On a personal note: This edition is delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. As it turns out, those experiences became my latest article here.
Legend
🆕 = added since last edition (also in red font)
⏮️ 🆕 = items that were new in the previous edition
Today’s Events^ dispatch contains curated posts — currently through May 2027 — to keep you updated on knowledge shaping moments outside the mainstream Northern discourse. Please feel free to submit any upcoming events — seminars, conferences, webinars, workshops, trainings, etc — that you feel are relevant by dropping me a note by using this button:
Training Opportunities
Self-Paced | Online | Unlocking AI for Nonprofits, by NetHope and Microsoft (*), Cost: Free
Self-Paced | Online | AI and Human Rights 101, by United Nations Global Compact, Cost: Free
22 July to 08 October 2026 | Online | The Asia-Europe Training on Science and Technology Diplomacy 2026 for young professionals, organised by Asia-Europe Foundation (Note: culminates with the Asia-Europe Science and Technology Youth Summit in October (see below)
18-20 August 2026 | Pacific Islands, Online | Transforming Rural Landscapes: CIRDAP and PIDF Launch International Online Training Programme on AI for Rural Development, organised by Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP)
Fellowship Opportunities
Digital Public Infrastructure Safeguards Accelerator, United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, apply by 30 July (for both UN entities and NGO pathways)
The Singapore AI Safety Fellowship, by Singapore AI Safety Hub (SASH); apply by 10 July 2026
⏮️ 🆕 Centre for Humane Technology, Emerging Voices in AI and Society Fellowship
⏮️ 🆕 AYNEF (ASEAN Youth Nexus for Equitable Futures), “Youth overcoming inequalities that undermine our future,” for all ASEAN Gen-Z Students, apply by 30 July 2026
Research Abstracts
🆕 Call for Research Abstracts: International Conference on Asian Innovation and Integration for Development (AIID) Conference 2026 – 30 July 2026
🆕 Call for abstracts: 2026 Women and Gender Studies Association of the Philippines (WASP) Annual Conference: Subverting Silences, Building Solidarities: Gendered Perspectives on Peace, Security and Resilience in the Philippines (12-13 Nov 2026, Manila, Philippines) - 31 August 2026
🆕 United Nations University Macau AI Conference 2026 Call for Panelists (25-26 Nov 2026, Macau SAR) - 07 August 2026
🆕 Queer Theory in the Age of Global Asias: An International Conference (11-12 Dec 2026, Hong Kong), organised by the University of Hong Kong - 31 July 2026
Calendar
July 2026
16-28 July 2026 | Chengdu, China | APEC Digital Week, organised by APEC and Government of the People’s Republic of China
20-21 July 2026 | Cebu, Philippines | 9th ASEAN Smart Cities Network Annual Meeting, organised by ASCN
20-24 July 2026 | New York, United States | First Substantive Plenary Meeting of the Global Mechanism on ICTs in the Context of International Security, organised by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
🆕 21 July 2026 | Singapore and Online | APEC China 2026: Key Updates and Developments (panel discussion), organised by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore
21-23 July 2026 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference, organised by the Global Learning Community
22-23 July 2026 | Singapore | IAPP Asia Forum 2026: Privacy Forum + AI Governance + Cybersecurity Law, organised by IAPP (*)
22-24 July 2026 | Shanghai, China | World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026, organised by the government of the People’s Republic of China
24-25 July 2026 | Canberra, Australia | 2026 Myanmar Update, organised by the Cora Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University
27-31 July 2026 | Daejeon, Republic of Korea | DH2026: 36th annual conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO), organised by ADHO
🆕 29 July 2026 | Singapore / Online | Vietnam’s Digital Transformation: Impact on Export Competitiveness of Digital Services, organised by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore
29-31 July 2026 | Da Nang, Việt Nam | ASEAN AI Summit 2026 (AAIS): AI in Education, AI for a Resilient ASEAN - Innovation, Sustainability and Humanity, organised by Duy Tan University and the Government of Việt Nam
August 2026
🆕 01-02 August 2026 | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Jagongan Hak Digital 2026 (“Unmute Your Rights”), organised by SAFEnet and Combine Resource Institution
01-05 August 2026 | Kyoto, Japan | Kyoto University Summer Program on Governance Innovation, organised by Kyoto University Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Law and Policy (KILAP)
03-05 August 2026 | Iloilo City, Philippines | AI Fest PH 2026, organised by West Visayas State University, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iloilo, Regional Association of State Universities and Colleges, DOST VI, UMWAD Consortium, Innovate Iloilo, DevCon, AAP, Sync (*)
⏮️ 🆕 08-09 August 2026 | Phuket, Thailand | International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Human Rights (ICAIEHR-26), organised by Research Leagues
10-11 August 2026 | Bali, Indonesia | 11th World Disability and Rehabilitation Conference (WDRC 2026): The Sustainable Advantage: Human Relations, Technology, and Mental Health for Disability Inclusion, organised by the International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM)
10-12 August 2026 | Surakarta, Indonesia | 9th Human Rights Conference: Peace, Security, and Environmental Justice in Asia - Advancing human dignity for sustainable futures, organised by The University of Sydney (Sydney Southeast Asia Centre), Universitas Sebelas Maret, Centre for Human Rights, Multiculturalism, and Migration (CHRM2), University of Jember, Indonesian Consortium for Human Rights Lecturers (SEPAHAM Indonesia), KOMNAS HAM, ISFORB, Nanzan University, Universiti Malaya
⏮️ 🆕 11-12 August 2026 | Seoul, South Korea | Open Source Summit Korea, organised by The Linux Foundation (*)
⏮️ 🆕 12-14 August 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland | AI for Developing Countries Forum: Small Takes the Lead, organised by AI for Developing Countries Forum in partnership with the government of Antigua and Barbuda
⏮️ 🆕 14-16 August 2026 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | 5th International Burma/Myanmar Studies Conference - Between Crisis & Possibility: Voices for Myanmar’s Transformation, organised by Chiang Mai University
17-18 August 2026 | Barcelona, Spain | International Conference on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, organised by the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
19-21 August | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | LAWASIA Environmental Law Conference 2026: Environmental Rule of Law: what it is, how it is implemented, what are its threats, what are its institutions and how it can be upheld, organised by LAWASIA (the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific), the Papua New Guinea Centre for Judicial Excellence and the Papua New Guinea Law Society (*)
⏮️ 🆕 19-21 August 2026 | Seoul, South Korea | AI Summit Seoul & Expo 2026, organised by MIT Publishing Korea (*)
20-21 August 2026 | Bangkok, Thailand | Religious Freedom in Asia: Representation, Restriction, Rights (Asia Centre’s 11th Annual Conference), organised by the Asia Centre
🆕 22-24 August 2026 | Lahor, Pakistan / Online | Towards Alternative World Making: A Dialogue on Ending Imperialism and Dismantling the Coloniality of Power, organised by the Pluriversity Lahore and Centre for Critical Peace Studies at the University of Management and Technology, with international scholar network (Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa, Ireland, Hong Kong and Philippines)
24-28 August 2026 | Pathum Thani (Bangkok), Thailand | Professional Development Course on AI in HAR and Superworker Organisation Transformation, organised by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
25-27 August 2026 | New Delhi, India | AVPN Conference 2026: A Blueprint for Action in Asia, organised by the Asian Venture Philanthropists Network (APVN) (*)
🆕 28 August 2026 | Taipei, Taiwan | Advanced AI Safety Forum 2026: AI Risk, Governance, and Industrial Practices, organised by National Taiwan University IoX Center and Taiwan AI Center of Excellence (AICoE)
28-29 August 2026 | Bangkok, Thailand | 5th NIC-NIDA Conference 2026: Governance in the Age of AI: Transformation for Human & Global Impact, organised by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA)
The rest of this calendar covers events through May 2027 on AI governance, platform accountability, digital rights, human trafficking, inclusion, media freedom and related topics — with a particular eye on civil society, researchers, and advocates working in the Global South — and with a note on who's actually behind each one. Several have registration deadlines in the coming weeks. Paid subscribers see all of it.
