1,500+
Participants
113
Speakers
111
Countries Represented
1,000+
Unique Media Hits
7.7m
Video Views
350k
Social Media Engagements
Our Global Community
Every year, the Oslo Freedom Forum brings together dissidents, journalists, technologists, policymakers, artists, and everyday citizens with a shared goal of defending freedom where it is most under threat. OFF 2026 set a new record for in-person participation, with more than 1500 in-person attendees, a 26% increase from the previous year.
1,500+
In-Person Participants
111
Countries Represented
Supporting Our Community:
We recognize that access to spaces like OFF should not depend on the ability to access a visa, pay for a plane ticket, and secure costly accommodations — especially when the people whose stories matter most are often those with the fewest resources to share them. In an effort to make the Oslo Freedom Forum more accessible, HRF provided complimentary tickets, flights, and hotels for 40 activists from around the world who otherwise would not have been able to attend, and sold 80 discounted student tickets to make space for the next generation of leaders and human rights defenders.
Global Media Impact
1,000+
Media Hits
125+
Countries With Coverage
27
Languages Covered
International Media
Social Media Hits
500+
Mentions Across Digital Spaces
957
Unique Posts
6M+
Reach
39.1M+
Video Views
19.5M+
Social Media Impressions
235.2M+
Social Media Engagements
32.5K
New followers across platforms
Community Moments
During the Oslo Freedom Forum, I had the privilege of meeting the courageous children of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, recipient of Liberal International’s Prize for Freedom.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) June 3, 2026
Victoire is a woman of unbreakable strength. She has paid the price of persecution and years of sacrifice… https://t.co/sWDcREDjrH
Program Highlights and Takeaways
Voices From the Front Lines of Freedom
OFF 2026 brought together leading voices from many of the most prominent ongoing struggles for democracy and human rights around the world. In her first major public appearance since winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado urged audience members to join “all those fighting for their own freedom around the world.” Noor Pahlavi emphasized her family’s vision for a democratic future of free and fair elections in which Iranians can make their voices heard. Lobsang Sangay, the former president of the Tibetan government in exile, reminded the attendees that dismantling dictatorship is only the first challenge for movements for freedom; with that task accomplished comes the work of building more democratic systems to replace them.
Dismantling Dictatorship As a Creative Endeavor
Authoritarian regimes seek to muzzle creative dissent because they recognize the threat it poses to their survival. OFF calls attention to both the power of creativity and the risks facing artists living under tyranny. Art exhibitions “Let There Be Light” and “Doors to Freedom,” as well as musical performances, showcased the work of artists who have persisted through imprisonment, exile, or cultural erasure. Eritrean writer Yirgalem Fisseha shared her harrowing account of imprisonment and torture for writing poetry that criticized the regime. In a first-ever stand-up comedy show, comedians put the absurdity of authoritarian power on full display. HRF’s Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent, presented this year by actor and humanitarian Richard Gere to Burmese artist Sai and Chinese artist and prisoner of conscience Gao Zhen, honored those who work to unmask dictatorship through art.
Turning Technology Against Tyranny
Digital repression is a key tool in the arsenal of authoritarians seeking to crack down on dissidents by surveilling their communications, freezing their bank accounts, and restricting their internet access. This year’s Freedom Tech track explored these risks, as well as how digital tools can be wielded as instruments of liberation. Hands-on workshops taught civil society leaders to use censorship-resistant tools to communicate and organize offline when regimes pull the plug on the internet, how to use Bitcoin to move and access money beyond the reach of authoritarian financial systems, and how privacy-preserving artificial intelligence (AI) can supercharge their work. A short documentary filmed at OFF by journalist Joe Nakamoto explored how Nayib Bukele’s regime in El Salvador has embraced the language and image of Bitcoin as freedom money while concentrating power and weakening the individual rights the technology was designed to protect.
Journalists Exposing the Authoritarian Playbook
This year’s OFF shared the stories of brave journalists working to report on abuses of authoritarian power, even at great personal cost. Steven Kefas recounted how his investigations into terrorism and abductions in Nigeria’s Middle Belt landed him in prison. Burmese journalist Thin Lei Win shared the plight of journalists in the country since the 2021 coup and highlighted how independent media helps resist authoritarian domination. And when whistleblower and former FIFA World Cup media manager Abdullah Ibhais was detained and his passport confiscated days before the Forum to prevent him from traveling to give his keynote speech, he delivered his message by video, urging the world to be “so loud that the noise of the people forces accountability.” Leading journalists joined HRF’s Sports & Dictators program experts to focus attention on how autocrats exploit the World Cup to project power and whitewash their images.
Protecting Democracy’s Embattled Defenders
In Oslo, HRF shone a spotlight on the dissidents and human rights defenders held as prisoners of conscience by authoritarian regimes, and the increasing threats to the lawyers who defend them. Our Impact Litigation team’s expo booth showed attendees the cases HRF is currently defending, including those of Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, Alexei Navalny’s lawyers, and Owen Chow, a member of the Hong Kong 47. An interactive panel discussed emerging strategies to protect lawyers as authoritarian regimes increasingly seek to prosecute those who defend dissidents and opposition groups.
Investing in Resilience
Theater Talks: A Snapshot
Meet Our Speakers
Interactive Programming: A Snapshot
Strengthening Partnerships
Following an exhibition of the work of Tibetan contemporary artist Tenzing Rigdol hosted by the Art in Protest program, HRF convened a private discussion between Tibetan activists and Richard Gere, creating space for dialogue and reinforcing connections between a longtime advocate for Tibet and a new generation of activists.
Activists at OFF made connections that immediately created further opportunities to advance their work. Md Saiful Islam, a human rights advocate from Bangladesh and one of HRF’s Freedom Fellows, was invited to speak at an event hosted by the Global Migrant Workers Network to advance solidarity for migrant workers across Africa and Asia.
Conversations between OFF speakers sparked collaborations and plans for future events, including an upcoming partnership with the Prometheus Institute and Faisal Al Mutar to convene an HRF College Freedom Forum in Berlin.
Advancing Advocacy
The sons of Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, Rémy and Rist Amahirwa, met with María Corina Machado, who tweeted a heartfelt message and photo holding the portrait painted at HRF’s Impact Litigation booth alongside them. After OFF, Rémy brought the portrait to the UN Human Rights Council to address Rwanda’s human rights violations during the Universal Periodic Review process. A month after OFF, HRF received a favorable opinion from the WGAD declaring Ingabire’s detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Driving Innovation
During this year’s OFF, the World Liberty Congress launched Ágora, a new global platform designed to help freedom movements receive direct international fundraising support without relying on traditional financial gatekeepers. First developed at HRF’s AI Hack for Freedom and later supported by HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund, Ágora addresses the growing difficulty activists and independent movements face to access funding infrastructure without authoritarian interference.
Attendee Testimonials
The stories, wisdom, and courage shared throughout the Forum will stay with me and will continue to nourish my heart and spirit of peace through action.
A great opportunity to know many stories and realize that we are not alone, and great connections in the future.
Patron Pass attendee
The most powerful opportunity to protect freedom.
Forum Pass attendee
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