Introduction to Wrangling

While Mozilla provides a basic structure, resources, and support, the Festival is essentially designed and produced by volunteers — teams of educators, activists, engineers, artists, and researchers who care about the open web and a healthy internet.

Working in the same team with talented friends from diverse countries and backgrounds was really humbling… my life has changed for good, and so has the life of many others in this lovely community.

-Carolina, Wrangler

Why Wrangle?

Wrangling is a journey! We’re asking volunteers to stick with a big, complex project over a period of months… so, why should you Wrangle? There are many reasons to sign on. During the co-design process, Wranglers have the unique opportunity to:

  • Dive deep on the issues that are most pressing them and their communities, and surface insights to a global audience
  • Gain new skills in community-driven design, event management, virtual workflows, collaborative practice and more.
  • Forge new personal and professional connections with unexpected collaborators from around the world.
  • Put their stamp on an internationally recognized, high profile event.
  • Use the festival to facilitate real connections, new projects, and meaningful progress on the issues that matter most to them and their communities.

We’ve heard from past Wranglers that their views were challenged and transformed for the better by working with others from a range of backgrounds. And we’ve seen Wranglers use the Festival as an opportunity to reach out and collaborate with a personal hero, an individual or organization they’ve always admired.

Finally, many past Wranglers relish creating a unique event where the majority of participants leave delighted, energized, and inspired.

Though the commitment is significant, the benefits are truly great!

I've literally just come from a meeting where I had to take the lead, and I kept catching myself thinking "What I've just done there was something exactly out of the Wrangler process."

-Joseph, Wrangler

So…who can Wrangle? How can I become a Wrangler?

You don't have to be an event planner or a technical expert to be a MozFest Wrangler. We seek people who have:

  • Particular insight, enthusiasm and dedication around an internet health or trustworthy AI issue.
  • A willingness to collaborate, share and learn skills; openness to new, varied perspectives.
  • Strong connections to a vibrant community that they’ll bring to the festival.
  • Capacity to consistently dedicate time and energy to the project over a 7-month period.

Wrangling is about bringing communities together at the festival, moving work and conversations on key issues forward, and empowering others to connect and share.

We’re looking for people who want to level up their community organizing and leadership skills. This role is community-focused, and may not be ideal for those who want to be "star of the show" or are looking for a platform just for their own work or advancement.

Collaboration and consistent communication across teams and groups of contributors is key in this process. A successful Wrangler will:

  • Be comfortable with or open to learning with team-oriented practices like listening, communicating, compromising.
  • Be willing to take on and share important tasks like planning and decision-making.
  • Be ready to take risks and see unexpected outcomes as learning opportunities, not failures.
  • Have deep community connections, and be willing and able to rally those communities to participate in MozFest.

Wranglers should be able to dedicate between 4 and 8 hours per week to the project (hours vary depending on production schedule).

Wranglers make real, significant high-value contributions to the festival. They generate narratives and blog and social media posts that capture and convey their vision. They curate from a subset of the six to seven hundred proposals we receive from the CFP, making final decisions about which to invite to the festival. They develop and document plans for activities like outreach, facilitator support, and at-event coverage.

Because Wranglers define, shape, and help realize the event, the role is deadline-driven and truly critical. While the MozFest team produces the Festival, we rely on Wranglers for many key deliverables.

Examples of Wrangler-produced materials:

The call for Wranglers will be announced soon - stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can register your interest to become a Wrangler at MozFest 2024.

For more info and a link to the 2024 application, you can reach out to Seher Shafiq, Wrangler Program Manager: seher (at) mozillafoundation (dot) org.

Next Section: The Journey Begins
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