Photo from our 2015 summit in Cebu (cc) Jer Clarke

At the Global Voices Summit 2017, our community of bloggers, activists, social media experts and geeks from around the globe will come together to discuss the evolving state of the open Internet, online civic movements and human rights in the digital age. In interactive sessions, panels, and debates, we will delve into complex issues ranging from misinformation/disinformation to corporate hijinks to legal threats against bloggers and activists—all challenges that could make or break the future of the internet.

Since 2006, Global Voices Summits have brought together the most innovative and inspiring digital activist and citizen media communities from around the world. Past Summits in London, New Delhi, Budapest, Santiago de Chile, Nairobi and Cebu City have strengthened community ties, sparked new friendships, and served as a rich breeding ground for new ideas and collaborations across borders.

Meeting face to face

Global Voices Summits combine a public conference focused on key issues impacting citizen media and the global Internet, with a closed, working meeting for the Global Voices community. The internal meeting provides an opportunity for contributors to Global Voices—who live all over the world—to meet face-to-face and discuss core issues relating to our mission, practice and impact.

Location

For each Summit, we seek a location that is of strategic importance for citizen media. We also consider the country’s press freedom record and ease of access for visitors of different nationalities. Sri Lanka, with its creative and historically important citizen media scene and pioneering work in digital media since the 1990s, has experienced and learned from many of the opportunities and challenges to its online communities the rest of the world is now experiencing.

With participants from over 70 countries in attendance, the Global Voices Summit 2017 is sure to be a truly global campaign and discussion.

This year's Summit takes place at the TRACE Expert City in Colombo's Maradana district.

Spread the word!

Excited about the Summit? Show the world by posting and tweeting about it using the hashtag #GV2017!

Even if you can't join us…

We know many people will not be able to join us in Sri Lanka, so we'll be making many of the Summit sessions available online through webcasts, blog posts, and live tweeting. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates about the Global Voices Summit 2017.