FAQ

The most interesting sessions give space to different perspectives. Make sure to look for the basic characteristics of a diverse session:
Diversity and gender balance are to be understood as a commitment to an empathetic and inclusive community—they represent our attitude as event organisers.

All sessions should conform to and try to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Gender balance (we naturally include people who do not feel they belong to the binary gender paradigm).
• Representation of different perspectives
• Surprise factor

Your session should also convince with a clear idea, a good topical classification and a consistent concept. As well as through concise formulations.
For example: "How surgeons practice difficult operations in virtual reality" is better than "Virtual reality as a training tool".
Describe how you will proceed and which methods you will use. The programme team, our experts from the Track Teams who will evaluate your contribution, and the participants of re:publica are looking for captivating and profound content that deals with the challenges and possible solutions of our digital society. They are not interested in marketing pitches disguised as informative sessions.
You can find some good examples on the website of re:publica 2019, which was themed "tl;dr".

Not necessarily, but it can help us understand your submission better. If your video is not directly related to your topic, but can demonstrate your qualities as a speaker, feel free to use it.

Should you not have found any answers in our extensive FAQs (please read through them carefully and thoroughly) feel free to contact the Programme Team via programme[at]re-publica.com. 

Each person has to first set up a speaker account (see FAQs). Only then can they create a session for which they will be solely responsible. If you won’t be participating yourself, then you will have to enter the speaker and contact information and forward them the password. A valid email address is necessary as we will be sending important information for the speakers to the listed email address via our system.

Blatant advertising and marketing pitches don't stand a chance in our Call for Participation. The participants of re:publica and the Programme Team are looking for captivating and well-researched content addressing solutions and challenges of our digital society.

That doesn't mean that re:publica participants aren't interested in the latest digital products or services. If you would like to showcase your innovation, please contact our colleagues from Partner Management who will be happy to give you more information about the many opportunities to be present at #rp22 via partner at re-publica.com.

Video material from a conference or event you have already spoken at helps us a great deal in our assessment. It allows us to better understand, evaluate and categorize your submission, while also giving us an impression of your public speaking skills and your ability to communicate your topic. Don’t worry, these videos are not made public. You should, however, own the rights to use them.

No. You are responsible for your session. That said, should there be any urgent issues, we are happy to offer advice.

As long as you can access your session from the dashboard while logged in, it is saved and submitted correctly. You don't need to do anything else. 

Your session will be published once it is accepted for the conference programme and we will inform you via email before we publish it.

Please thoroughly check your username and password. If that doesn't solve the problem: Don’t worry. The team is happy to help you with any technical problems (that you haven’t been able to solve yourself after several attempts) via info[at]re-publica.com.

Preparing and delivering a session at re:publica takes time. By submitting, you agree to comply with the CfP Guidelines in order to prepare and organise a session for re:publica that meets our content and formal requirements. If you are not ready to make this commitment, we recommend that you do not participate in the Call for Participation (CfP).

The programme team curates the content from the community's proposals submitted via the Call for Participation (CfP), but also specifically invites speakers* and advises partners. It also cooperates with external co-curators. Since the programme team and the co-curators* have the greatest influence in this process and ultimately make the decision on acceptance and rejection, the CfP is a modified form of crowdsourcing.

The CfP is a good barometer to identify topics of interest to the re:publica community. At the same time, the CfP leads to bringing new ideas and surprises to the re:publica.

No. Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Programme Team for late submissions if these relate to important current events. The Programme Team may also request these.

Deadlines
The Call for Participation for the "Conference" and "Hands On" programme ends on
06 February 2022 (23:59 CET).

The Call for Participation for the "Off Stage" programme ends on
06 March 2022 (23:59 CET).

In general, please submit an idea that you can execute yourself. That said, if you have a great idea that may require our help for its implementation, we suggest you get in contact with the Programme Team as soon as possible via programme[at]re-publica.de. We will then evaluate whether we will be able to help out or can find others to help you.

No. We cannot cover travel and accommodation costs. But you will get a 3-day ticket and catering on the day you speak.

No, unfortunately not.

Tickets are generally not refundable. You may resell your ticket or gift it to someone. There will be more information available soon in our ticket FAQ.

A good Off Stage activity:

• Leaves a lasting impression
• Is implementable within the means and space available
• Values the privacy of participants and visitors

Yes we do. We want re:publica to be colourful and exciting. We are thrilled if everyone contributes to making it a great festival every year. However, we unfortunately have an extremely limited budget, which means you should plan in a resource-saving way. We can only help in exceptional cases and on a limited basis. But don't hesitate, we often have creative ideas for the realisation of great activities.
To make planning easier for you and for us, we'll ask you for a few important details right away.
Do you already have a tech rider? Please send it to us. Click here for the CfP form.

All speakers involved in the session will receive a 3-day ticket and delicious catering for the day they speak. We do not cover the costs of travel, accommodation, speakers' fees or moderation.

No. We ask for information in order to evaluate and rank your proposal. If your submission is accepted, we will publish it. However, only information that is relevant to the participants will be visible. Your contact details and the like will not be published.

CONFERENCE

Formats:

• Lightning Talk: 1 speaker, 15-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A
• Lecture: 1 to 2 speakers, 30 minutes or 1 hour including Q&A
• In Conversation With: 2 speakers without moderation, 45-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A
• Panel Discussion: Up to 3 speakers plus moderator, 45-minute discussion plus 15-minute Q&A
• Live podcast: Live production during the event, no time limit
• Meet Up: Open format for an informal exchange on a topic of interest, possibly light moderation by meet up organisers, 60 minutes

HANDS ON

Formats:

• Workshop: In-depth workshop session with 1-2 workshop leaders
• Tutorial: An intensive learning programme with 1-2 workshop leaders
• Games: Develop, test or play a game together with others at re:publica 

OFF STAGE 

Formats:

• Intervention: Temporary action, sometimes interaction with participants, to draw attention to a topic
• Performance: Temporary artistic presentation 
• Installation: Fixed object for all three days of the festival 
• Contest: Competition of all kinds
• Film: Short or long — we have the screen for your film
• Theater & Musical: Acting project of any kind
• Special: This is the place for surprising and crazy ideas

NIGHTLIFE

Formats:

• DJ Set: You’re in control to deliver the sound of the night
• Karaoke: What can we say, we need more karaoke and sing-a-longs
• Concert: "We are a festival" and that includes music, music, music
• Slams: "Blow our minds!" Show the community what spoken word can do
• Dance: Challenge or ballroom dancing? We have the right dance floor for everything and everyone 

For the first time, the #rp22 programme will be divided into four festival areas. Submissions are possible for each area: 

CONFERENCE
The re:publica conference programme consists of everything that takes place on our stages: From panel discussions and lectures, interviews and fireside chats, to readings, lecture performances and much more.

HANDS ON
From hardware workshops, free DIY and tinkering to gardening with robots, live biohacking or TikTok dance tutorials: all sessions about making and learning will have their place in the “Hands On” programme. Contributions can be up to 30 minutes, 60 minutes or 120 minutes long (or longer in exceptional cases).

OFF STAGE 
Flash mob, field test, installation, exhibition, concert, pop-up happening, cabaret, virtual reality, augmented reality applications ...and whatever else you can think of to fill the festival grounds of #rp22 grounds in artistic, activist, scientific, technological and informative ways.

NIGHTLIFE
No festival would be complete without music, dancing and partying. We are looking forward to musicians, DJ sets, karaoke organisers, producers of musicals and everyone who wants to celebrate #rp22 together with all participants and turn night into day.

Tags are keywords that you can use to classify your post according to topics. You can assign a total of three tags to your post. 

Access
Activism
AI
Any Way the Wind Blows
Arts
Berlin
City
Climate
Coding
Commons
Data
Diversity
Education
Entertainment
Ethics
Fake
Feminism
Finance
Finding Europe
Food
Fun
Games
Health
Internet
Internet Policy
Journalism
LGBTIA2S+
Making
Migration
Mixed Reality
Mobility
Music
Outrage
Pandemic
Platform Economics
re:learn
Resources
Space
Sustainability
Transformation
Utopia
Work

In order to curate the re:publica programme in a balanced way, we put together a "Track Team" of experts for each of the seven tracks, who will work on and evaluate the CfP submissions in the respective track.

The Track Teams are made up of 5-12 members, including well-known representatives of the digital society, loyal friends of re:publica, experts in their field, as well as returning speakers.

"Tracks" are general categories to which you can assign your submission, such as "Politics", "Economy" or "Culture".

All "tracks" (categories) are determined at the beginning of the Call for Participation (CfP). This year we have defined the following tracks:

• Politics
• Media
• Science
• Technology
• Culture
• Economy
• Society

We will inform you if your session has been accepted after the CfP deadline has passed and after a short evaluation phase by the programme team and the experts of the track teams. We ask for your patience, as we usually receive more than 1,000 session proposals.

You're in charge of organising your session and therefore also of organising moderation if your session requires moderation. 

Yes. That's because they will be added to the respective sessions. Just like speakers, Presenters/Moderators and Stage Hosts will also be accredited at the entrance to the conference. Please note that presenters should only be added to a session after prior consultation and confirmed availability.

Each stage at re:publica will be hosted by a Stage Host. This means he/she announces the sessions, conducts the Q&As at the end of a session and leads over to the next item on the programme. In addition, our Stage Hosts inform the audience about important changes in the programme and other special features at short notice—they exchange information with the programme team during re:publica.

Moderators usually lead the discussion or conversation in a session. This requires thorough preparation. For preparatory talks we will put the moderators in contact with the speakers—if not already done by the session leader.

You can submit your proposal in German or English. Note: Your submission must be written in the language in which you will be holding your session.

You can find the following information right within the form. 
Characters = All characters including spaces

• Your biography may have a maximum of 1000 characters.

Session:

• The title has a maximum of 180 characters      
• The short thesis has a maximum of 350 characters
• The description of the session has a maximum of 2000 characters (longer texts will not be evaluated or will only be evaluated up to 2000 characters). tl;dr!

The length of a session depends on the festival area and format. 

CONFERENCE format

• Lightning Talk: 15-minute lecture plus 15-minute Q&A
• Lecture: 30 minutes or 1 hour including Q&A session
• In Conversation With: 45-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A
• Panel Discussion: 45-minute talk plus 15-minute Q&A
• Live Podcast: No time limit
• Meet-Up: 60 minutes

HANDS ON format

• Sessions can be 60 minutes, 90 minutes or 120 minutes long (longer in exceptional cases)

OFF STAGE & NIGHTLIFE format

• No time limit

Because the listed speakers will influence the selection process, we encourage you to have confirmed the line-up by the end of the Call for Participation (CfP) phase. You can still nominate the speaker you would like to hear from, plus your relationship with them or why you think they will accept, in the comments box. 

Yes, the planned speakers should all have at least been informed and invited. They should also be confirmed and added to the session by the time the Call for Participation (CfP) deadline expires (please note: each speaker needs their own speaker account, see FAQ "How do I add co-speakers?").

If you organize a panel it is your responsibility that all speakers add information to their profile and manage these themselves – see also: person responsible for session. Only propose a panel that can actually be realised in that constellation of participants.

• You are responsible for producing your session and for considering our feedback on the format.
• If you have submitted the session for more than one person, you are the contact person for all questions about the session.
• You are the organiser and also appear as a speaker in the session.
• You are responsible for ensuring that the co-speakers have created a speaker profile as well.
• You add the co-speakers to your session (see FAQs).
• You are responsible for passing on all information to your co-speakers.
• You can only be responsible for one session at re:publica.

The teaser should be really short, like "tl;dr" - 350 characters maximum. Just state your basic thesis and how you will discuss/address it. In other words, what is the "too long; didn't read" of your session?

Please use a maximum of 180 characters. Keep everything short and crisp, as the titles may be automatically shortened for the programme overview and when uploading the session video.

Of course funny titles are catchy. However, the re:publica is big and your title is competing with hundreds of other titles for the attention of participants. The more direct and explanatory your title is, the better. "All You Need is Love: Social Media Strategies against Online Hate" is better than "Why All You Need is Love".

The general rule is: quality instead of quantity! You can submit one idea in each festival area. Only in exceptional cases will we confirm two proposals per festival area. 

To see what the form looks like, check out the PDFs below. Please note that fields marked with a red star (*) are mandatory and must be filled in.

Yes. If you've registered for re:publica after 2014, you can reactivate your existing account. Please log in on the website using your old login credentials and simply update your profile.

Yes. The account allows you to register yourself as a speaker, manage your information and submit a proposal for the CfP. You can edit your proposal at any time—even after it's submitted but only until the deadline. Account registration and setup is free and only takes a few minutes. Just head over to: https://re-publica.com/en/user/register

Everybody is welcome to submit ideas and participate in the CfP.

The Call for Participation "Conference" and "Hands On" programme ends on
06 February 2022 (23:59 CET).

The Call for Participation for the “Off Stage” programme ends on
06 March 2022 (23:59 CET).

The re:publica feeds off of creativity and a wealth of ideas. The big societal, political and technological challenges don’t change overnight. But don’t worry: we always leave a few slots open until April so that we are able to include current events in the programme.

Generally speaking, the sooner we select the sessions, the better we can bundle them together into topic tracks, consult with the speaker, fine-tune—and, last but not least, allow for visitors to start planning early.