A coalition of partners from EWMI’s Promoting Freedom of Expression in Malaysia (ProFoEm) and Securing a Safe and Open Information Ecosystem in Malaysia projects are serving as co-conveners, for the 2025 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC25). aking place from August 26-27 in Kuala Lumpur, the third edition of DRAPAC will bring together over 500 activists, policymakers, technologists, human rights defenders, researchers, funders, and members of allied movements. The goal of the assembly is to create a space where advocates and movements can gain the tools and connections needed to make lasting change, strengthen movements, and explore new frontiers in the digital rights landscape.
DRAPAC25’s theme is “Collective Digital Futures: Building Power, Resilience, and Imagination.” Within this broad theme, the conference will include programing along three tracks, including:
- Shaping power, driving change: This track will focus on engaging governments, businesses, regional institutions, and global communities to influence policies, norms, and standards and advance strategies for accountability, access, and justice.
- Strengthening movements, securing our future: This track is centered on the sustainability of the digital rights and accountability movement by exploring the tools, strategies, and support systems needed to enhance organizational security, capacity, and infrastructure while fostering solidarity and wellbeing.
- Beyond boundaries, beyond limits: This track will focus on ways to expand the “frontier of digital rights” through new alliances, approaches, and unconventional strategies to drive systemic change. Sessions in this track are designed to “challenge assumptions, connect unexpected movements, and explore speculative ideas that push digital rights beyond traditional advocacy” to unlock new prospects for impact and innovation.
Throughout the event, a Human Rights Tech Fair will showcase privacy-respecting, secure, and open technologies addressing challenges faced by human rights defenders in the region, while pre- and post-event activities led by other human rights groups and civil society organizations will supplement and enhance the experience of DRAPAC25 attendees.
EWMI’s parters and DRAPAC25 co-conveners Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Sinar Project, Architects of Diversity (AOD) Malaysia, and the Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY) look forward to hosting a successful and impactful convening in collaboration with Engage Media.