HRF was delighted to have brought the Oslo Freedom Forum experience to the Bay Area on September 29, 2016. The second San Francisco Freedom Forum was an opportunity to hear from remarkable individuals who are making our world a more peaceful, prosperous, and free place. A full program of the day’s events is available here.
Bay Area leaders, business pioneers, dissidents, technologists, activists, artists, and journalists joined together for an unforgettable one-day event featuring inspiring stories from around the world. In partnership with Humanity United and the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, the Freedom Forum featured three sessions of talks from some of the Oslo Freedom Forum’s most powerful speakers at San Francisco’s Regency Center. Programming also included live art and performances, as well as an interactive expo that highlighted organizations and products at the intersection of technology and human rights. Topics explored at the Forum include encryption, virtual reality, censorship evasion, and activists using education and information to challenge dictatorships. Following the theater programming, Human Rights Foundation celebrated its anniversary with a 10 Year Celebration dinner at the Palace Hotel.
Speakers at the San Francisco Freedom Forum included Charlie Hebdo journalist Zineb El Rhazoui, Afghan tech entrepreneur Roya Mahboob, author Anjan Sundaram, North Korean defector Hyeonseo Lee, Russian chess champion and pro-democracy advocate Garry Kasparov, international litigator Kimberley Motley, Syrian citizen journalist Abdalaziz Alhamza, Chinese-Canadian actress Anastasia Lin, Cuban democracy activist Rosa María Payá, and Ukrainian anti-corruption advocate Yulia Marushevska.
The presenting sponsors of the San Francisco Freedom Forum were Humanity United and the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation.
Supporters included Badger Balm, Bridgewater Candles, Dear Leader, Harmless Harvest, HarperCollins, Headspace, Holland & Knight LLP, KIND, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Manhattan Portage, Moon Juice, No Starch Press, Raw Spirit, Silent Pocket, USB Memory Direct, and the Yonsei Center for Human Liberty.