Summit Overview

On October 17-18, 2024, The Future of Free Speech and Vanderbilt University will host the inaugural Global Free Speech Summit, an event to discuss the most pressing challenges threatening freedom of expression worldwide and identify impactful solutions to reinvigorate this fundamental freedom.

Watch Highlights

About the Summit

Oct. 17-18, 2024  |  Nashville, TN

On October 17-18, 2024, The Future of Free Speech and Vanderbilt University hosted the inaugural Global Free Speech Summit. Experts from academia, industry and civil society organizations gathered 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.

Keynote Speakers

Salman Rushdie

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

Confirmed Speakers and Panelists

Musa al-Gharbi

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

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

 

Panelists discussed 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 offered 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.

Watch Highlights

 

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.