I’m new to the European privacy‑activist scene and I’m trying to compile a personal list of the best conferences so I can start attending events, meet people, and get involved in the community.
TL;DR – My ask
Please share any privacy‑oriented activist conferences (EU‑based preferred, but worldwide is fine) – name, location, dates, and a link, if possible, but I can look up the details myself, of course.
What I’ve already checked
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BSides (global, tech‑focused)
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Chaos Communication Congress (Germany)
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Community events around Monero, Matrix, Qubes OS
What I’m specifically after
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Events where activism (e.g., anti‑Chat‑Control, digital‑ID opposition) is a core theme
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EU conferences scheduled for 2026 (in‑person or hybrid)
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Any non‑EU gatherings that have strong activist tracks (even if I attend virtually)
Why it matters to me
I’m passionate about digital sovereignty on both the individual, EU level & globally (we’re all connected, no?), and I want to connect with others fighting US‑centric tech dominance and legislation like Chat Control.
Many, many thanks in advance! Your suggestions will go straight into a personal calendar I’m putting together so I can start planning for 2026 and continue from there. I’m sure they will be helpful for others, too.
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You’ve already mentioned some important ones. You’ve forgotten a very big one.
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There is also the IKT in Vienna (Austria).
It is not a privacy conference more than a security conferences for militaries (Germany, Austria, USA, Israel and so on) around the world and companies (Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, Yubico, Fortigate and many more), but it is highly informative so if you can get in there I would do it.
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Awesome, thanks! I keep forgetting this one for some reason, but am definitely writing this one down and see the logistics soon. I’m trying to plan early because flights and accommodation are then cheaper, of course. 
Quick update: thanks for the link, too. I remembered there was an event in January I wanted to go to, but kept forgetting.
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Very cool, never heard of it, but will definitely look it up. Yeah, I include security conferences in my list, too, as privacy and security really go hand in hand. I’d love to check this one out, for sure.
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You can’t just walk in there you need to write to them and ask if they allow you and get accredited, it’s a closed conference.
But if you can get in there it is definitely something where you can build connection into business related stuff inside the IT and security scene and get some insides of big tech companies as well as military (nothing that is considered as non-public information).
The language is mainly English and German.
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