By JKNewsMedia Reporter
DELEGATE ENROLMENT has opened for the 2026 Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum, a bilingual event set to gather hundreds of global delegates in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to explore, discuss and advance digital rights and inclusion across Francophone Africa and beyond.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the forum will take place at the Radisson Blu Abidjan Airport Hotel from 14th to 16th April 2026, offering a platform to engage issues of digital rights and inclusion across Francophone Africa and beyond.
Organisers stated that the 2026 edition, the first to be hosted in a Francophone country, will be held under the theme Building Inclusive and Resilient Digital Futures.
In a release issued on the event, the hosts also said the theme responds to ongoing rapid digital expansion, uneven internet access, rising surveillance, shrinking civic space and funding, particularly across the Global South.
It builds on the 2025 theme Promoting Digital Ubuntu in Approaches to Technology, which called for inclusive and collaborative approaches to advancing digital rights and inclusion across the Global South.
They also stated that the forum will be hosted by Paradigm Initiative in collaboration with its partner, Coalition Ivoirienne des Défenseurs des Droits Humains.
Sponsors include the Ford Foundation, International Development Research Centre, Human Rights Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mott Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Wikimedia as well as some individual supporters.
Previously known as the Internet Freedom Forum, the event has been held since 2013 and has brought together almost 3,000 delegates from over 70 countries.
It was recalled that the first edition in Nigeria convened 53 delegates from 30 countries.
In 2019, organisers changed the name from Internet Freedom Forum to Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum to incorporate digital inclusion aspects.
Last year 2025’s edition was held in Lusaka, Zambia, the 2024 edition in Accra, Ghana, and the 2023 edition in Nairobi, Kenya.
Thematic areas covered under DRIF include Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, Trust and Accountability, Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity, Digital Inclusion and Marginalised Groups, Digital Security, Human Rights and Freedoms.
The organizer, Paradigm Initiative (PI), stated that it received 449 session proposals this year, up from 346 proposals in 2025.
The sessions include workshops, day zero events, tech demos, product launches, lightning talks and panel sessions. Session hosts are expected to receive feedback from PI on 28th February 2026 regarding the status of their proposals.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that this year, delegates will include representatives from civil society, non-governmental organisations, academia, media, funding partners, the United Nations (UN), the technical community, government and the private sector within the digital ecosystem to share experiences and map strategies that transcend geographical boundaries.
Also, organisers said the meeting provides a platform for topical global issues on digital rights and inclusion, accommodating views from civil society, technology companies, funders, governments, UN bodies, media, academia and other stakeholders.
