About

The rise of network shutdowns and the proliferation of so-called “splinternets” pose significant challenges to the free flow of information and human interaction online. Millions of people around the world experience digital isolation as a result of environmental disaster, political action or military aggression.

At the same time, the growth and sophistication of wireless communication technologies and the proliferation of decentralized protocols — as well as the continuous efforts of the VPN and censorship circumvention communities — present a diverse portfolio of solutions to reach or break out of isolated networks, as well as to enable private and resilient communications for users inside. We aim to provide platform for:

Evaluating existing and future tech solutions for communication with and within sovereign networks;
Analyzing the practices and impacts of network isolation and shutdowns;
Investing in practical and user-oriented solutions for connectivity and content distribution across digital barriers.

Participation

SplinterCon invites participants from academia, industry, government and civil society organizations working on issues around wireless communications, network measurement, decentralized protocols and services, censorship circumvention and internet freedom advocacy, among others. Travel grants are available for presenters coming from the ‘other side’ of the digital divide. Note that all events are held under Chatham House rule.

For speakers

Participate as speaker by submitting a paper, skill share or technology demonstration to the CFP. Our advisory council will invite applicants to present this work. Travel grants are available for presenters coming from the ‘other side’ of the digital divide.

Call for papers

For attendees

Participate as a guest by registering below. Due to limited space and ambitions to keep the meeting focused and productive, we ask you to provide information on how your background is relevant to the event. We review and confirm every registration manually, and with all due respect.

registration

For partners

Help us spread the word about SplinterCon by promoting event on your website, mailing lists, and social media platforms. Share information and encourage your audience to attend, contributing to the SplinterCon’s visibility and reach.

Advisory council

All submitted papers and participation requests are carefully reviewed by the advisory council. Learn more about the team behind the selection process:

Alena Epifanova

Research Fellow, Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.

Aurang

Aurang Zarvun, Director of Technology Innovation

Ksenia Ermoshina

Researcher, eQualitie, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris

Mallory Knodel

CTO, Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington

Nick Sullivan

Cryptography and systems security

Nicolas Diaz

Head of Digital Security, Reporters Without Borders

Marion Moreau

Tech Journalist

Hammer

Founder and Director, Project Ainita.

Fereidoon Bashar

There is always a way

Amir Rashidi

Director of digital rights & security

Isabela Bagueros

Executive Director, the Tor Project

Ethan Zuckerman

Associate Professor, the University of Massachusetts.

Timothy Ball

Jean-Philippe Décarie-Mathieu

Co-founder, Crypto.Québec

Dmitri Vitaliev

Founding Director, eQualitie

Mart van Santen

Co-Founder & Director, Greenhost

Organizers

SplinterCon is an eQualitie initiative. Individual events are created together with partners and the advisory council.

eQualitie develops digital connectivity solutions towards a more equal and equitable internet. Our interest in the splinternet stems from programmatic work in restrictive networks and follows on from the “Internet Without Borders” conference series. The outcomes of SplinterCon drive our and our partners’ programmatic agendas.