Foreword “At MozFest, people from across the globe — technologists from Nairobi, educators from Berlin — come together to build a healthier internet. We examine the most pressing issues online, like misinformation and the erosion of privacy. Then we roll up our sleeves to find solutions. In a way, MozFest is just the start: The ideas we bat around and the code we write always evolves into new campaigns and new open-source products.” —Mark Surman My first MozFest was in 2013. I was working with an external agency tasked with producing the festival. My role was to build a frame to support the program and sessions within. I worked with a FOREWORD super involved and dedicated team of Staff, Vendors, and local Volunteers, all of whom had worked on the festival before and helped me find my feet quickly. It was clear that each had a special bond with the festival and would go above and beyond to help deliver the event, which was something you don’t often see. Money was not the sole transactionary piece, but something more: care, friendship, and trust. 1 Over the weekend, I was not fully aware of what was taking place in the Spaces, or the Sessions. Not viewing myself as a “techie”, I supported Michelle Thorne, the Director of the festival at the time, to the best of my ability, but didn’t get too involved in programming. However, over that weekend, I was constantly invited to join conversations, Sessions, and sit with groups deep in talk about a variety of topics completely new to me. In hallway conversations, people wanted to know what my ideas were on themes and concepts. I was invited into round table talks, and welcomed to join in wherever I went. It was this continuous welcoming by the community that really inspired me and made me feel part of something bigger, even when I didn’t know what that was just yet. Yes, this festival has a serious job to do, providing a MOZFEST platform for the internet health movement to connect, build, collaborate, and seek new ways to keep the web open, free, and a resource for all. But it’s this sense of comradeship – the sense of being welcomed and invited in to the heart of MozFest – that I aim to build into each festival. Having learnt so much from Michelle Thorne, Gunner, Mark Surman, and each and every Wrangler, I aim each year to build something to live up to. Not only to what they aspired to in 2010, but what each Wrangler, Facilitator, Participant, Staff, and Volunteer has invested over the years. We hope in this book you will understand more about the festival, that it’s built by many, cherished by all, and finds success because of the hard work of those who return year-over-year to support the event, the work, and each other. As we close the first decade of the festival, we wanted to take a moment to stop and reflect upon what we have achieved, both as a festival and a community. As part of this reflection, it is important to share our story, how we design MozFest, and the evolution of the festival. As we enter a new decade, we seek to take these learnings forward to help us grow, mature, and remain relevant for the next ten years as a festival and as part of the internet health movement. This book is laid out to help you see the event from the perspective of those who participate in its design, build, 2 and execution. Our story begins with the festival founding organisers, calling us to action to roll up our sleeves and do something about the state of the internet. Come on, let’s go. � CHAPTER 02 Then you’ll soar over the past ten years, getting a bird’s eye view of how the festival is an experiment and an evolution of the one that came before. � CHAPTER 03 Key moments of activism, community, and collaborations follow. You’ll discover how the web has changed, how our community used the festival platform to advance, shape, and rally around their key projects and disciplines to bring internet health awareness and work to all corners of the globe. � CHAPTER 04 For those interested in learning about building a participatory event, you’ll take the MozFest backstage tour. The shared ownership and collaborative design practices of MozFest, of planning and leading the event with many in the community, is important for us to share. We didn’t come up with this concept on our own, but we certainly made it our own. Learn how we build an event in a participatory fashion. � CHAPTER 05 For all of you asking insightful questions about the FOREWORD current state of the internet health movement and where it’s going, you’ll be a fly on the wall, overhearing conversations regarding the most pressing issues of our time between some of the most brilliant and influential minds in the movement. � CHAPTER 06 The book closes with five essays written by various community members reflecting on the question, “where do we go from here?”. These five essays rep- resent our diverse community through ideas, inspiring thoughts, and stories from across the internet health movement. � CHAPTER 08 It’s clear that the festival is nothing without our community, so we asked them to help us write this book 3 by sharing their stories and reflections. With over 180 contributions, you will notice some slight colloquial spelling along the way, as we wanted each piece to stay true to the original writer’s tone. While this book may now be in its final print edition, the open ring binder design is intentional and more than just aesthetics. We hope that you will continue adding to its pages, year-after-year, as we continue to write the future of internet health together. Thank you, Sarah Allen Executive Director, Mozilla Festival MOZFEST 4 From Open Source to a Healthy Internet If you’ve been reading the news over the past few years, you might have a feeling something like ‘Oh no! the internet is deeply broken.’ Many people do. It’s a very reasonable thing to feel. FROM OPEN SOURCE TO A HEALTHY INTERNET If, on the other hand, you’ve been reading find each other, work together, and create 5 the news *and* attending MozFest, you something chaotically and roughly akin to might be feeling something slightly a common agenda. The ‘come on, let’s go’ different. Something more like: ‘Oh yeah, spirit provides a common thread. It makes the internet is broken. Let’s roll up our this possible. sleeves and figure out ways to make it better. Come on, let’s go.’ Another common thread is the ‘we- build-this-event-together’ model that has The ‘come on, let’s go’ spirit has been a underpinned every single MozFest. In core part of MozFest since the beginning. 2018, MozFest 2500 people showed up. Come on, let’s use open source to improve Over 660 of these people were session science and education and the news. Come Facilitators, Space Wranglers, Speakers, on, let’s create a web literate planet so we Volunteers, or had some other role in can keep the maker spirit of the internet running the event. MozFest is not a alive. Come on, let’s make the internet as spectator sport – it’s something that the safe and healthy as we can for the 4 billion people who show up run together. people around the world who now live their lives online. Come on, let’s go. While these two core design principles MOZFEST behind MozFest – action and participation Why is this important? Because MozFest – have been a constant over the past 10 was always designed to be a movement years, the world and the movement we’re building tool – a way for people who collectively building have both changed want to build a healthier digital world to a great deal. Over the last few years, the call to action has become broader and more urgent: come on, let’s make the internet safer and healthier. Now! For the first few MozFests, the call to When you think about these people action really was ‘let’s use open source – the people who come to MozFest to improve education and science and the today – the thing they have in common news’. At the time, the success of projects is a thirst to make the internet a better like Firefox and Wikipedia still felt fresh place to live, love, debate, work, and play. and exciting. Smartphones were a newish They may or may not identify as part of thing. Most of us were optimistic about a movement focused on ‘digital rights’ the internet. The people who showed or ‘internet health’. And, they may come up at MozFest simply wanted to expand from other movements with long and deep 8 the edges of the open source movement histories of standing up for the rights to include more things – they wanted to of people and the planet. However they make the world more open and free. identify, when they show up at MozFest and as they stay connected through the Over the last few years, the call to action year, they are a group of people rolling up has become broader and more urgent: their sleeves and working on something come on, let’s make the internet safer and roughly akin to a common agenda. Which healthier. Now! In the post Cambridge is really all a social movement is.