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2024 Global Free Speech Summit Hosted by The Future of Free Speech, Oct. 17 & 18

Published: Oct. 1, 2024.

RSVP Summit Schedule

Oct. 17-18, 2024  |  Nashville, TN

On October 17-18, 2024, The Future of Free Speech and Vanderbilt University will host the inaugural Global Free Speech Summit. Experts from academia, industry and civil society organizations will gather on Vanderbilt’s campus to discuss the most pressing challenges threatening freedom of expression worldwide and identify impactful solutions to reinvigorate this fundamental freedom.

From 2012-2022, 6.3 billion people across 81 countries experienced declining freedom of expression. This global free speech recession has dire consequences for democratic governance, but The Future of Free Speech, located at Vanderbilt University, is focused on finding solutions to create a resilient global culture of free speech.

Panelists will discuss free speech in three discrete yet overlapping areas:

  • The challenges to free expression from governments.
  • The impact of the private tech sector on freedom of expression and access to information.
  • The challenges to freedom of inquiry and expression in cultural institutions that create and disseminate knowledge and art.

This multi-day summit will offer speakers, panelists and attendees a unique opportunity to engage with and exchange ideas, research, and solutions to turn back the tide of global threats to free speech stemming from these three sectors.

This event is FREE, but registration is required to attend.

RSVP

The event features multiple keynote speakers including:

  • Salman Rushdie
    One of The Most Celebrated Authors of Our Time
  • Masih Alinejad
    Iranian Journalist and Women’s Rights Activist
  • Audrey Tang
    Taiwan’s First Digital Minister
  • Nathan Law
    Hong Kong Democracy Activist

And dozens of confirmed speakers and panelists, including:

  • Musa al-Gharbi
    Assistant Professor of Journalism, Communication and (by courtesy) Sociology, Stony Brook University
  • Faisal Saeed Al Mutar
    Founder, Ideas Beyond Borders
  • Samar Ali
    Co-Chair, Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy
  • Rana Ayyub
    Columnist, The Washington Post
  • Joan Barata
    Senior Legal Fellow, The Future of Free Speech
  • James Bennet
    Senior Editor and Lexington Columnist, The Economist
  • Matt Brassard
    Head of Growth, Ground News
  • Anupam Chander
    Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology, Georgetown Law
  • Neil Chilson
    Head of AI, The Abundance Institute
  • Mishi Choudhary
    Senior Vice President, Virtu
  • Daniel Diermeier
    Chancellor of Vanderbilt University
  • Renée DiResta
    Social Media Researcher
  • David French
    Columnist, New York Times
  • Inaya Folarin Iman
    Journalist and Executive Director of the Equiano Project
  • Amna Khalid
    Associate Professor in the Department of History, Carleton College
  • Ritu Kapur
    CEO and Co-Founder, The Quint
  • Jeff Kosseff
    Non-Resident Senior Fellow, The Future of Free Speech
  • Billion Lee
    Co-founder of Cofacts
  • Jacob Mchangama
    Executive Director, The Future of Free Speech
  • Sarah McLaughlin
    Senior Scholar, Global Expression, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
  • Suzanne Nossel
    CEO, PEN America
  • Chidi Odinkalu
    Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law, Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
  • Szabolcs Panyi
    Investigative Editor, Central European Investigations, VSquare
  • David Plazas
    Opinion and Engagement Director, The Tennessean
  • Jonas Parello-Plesner
    Executive Director, Alliance of Democracies Foundation
  • Guilherme Döring Cunha Pereira
    President, Gazeta do Povo
  • Francesca Procaccini
    Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University Law School
  • Jeffrey Sachs
    Assistant Professor, Department of Politics, Acadia University
  • Freddie Sayers
    Editor-in-Chief & CEO, UnHerd
  • John M. Siegenthaler
    Partner at Finn Partners and former NBC anchor
  • Sarah Shirazyan
    Director and Head of GenAI Policy at Meta, Inc. and a Lecturer at Stanford Law School
  • Nadine Strossen
    John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita, New York Law School
  • David Sullivan
    Executive Director, Digital Trust & Safety Partnership
  • Jules White
    Professor of Computer Science and Senior Advisor to the Chancellor for Generative AI in Education and Enterprise Solutions, Vanderbilt University

About The Future of Free Speech

The Future of Free Speech is an independent, nonpartisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University. Through knowledge, research and advocacy, it works to restore a resilient global culture of free speech in the digital age. Led by Jacob Mchangama, The Future of Free Speech has published cutting-edge research and provided influential commentary on the state of global freedom of expression.

About Dialogue Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt reaffirms its over a century-and-a-half-long commitment to free speech and civil discourse through Dialogue Vanderbilt. The initiative comprises a vast array of programs and offerings, including the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, the Vanderbilt Debate Team, the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program and The Future of Free Speech.

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Global Free Speech Summit The Future of Free Speech Vanderbilt University
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