The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF25), a bilingual global gathering, will convene hundreds of delegates in Lusaka, Zambia, from April 29th to May 1st, 2025. This will be the 12th Edition of the signature event hosted by pan-African organisation, Paradigm Initiative (PIN) in conjunction with its partners, Bloggers of Zambia, Common Cause Zambia, Internews Network Zambia, Internet Society Zambia, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, Zambian Cybersecurity Initiative Foundation (ZCSI), and the Zambia Ministry of Technology and Science.
At the same time, Paradigm Initiative is for the first time in the organisation’s history providing delegates with an opportunity to support digital rights and inclusion efforts by purchasing tickets for the event, which will be held under the theme, “Promoting Digital Ubuntu in Approaches to Technology.” This new development resonates with the theme that calls for inclusive and collaborative approaches to advancing digital rights and inclusion across the Global South. As much as PIN provides delegates the opportunity to support the event by purchasing tickets, it does not deny those who would wish to attend the event for free from doing so. The free registration which opened today, 20th February, 2025, will however close on 07th April, 2025.
The event, which will be held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) will be attended by representatives from government, non-governmental organisations, academia, media, funding partners, the United Nations, the technical community, and the private sector within the digital ecosystem to share experiences and map strategies that transcend geographical boundaries.
The event’s thematic areas are; Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, Trust and Accountability, Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity, Digital Inclusion and Marginalised Groups, Digital Security, Human Rights and Freedoms.
DRIF2025 sponsors include Ford Foundation, Luminate, Mott Foundation, Google, Meta, Wellsprings, Kingdom of the Netherlands, MacArthur Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation.
The Forum is the arena for tough topical global issues on digital rights and inclusion, accommodating views and opinions from civil society, technology companies, government, academia, and other stakeholders. The upcoming edition will build on the discussions from the 11th edition, which focused on Fostering Rights and Inclusion in the Digital Age.
