Global Gathering Self-Organized

Facilitate a Meetup or Discussion at the Feira @ the Global Gathering!

Core to this year’s Global Gathering even format is community-organized Meetups For various reasons, we are NOT hosting formal workshops or sessions this year. Instead, community-organized Meetups provide a more relaxed environment for participants to reconnect, build collaborations, and have critical discussions that are central to their work. They can be public, semi-public or private, depending on your needs.

If you are interested in hosting a meetup, please fill out the form below by July 31st. We will review your application and come back to you with a proposed time slot by August 15th.

Note: meetups will take place from 13:30 to 18:00 each day of the Global Gathering and will not overlap with the invite-only Summit taking place in the mornings. We cannot guarantee we can accommodate everyone’s request for a particular time slot.

Propose a Meetup or a Discussion! - Deadline to submit is July 31st

Read below for what a good Meetup consists of, and make sure to fill out the application by July 31st!

What topics will make for good meetups and discussions?

This year's event structure and venue allow for a lot of flexibility, so you can be creative with your proposals. Note, Team CommUNITY will already be hosting regional and practitioner meetups (see below).

A meetup or a discussion can be centered around:

• A specific topic or challenge that you would like to explore with other participants at the Global Gathering.

• Bringing together individuals from a specific professional or regional background to network, connect and exchange ideas. For example, Team CommUNITY will be organizing regional and practitioner meetups.
• A call to action or request for collaboration on a project or initiative.
• Sharing a skill, project, or research, or demoing a tool or exercise.
• Fun topics and skill-shares that are not directly related to work! For example, a knitting meetup, an hour of meditative coloring, a language exchange, etc.

What meetups is Team CommUNITY already facilitating at the Global Gathering?

Team CommUNITY will be organizing a number of semi-private regional and practitioner meetups at this year's Global Gathering:

Regional Meetups Africa Asia Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Latin America MENA

Practitioner Meetups Digital Security Trainers Policy Workers Technologists

Private Working Groups and Meetings VPN Community Initiative Gathering

What kind of meetup or discussion should you facilitate?

• Public Meetups and Discussions: Public meetups and self-organized discussions will take place in the main Feira space at dedicated tables throughout the afternoon. Meetups and discussions held in the main Feira space will have more visibility and allow Global Gathering attendees to step in and out of conversations more spontaneously. Your discussions will be open for all event participants to listen in on and participate in.
• Semi-Private Meetups and Discussions: Semi-Private meetups and discussions will be held in the quieter, semi-private Summit space so that participants can have more privacy. You may want to host a semi-private meetup or discussion if you want to have a more focused discussion or want to meet with specific participant profiles. For example, Team CommUNITY’s regional and practitioner meetups will be semi-private.
• Invite-Only Meetups and Discussions: Invite-only meetups and discussions will also be held in the quieter, semi-private Summit space so that participants can have more privacy. If you would like to host an invite-only meetup or discussion, you will need to manage your own invite list of already accepted Global Gathering participants. You will not have full privacy, as the discussions will still be hosted in an open, outdoor space, however all semi-private and invite-only meetups and discussions will be distanced from each other. For example, Team CommUNITY will host a VPN Community Initiative meetup limited to initiative members.

What resources will meetups and discussions have?

Meetups and discussions will be held at a series of dedicated tables and picnic benches throughout our outdoor venue. There will be internet access and charging stations available throughout the venue to keep your devices charged and connected, however the meetups and discussions will not have access to additional audio-visual resources. There will be no screens or projectors.

When will meetups and discussions be scheduled?

The self-organized meetups and discussions will be scheduled from 13:30 to 18:00 each day of the Global Gathering. They will not overlap with the invite-only Summit taking place in the mornings.

How long can a meetup or discussion last?

We will be scheduling meetups and discussions for either 1 or 1.5 hours. We have limited 1.5 hour slots, so there is no guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your preference.

How many meetups or discussions can you propose?

There is no limit to the number of meetups or discussions you can propose, however please be thoughtful about your proposals and only submit discussions and meetups that you think will bring value to the community and the event.