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Building on the successes of DRAPAC23 Chiang Mai in 2023 and DRAPAC24 Taipei in 2024, DRAPAC25 Kuala Lumpur created space for meaningful dialogue and action to protect and advance digital rights across the region.

Mark your calendars: The 2026 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) will hold its fourth edition from June 8 to 10, 2026 in Manila, Philippines! The DRAPAC26 Assembly expounds on the previous year’s theme of collective digital futures and recenters its focus towards the movement’s co-creation of collective resources.

GUEST POST: DRAPAC25 was a timely opportunity to build on two of Vietnam Rise's recent focuses. Given our recent endeavours, I spent my time at DRAPAC25 attending sessions that addressed tech-related abuses to democracy in Southeast Asia, resourcing solutions amidst rising authoritarianism, and networking with other Southeast Asian activists in the tech space.

DRAPAC24 gathered over 287 changemakers from 150 organizations in Taipei, Taiwan for two days of conversations centered on three broad themes: regional solution-making, empowerment of young persons, and adoption of open technology.

While the passage of the 2023 National Cyber Security Policy establishes a legal and structural foundation for cybersecurity, the new policy poses risks to freedom of expression, right to privacy, and other fundamental rights.

As with the advent of the Internet, the international development community is grappling with the tensions brought about by the adoption and potential harms of artificial intelligence (AI).

As part of EngageMedia’s campaign to mainstream digital rights in Thailand, EngageMedia interviews Thitirat Thipsamritkul, a lecturer from Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law, about the state of digital rights in Thailand and why the Thai public should pay attention. The full interview is part of EngageMedia’s broader #HumanOnTheLine campaign to educate and empower Thai netizens about their digital rights.

In the last of our video blog series on artificial intelligence (AI) and Southeast Asia, EngageMedia interviews 5G researcher Melinda Martinus on how the different 5G providers in the region – whether from China or outside Asia – can influence the AI technologies that will be powered by it.

In support of the people of Myanmar protesting against the human and digital rights violations by the military, civil society organisations working in Myanmar or on Myanmar issues have published on Gitlab a list of digital security and safety resources in the Burmese language.