Connecting Communities and Networks or COCONET, named after coconuts that is widely grown and used in Southeast Asia, primarily aimed to enhance regional networking and build collaborations to expand and popularise digital rights issues. First organised in 2017 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, more than 100 journalists, human rights campaigners, women’s rights activists, digital security trainers, documentary filmmakers, writers, social media activists, and even artists participated, resulting to almost 30 post-camp collaborations. (Read about our goals and achievements here: COCONET 2017 public report (PDF 6MB))

Due to the Camp's success and potential as the first and only digital rights gathering in the region, in October 2019, EngageMedia, the Association for Progressive Communications and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance will again bring 120 digital rights advocates, artists, activists, campaigners, journalists, technologists, policy experts and human rights defenders to the Philippines to collaborate in:

• Strengthening digital rights community/movement in Southeast Asia

• Creating opportunities and building capacity for regional advocacy in SEA on digital rights

• Mainstreaming digital rights in the region

• Promoting understanding and integration between human rights and digital rights groups, and;

• Strengthening the use and development of open technology among civil society.

For 5 days, the camp will again break down silos, catalyse regional networking and collaboration, develop skills, deepen relationships, spark campaigns and bring new actors in the digital rights field.

The Coconutz community are composed of collaborators, partners, funders and participants who are continuously working to build the digital rights movement in the region. You may know more about their learnings and experience at the Camp from a selected roster of articles and videos below:

• Video and Technology for Human Rights Documentation at COCONET

• Video interviews with camp participants

• PBS Thai Report: Activists from Three Different Countries

• Pocket Power: A Mobile Video Production Workshop at COCONET

• COCONET: Learning from each other to achieve the social justice we all wan

• Rangoli as a way to explore networks

• DRF attended 5-day Digital Rights Camp in Indonesia

• COCONET Southeast Asia Digital Rights Camp. 
Interviews With Nine Digital Rights Activists

• Kamp COCONET, Wadah Berbagi Pengalaman Aktivis SE-Asia Tenggara

Aspiring members of the Coconutz community are encouraged to join the Camp. We will be announcing the call for applications soon. Please bookmark this page and follow our social media pages!