Netpolicy/advocacy/events/templates/weekend

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Creating a Tech Policy Weekend Event

This template is designed to help you create a mini-conference type event to help recruit and organize new volunteers with an interest in tech policy.

Establish goals for the event

Ex: The Mozilla Policy Weekend is about shaping the community agenda of Mozilla in Germany for policy related activities. It is a mini-conference with a mostly internal focus. It will also serve as an opportunity of policy team members to connect with local Mozillians. The main objective is to identify policy items for Germany and see how Mozilla participants from the local community could contribute in 2016.

Determine target audience and target size

  • Identify the number of Mozilla volunteers in your area
  • Determine whether to invite members of other related organization - as speakers or attendees (ex: Berlin - Junge Tüftler)

Set a target date

  • Make sure key speakers are able to attend (ex: Policy team staff in Europe)
  • Check against dates of other large and/or local events to avoid conflicts
  • Consider the length of the application process to get budget approved, as well as the amount of notice you'll need to give speakers and participants to make sure they are available
  • Ex: 20 and 21 Feb 2016 (sat/sun)

Determine a budget

  • Who will pay for the event? Participation team? Mozilla Reps? Policy team? Other? What is the application process?
  • What is food, event venue and misc expected to cost?
  • Are there ways to lower the cost? (ex: hold it at Mozilla office or other free venue, purchase food and drinks from grocery store to avoid catering costs)

Evaluate and select an event venue

  • Is there a Mozilla office nearby? Can it accommodate the number of guests you'd like to invite? Is there someone who can give you access on a weekend?
  • What other venues can accommodate the number of guests you are targeting and are within your budget?
  • Ex: Berlin, Germany options include Mozilla Office (25 guests), Betahaus, Thoughtworks

Send a "Save the Date" email to your audience

  • identify and use relevant mailing lists (ex: community-german mailing list)
  • Sample text:

Dear friends,

We are having a Mozilla Policy Weekend at 20./21 February 2016 in Berlin. Members of the Mozilla policy team, among them Raegan MacDonald from Brussels, will discuss with German community and civil society how to advance the agenda of policy activities in Germany.

Details for the exact venue and time of the event will be circulated. On Saturday we will have presentations on Mozilla policy agenda items and an "ask me anything" (AMA) session.

Create an Agenda

  • Consider these dimensions: Technical, Educational, Regulatory
  • Consider "Our web - My data" framing: Our Web = Open Web, Open Tech, Net Neutrality, Open standards; My Data = Privacy intrusion and defense, Data Sovereignty, Safe Harbor, Net Surveillance, Trade Secrets, Sensitive business data, security online.
  • Brainstorm speakers (ex: Mozilla policy team, related organizations, politicians, etc.) and their topics (ex: overview of policy team - what we cover, how we make decisions, and how volunteers can get more involved; overview of EU issues (platforms / copyright reform / net neutrality / surveillance / data protection / trade; overview of Mozilla projects such as Thunderbird,, Mozilla Open Source Support fund (MOSS), Open Patents))
  • Identify time for breaks and meals
  • Make agenda available on a wiki page (link to sample)

Confirm speakers

  • Create a template email to contact speakers to determine interest, topic and availability (ex: MozFest has some templates you can modify).

Send invitations

  • Create an RSVP through Google forms
  • Include a survey about topics of most interest (optional)
  • Send to distribution list
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