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.
About the Summit
Oct. 17-18, 2024 | Nashville, TN
On October 17-18, 2024, The Future of Free Speech and Vanderbilt University will host the inaugural Global Free Speech Summit. Experts from academia, industry and civil society organizations will gather 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
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
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
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 will discuss 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 will offer 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.
This event is FREE, but registration is required to attend.
RSVP