AKSC 7th Annual Conference 2026

What do democracy and freedom mean for people today?

Is democracy only about voting every few years? Is freedom only about having more choices as consumers? Or do they also mean living with dignity, free from exploitation, discrimination, and oppression?

For many, moving to the United States once symbolized freedom from caste. Yet cases such as the Cisco caste discrimination lawsuit and attempts to uphold caste practices in the name of culture show that this promise remains a dream unfulfilled.

Does the law protect those who face injustice, or is it being used to defend existing systems of oppression? As terms such as “Hinduphobia” enter legal and public debates, these questions become more urgent.

Technology raises similar concerns. AI could be used to better working conditions and improve lives. Yet it is only being used to cut jobs, further exploit workers from developing countries, and concentrate wealth, even as corporate profits grow.

Culture, law, and AI do not exist in isolation. They shape how power is maintained, and decide whose voices are heard and which are culled; whose lives are valued and whose livelihoods are thrown to the wayside.

Join us to explore these questions together. Through discussion and collective analysis, we will examine how power works today, and how we can challenge inequality and build a more democratic future.

AKSC turns ten

AKSC is built on a decade of grassroots organizing.

Our conference is a unique anti-caste space where theory meets practice and ideas are tested on the ground.

After ten years of building an inclusive anti-caste platform, we are entering the next phase: forging lasting relationships across organizations to collectively challenge new forms of exploitation.

Call for student presentations

We invite submissions centred around the conference theme:

Democracy & Freedom: Promise vs Practice
How Culture, Law and AI Control the Narrative

This conference will feature three sessions focused on three forces that shape hegemony and supremacy today: culture, law, and AI. Each session will include an expert panel and student presentations.

The sessions will examine how culture and media—including election campaigns and curriculum politics—law through courts, legislation, and legal systems, and technology, especially the rapid rise of AI, are going to shape the future of organizing. Importantly, they will explore effective ways to challenge and resist the exploitative tendencies of these forces.

If you are working broadly on any of these themes, send in your abstract.

Participants are encouraged to present work-in-progress, hypotheses and/or results relating to data-driven or qualitative research, or visual storytelling. Presentations can take academic, activist, or artistic forms.

Submission details

• Title and 150–200 word abstract
• Name, affiliation (if any), and contact information
• Deadline: 5:00 PM PST, September 1, 2026
• Email: akscsfba@gmail.com

All presenters should register for the conference. Registration information is being confirmed: the source page’s current button points to a 2025 conference product, so that checkout link is not reproduced here.

Discounts and meals

• Attendees aged 20 or younger: 100% discount
• Undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students: 50% discount
• Lunch and dinner are included in the registration fee

Email akscsfba@gmail.com for discount codes.

Programme

Information on the panels, panelists, and schedule will be published soon.

Venue

Los Cerritos Community Center
3377 Alder Avenue
Fremont, CA 94536