Wikimedians at the Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025: Advancing Free Knowledge and Shaping a Digital Rights-Based Future in Southeast Asia
How can we shape conversations around AI and digital rights in Southeast Asia so that over 675 million people can access and benefit from the public interest internet?
For the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia, one way is to participate in the Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025. DRAPAC25 is one of the largest convening on internet regulations and digital rights in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to strengthen regional solidarity and foster innovation in advancing digital rights through multi-stakeholder collaboration, capacity-building, and transformative advocacy against digital authoritarianism across the region.
DRAPAC25 will be held on 26–27 August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The convening will explore three main themes: advocating public policy, norms, and standards related to digital rights; strengthening the foundations and expertise of the digital rights movement as well as its resilience; and, renewing alliances and strategies imaginatively to expand digital public policy advocacy into the future.
Wikimedians will participate in four sessions during DRAPAC in order to highlight the importance of the public interest internet during significant regional discussions. They will explain why a commitment to free and open knowledge, community-led content moderation, and participatory governance matters to everyone as well as why it is crucial for building a rights-based digital future.
This year, EngageMedia will cohost the convening alongside Architects of Diversity (AOD Malaysia), Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ Malaysia), Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY), and Sinar Project.
Why DRAPAC25?
DRAPAC25 takes place during Malaysia’s 2025 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chairmanship. This rotating leadership role provides the Malaysian government with the opportunity to shape conversations about inclusivity and sustainability — in addition to security and economic cooperation — in advance of the 47th ASEAN Summit in October, 2025, where world leaders will also participate. Accordingly, DRAPAC is convening digital rights advocates, technologists, academics, and policymakers to forge impactful collaborations and shape policy at a pivotal time: addressing global issues, Southeast Asian countries are updating regulatory frameworks, advancing AI strategies, and contending with new challenges in internet content governance and human rights online.
In times of shifting public policy landscapes, it is more vital than ever that Wikimedians champion nonprofit, free and open knowledge platforms. Digital spaces like Wikipedia, recognized as a digital public good for its open-source contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contribute to the public interest by ensuring universal access to knowledge, enabling transparency in content moderation, and supporting resilient and inclusive digital communities. Protecting these parts of the internet from legal and regulatory threats is an important step toward building a better future online for everyone.
Are you attending DRAPAC 2025? If so, please join us at our open sessions!
Wikimedia sessions at DRAPAC25
Leveraging ASEAN Platforms to Promote a Rights-Based Approach to Countering Disinformation and Harmful Online Content
🔐🛠️ [Closed Session: Pre-DRAPAC Workshop]
Date: Sunday, 24 August
The Wikimedia Foundation will join the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and other leading civil society voices in this closed-door session with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and regulatory authorities. Together, we will explore a vital issue:
How can ASEAN human rights institutions advance rights-based responses to online harms without sacrificing freedom of expression or knowledge access?
While this session is closed-door, its outcomes will contribute to broader public policy advocacy with regional human rights bodies.
The Role of ASEAN Human Rights Mechanisms in Institutionalizing Human Rights in the Digital Space: Towards Accountability and Collective Advocacy
🛠️ [Open Session: Main DRAPAC Workshop]
Date: Tuesday, 26 August
Time: 11:30–12:50 UTC+8
Venue: Rooms 2.11 and 2.12, second floor, Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB) Centre for Excellence
Organizers: Wikimedia Foundation, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFENET), Koalisi Damai Indonesia, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and Oxfam Asia
The purpose of this roundtable is to strengthen civil society’s engagement with ASEAN’s key human rights institutions: the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the ASEAN Commission on the Protection and the Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), and the Southeast Asian National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF).
Regional human rights organizations and civil society participants will discuss:
- Embedding digital rights in ASEAN’s regional frameworks (for instance, the ASEAN Digital Blueprint and AICHR’s Work Plan 2026 to 2030)
- Developing concrete mechanisms for human rights monitoring and accountability online
- Building momentum for long-term collaboration among grassroots and institutional digital rights actors
Future of Digital Rights in ASEAN — Consultation on Cybersecurity, Digital Economy, and Artificial Intelligence
🛠️ [Open Session: Main DRAPAC Workshop]
Date: Wednesday, 27 August
Time: 14:30–15:50 UTC+8
Venue: Theatrette 1.12, first floor, AICB Centre for Excellence
Organizers: Wikimedia Foundation, Oxfam Asia, Access Now, EngageMedia, and FORUM-ASIA
The Wikimedia Foundation will co-lead this roundtable on digital policy trends. Discussion groups will tackle cybersecurity, the digital economy, and AI governance to build on ongoing efforts at developing an influential policy brief for the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025.
These recommendations will help to shape both national and regional digital rights advocacy. To ensure broad adoption across ASEAN, we will include outcomes from this open consultation in the policy brief, which is due for release in October 2025.
Development of Public Interest AI Governance in Southeast Asia
🔐💬 [Closed Session: Multistakeholder Discussion on AI Governance]
Date: Thursday, 28 August
Organizers: Wikimedia Foundation, Oxfam Asia, EngageMedia, and Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
This closed session is an invite-only exchange on ethical, human rights-aligned AI policy. Government representatives (i.e., the Malaysian Ministry of Digital and its National AI Office [NAIO]), Members of Parliament, civil society, academia, and international organizations will discuss how we can ensure future AI policies are not only innovative, but also inclusive and prioritize the public good.
These deliberations will shape regional priorities and elevate civil society’s role in regional AI governance platforms — including Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN initiatives.
Let’s connect at DRAPAC25!
If you attend DRAPAC25, please join us at the open sessions described above. However, no matter whether you attend the convening or not, please feel free to reach out to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy team if you are interested in learning more about these topics and exploring how you can get involved.
Together, we can build a digital future for the region grounded in knowledge equity and inclusivity, transparency, and access to reliable information for everyone.
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