCon, taking place in Taipei, Taiwan, from 24 to 27 February, is an important space for multistakeholder dialogue, and APC is using the opportunity to amplify civil society voices on key thematic issues throughout the event. As this is the first time that RightsCon is being hosted in East Asia, it is an opportunity to explore regional questions "related to issues such as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), disinformation and platform accountability, and internet governance through a social justice and rights-based, intersectional perspective", as outlined in our priorities for RIghtsCon 2025.
In this special series of Local Sound Bites, we are talking to activists and digital rights defenders on the ground about their work at the intersection of human rights and technology. The Local Sound Bites series was inaugurated at the 2022 global IGF in Ethiopia. It features audio segments where we speak with local actors in the host country and/or region to learn from voices in the field.
The new series explores what people see as the most pressing issues for technology and human rights in East Asia, how they perceive and tackle the biggest challenges, and the meaningful work they do that gives them hope and inspiration. We believe it is critical to connect with regional activists and hope that it brings a depth of insight and connection for ways we can mobilise collectively for our digital future.
Episode 1: Local Sound Bites at RightsCon 2025
In our first episode, we talked to Mallie 謝莉君, operative director at Feminist Leadership and Mobilization on the Edge (FLAME), a Taiwan-based organisation and APC member whose mission is to question the knowledge production, development and application of technology from a feminist intersectional approach and to promote gender-equal access to resources and technologies in the society. "Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is the most urgent thing in the gender community, among gender CSOs and tech and human rights CSOs," Mallie shares. "We put a lot of focus on it."
Episode 2: Local Sound Bites at RightsCon 2025
In the second episode we interviewed Rosa and Chia-Shuo from Open Culture Foundation (OCF), an APC member based in Taiwan. OCF promotes open technology and cross-field collaboration through co-creation and protection of digital rights. "It all comes down to one thing - it's a matter of trust across different sectors within society," says Chia-Shuo. Listen to the full interview!
Episode 3: Local Sound Bites at RightsCon 2025
In this episode we are speaking with a Taiwan-based digital rights defender working in a civil society organisation dealing with digital and human rights, who notes that "the biggest challenge is to step out of our comfort zone as civil society organisations and really talk to the people." Find out more in this episode, including the power of teamwork to achieve our advocacy goals.
Episode 4: Local Sound Bites at RightsCon 2025
In this episode we interviewed You-Hao Lai, a practicing lawyer with Taiwan's Judicial Reform Foundation, who works with other lawyers as members of a digital rights task force. "Because of the emergence of information technology and the digitisalisation of human lives, there are more and more new types of threats that we haven't seen before," You-Hao Lai reflects. Find out the implications and the strategies in this episode!
Episode 5: Local Sound Bites at RightsCon 2025
In this episode we connect with Kuan-Ju Chou, Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), a Taiwan-based organisation that was initially grounded in campaigning around democratic reforms to ensure civil and political rights and today also focuses on engagement around a variety of human rights issues. We spoke with Kuan-Ju Chou about TAHR's work, particularly on digital rights, privacy and freedom of expression.