Congratulations on taking the first steps toward hosting a session at Mozilla Festival. This guide is your ultimate go-to resource for everything you need to know to lead a session. At Mozilla Festival, we encourage our community to connect, create, and contribute to building Trustworthy AI by tackling pressing issues like bias, and algorithmic harm.
Mozilla Festival is the premiere gathering for a more humane digital world bringing together people from various backgrounds. We serve as a hybrid festival made up of art, tech, and culture, providing a hub for makers and a critical space for social activists. Here, we not only reimagine the internet’s future, we actively reclaim it.
The Festival has various formats, from our large global convening – Mozilla Festival – to our smaller regional-focused events – MozFest House. We also have monthly Virtual Gatherings with our Discord community. You, as a Facilitator, can host sessions in a variety of different ways, including open-format discussions, workshops, hackathons, and more.
This guide is your roadmap to essential resources including how you can refine your facilitation skills, advice on session design, platform training and what support you have available to you throughout the experience.
We wish you the best of luck in preparing to facilitate your Mozilla Festival session.
This year, Mozilla Festival is focused on togetherness and solidarity. We’re hosting two MozFest House events: one in Amsterdam, Netherlands from 11-13 June and another in Zambia at the end of the year. These local, in-person gatherings are an opportunity for people within these regions to present their work on a regional platform to their local communities.
We aim to highlight the power of local initiatives to make global change. Each event is carefully curated to feature discussions and experiences relevant to our local partners and the communities they serve.
In addition to our in-person events, we're also continuing to mobilize online through our monthly Virtual Gatherings. These events provide a platform to exchange ideas from around the globe, share research, and learn about fascinating art projects. They keep our growing worldwide community connected and engaged.
At Mozilla Festival, our monthly Virtual Gatherings are on our Discord server. They build year-round momentum from our exciting global and regional convenings. Virtual Gatherings can take on a variety of formats from discussions, workshops, watch parties to Q&A sessions, art exhibitions and film screenings. They are a way for you to showcase your work and topics you’re interested in.
If you have led a virtual session at Mozilla Festival before, this will sound familiar. For those new to the festival, rest assured, you'll find all the resources you need to guide you through the process of facilitating Virtual Gatherings.
Getting Started
You'll meet with the MozFest team to understand what to expect and how best to prepare for your session. Here's a snapshot of best practices to kickstart your planning:
Welcome Participants
Create an engaging, friendly atmosphere from the get-go. A warm welcome can help participants feel at ease and stimulate conversation even before the session officially starts.
Structuring Your Session
- Introduction and Overview: Begin with introductions. Share who you are, outline what the session will cover and the agenda ahead. This will help set clear expectations.
- Session Content: Share the main content of your session. You can incorporate interactive elements like Q&A’s, Breakout rooms, or other participatory activities to help people deepen their understanding of the session content, collaborate, and get to know one another.
Stay Connected
Wrap up your session by providing a call to action and /or ways to stay in touch. Sharing resources, your contact information, or social platforms invites ongoing engagement with your work. This will help participants follow up and engage with your work after the session.
Navigating Discord
If Discord is new to you, don't worry—we've got a concise guide to help you make the most of its features for a seamless virtual session. Our guide, Discord 101, is a brief walkthrough on how you can navigate the platform, utilize its voice, video, and screen-sharing features, and leverage the various tools Discord offers to create a great experience.
Your Chance To Get Involved At MozFest
We're always on the lookout for amazing voices to spotlight within the MozFest community - join us to facilitate a MozFest Virtual Gathering!