TCU Featured on Portugal’s Most-Watched News Program After Meet and Greet Event

TCU staff and the digital rights community received a five segment during Portugal’s most viewed news program! “Jornal da Tarde at Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP). The segment was broadcasted on various channels!.

This week TCU hosted a Meet and Greet to welcome the Global Gathering to Portugal, an annual event that brings together over 1,500 digital rights defenders from over 144+ countries.

The event received significant media coverage, including Portugal’s most watched news program, which featured TCU’s staff during a five minute segement.

In attendance were diverse Portuguese civil society organizations, companies, government officials, and open-source community leaders.

Team CommUNITY had the opportunity to present their three-year vision and initiate discussions on how they could better support the local Portuguese community in the coming years.

Team CommUNITY’s Panel, from left to right: Mehwish Ansari, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19; Sandy Ordoñez, Head of Team CommUNITY; Erin McConnell, organizer of the Global Gathering; Francisco Rocha and Sofia Gomes, Co-Founders of PrivacyLx; and Daniela Antão, Secretary-General of IUS OMNIBUS.

During the opening panel, Mehwish Ansari, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19, reflected on the current state of digital rights and emphasized the importance of upcoming multi-stakeholder Internet governance decisions set to take place in the coming year, highlighting their potential impact on citizens.

Sandy Ordoñez, Head of Team CommUNITY (TCU), shared the various reasons behind moving the international event to Estoril, Portugal, citing the country’s progressive laws and remarking, "Portugal has become one of the most important beacons of democracy worldwide." Ordoñez also noted that Estoril’s calming and beautiful surroundings would offer a restorative environment for the activists and journalists supported by TCU. She credited Portugal’s success to its citizens’ innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, centered on the value of the human spirit.

Erin McConnell, organizer of the Global Gathering at TCU, discussed the wide range of attendees the event attracts, including journalists, technologists, security experts, policy advocates, civil society representatives, and social movement leaders—individuals working on critical issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. She also highlighted the significant efforts of digital rights defenders within the European Union in areas such as data privacy, regulation of artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.

Francisco Rocha and Sofia Gomes, Co-Founders of Portugal’s PrivacyLx, outlined why digital rights are essential to Portuguese citizens, especially youth. They spoke about how young people in Portugal are contributing to the global movement through public interest technology initiatives and emphasized the crucial role of the Portuguese community in safeguarding the future of democracy and human rights worldwide.