Events^ from the Rest of Us (16.10.25)
Policy-shaping knowledge moments from outside the mainstream
Today’s Events^ dispatch contains curated posts — currently through July 2026 — to keep you updated on knowledge shaping moments outside the mainstream Northern discourse. Please note that (margin*notes)^squared will initially focus on knowledge events in the Asia Pacific Region and from historically underrepresented groups. Please feel free to submit any upcoming events — seminars, conferences, webinars, workshops, etc — that you feel are relevant by dropping me a note.
I also believe it is vitally important to understand who funds knowledge moments that shape our public policy discourse. Events indicated with an (*) indicate activities that seem to be funded in part or in whole by a private sector entity (or the convening organisation receives private sector funding) and you are encouraged to investigate further.
Calendar (October 2025 - July 2026)
October 2025
15 October 2025 | London, United Kingdom | A Conversation on Big Tech & Genocide, organised by MAKAN, 7amleh, and Al-Kindi Club
15 October 2025 | Canberra, Australia and Virtual | Bandung at 70. Or, what really happened at the world’s most famous international conference, organised by the Australian National University College of Asia and the Pacific
15 October 2025 | New York, United States | UNGA80 Side Event: Report Launch, Tipping Points: Human Rights Defenders, Climate Change and a Just Transition, with Mary Lawlor, organised by the Republic of Ireland Permanent Mission to the United Nations, infohrd@protonmail.com to register to attend in-person
15-16 October 2025 | Virtual | iSMG Summits: Southeast Asia Summit (Cybersecurity), organised by iSMG (*)
15-16 October 2025 | Brussels, Belgium | The Future of Democracy: Speech, Thought, Sovereignty, and Power in the Age of Platforms and AI, organised by the Open Markets Institute and Article 19
16 October 2025 | Virtual | Webinar: The Subtle and Covert Censorship of Major Tech Platforms, organised by OBSERVACOM and Digital Action (focused on Latin America but relevant globally), register for Zoom access for English interpretation
16-17 October 2025 | Oxford, UK | Oxford Generative AI Summit 2025, organised by OxGenAI (*)
17 October 2025 | Manila, Philippines | AI Revolution Summit 2025, organised by Traicon Events with the Philippines Department of Science and Technology Advanced Science and Technology Institute, Department of Information and Communications Technology
20-22 October 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | ASEAN-UNESCO Multistakeholder Forum on the Governance of Digital Platforms, organised by UNESCO, Thailand Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand Electronic Transactions Development Agency, EUI Global Governance Programme, and the ASEAN Secretariat (by invitation only)
21 October 2025 | Global, Online | Global Encryption Day, organised by the Internet Society
22 October 2025 | Vienna, Austria and Virtual | Healthy Online Information Spaces: From Policy Guidance to Pathways Forward, organised by the OSCE
22-23 October 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand Virtual | Virtual Expert Group Meeting on Assistive Technology and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, organised by UN ESCAP
23-25 October 2025 | Macau SAR | AI for SDGs - Global Youth AI Future Innovation Competition 2025, organised by United Nations University Macau, Venture Cup China, and IAIGG Institute for AI International Governance Tsinghua University (*)
23-25 October 2025 | Macau SAR | United Nations University Macau AI Conference 2025: AI for Humanity - Building an Equitable Digital Future, organised by UNU Macau. (*)
24 October 2025 | New York and Virtual | NYSEAN Conference on Intellectual Freedom in Southeast Asia and the United States, organised by NYSEAN and the Southeast Asia Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEACAF)
25-26 October 2025 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, organised by ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) (*)
25-26 October 2025 | Singapore | Digital for Life Festival 2025, organised by the Government of Singapore
25-26 October 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | Bitkub Summit 2025, organised by Bitkub (*)
27-28 October 2025 | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | The 19th International Conference on Quality in Research: Empowering Indonesia through AI-Driven Innovation and Solutions for a Better Future, co-hosted by Universitas Indonesia Faculty of Engineering and Universitas Gadjah Mada Faculty of Engineering.
28 October 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | #SEABlings: An Emerging Solidarity Movement in Southeast Asia?, organised by SEA Junction
27-29 October 2025 | Bali, Indonesia | 4th Global Women’s Empowerment & Leadership Summit: Break Barriers, Build Futures, organised by Scholars Conferences.
30 October 2025 | Thailand, Virtual | Thailand Digital Rights Learning Circle: Connecting Local Struggles to Regional Movements, organised by EngageMedia
30 October 2025 | Virtual | Virtual Roundtable: AI-Accelerated Biological Risk: Delving into Asia’s challenges and Emerging Solutions, organised by AI Safety Asia
28-31 October 2025 | Busan, Republic of Korea | Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, organised by the Government of the Republic of Korea (*)
29-30 October 2025 | Paris, France | Paris Peace Forum, organised by the Paris Peace Forum (*)
29-31 October 2025 | Tokyo and Beppu, Japan | Inclusion International Conference 2025, organised by Peace Inclusion Piece
29-31 October 2025 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Asia-Europe Foundation 23rd Informal ASEM Seminar on Human rights (ASEMHRS23): Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence, organised by Asia-Europe Foundation (*)
29-30 October 2025 | Singapore | 2025 Sustainable Asia Conference, organised by Singapore University of Social Sciences and hosted by the School of Business
29-31 October 2025 | Ulsan, Republic of Korea | Asia & Pacific Disability Forum (APDF), organised by APDF
30 October 2025 | Singapore | Digital Work, Mobilities and Changing Cities in Asia Workshop, hybrid event (in-person and online), organised by the National University of Singapore, Asia Research Institute
November 2025
01-05 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | International Civil Society Week: Celebrating Citizen Action: Reimagining democracy, rights, and inclusion for today’s world, organised by Civicus, Thammasat University, and Mahidol University
03-04 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | First Southeast Asia Regional Conference on Academic Freedom, organised by Kaukus Indonesia Kebebasan Akademik (KIKA) and the Southeast Asia Coalition Academic Freedom (SEACAF)
04-07 November 2025 | Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand | 2025 ANPOR-APCA Annual Conference: Voices and Visions in Transition: Public Opinion, AI, and Digital Citizenship for Sustainable Futures in Asia, organised by Asian Network for Public Opinion Research (ANPOR) (*)
05 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | AI, Disinformation, and Democracy: Global Trends, Southeast Asian Futures, organised by Chulalongkorn University Institute of Asian Studies, The Asia Foundation, and IDRC-CDRI
05-07 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | APCOM Community Summit, organised by Apcom Foundation
05-08 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | “2025 AGLE Conference on Technological Advancement and Social Innovation for Rural and Agricultural Resilience”, organised by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Thailand and the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Agriculture Geography and Land Engineering (AGLE).
06 November 2025 | Malang, Indonesia | International Conference on Public Administration and Governance (ICoPAG) 2025: Smart, Just, and Connected: Advancing Public Services, Learning, and Knowledge in the 21st Century, organised by Universitas Brawijaya and Universitas Binneka Nusantara
06-07 November 2025 | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | International Conference on Information Technology and Digital Applications: AI for Digital Equity: Bridging the Divide in the Digital Era, organised by Universitas Islam Indonesia
07 November 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand | 2026 APCOM Hero Awards: Honouring outstanding HIV and LGBT advocates and allies from across Asia and the Pacific, organised by APCOM
07-08 November 2025 | Manila, Philippines | 14th Human Rights Education Programme (HREP2025): Responsible Digital Citizenship for Equality: Upholding Human Rights in Online Spaces, organised by ADREM Projects
10-11 November 2025 | Seoul, Republic of Korea | 8th AI Summit Seoul & Expo, organised by DMK Global (publisher of MIT Technology Review Korea (*)
11-12 November 2025 | Singapore | ASIS Asia-Pacific Conference, organised by ASIS (*)
11-13 November 2025 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Orange Movement Forum: From the South, for the Future: Financing Global Sustainability through Inclusion, organised by IIX, the Australian Government, and the Orange Movement (*)
14-15 November 2025 | Hyderabad, India | 9th Edition of Community Network Xchange 2025: Meaningful Access, Data & Hyberlocal Communities”, organised by defindia.org
14-15 November 2025 | Hyderabad, India | 7th Digital Citizen Summit 2025, People & Platforms: Let’s Talk Accountability, organised by defindia.org, Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP)
17-18 November 2025 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Orange Forum 2025: From the South, for the Future: Financing global Sustainability through Inclusion, organised by the Orange Movement, IIX, and the Australian Government, Indonesia Stock Exchange, and BAPPENAS (*)
18-21 November 2025 | Singapore | Responsible AI Summit Asia, organised by AI, Data & Analytics Network (*)