Summits are a ritual for Mozilla, yet most of us will be experiencing this type of gathering for the first time. While the dominant focus of Summit will be on our products and technologies, the heart of what happens at Summit lies with our people.
The Mozilla Army of Awesome is a tour de force. For the past six months a growing swell of Mozillians have been hard at work shaping the container for what will be Summit 2013. They have collaborated on how to create meaningful dialogue and experiences, how to further ignite the passion we have for our shared purpose, and how to celebrate and build on the great work that is being done. At this point there are more than 200 people contributing to Summit preparations. And the container is ready for more.
What each of us contributes to the Summit will make it come to life and create shared meaning. There are a myriad of ways to get involved either in the remaining days leading up to the Summit, or once you are there. Please take a few minutes to check out the Summit wiki under the header “how can I participate and help shape the Summit experience” https://wiki.mozilla.org/Summit2013/FAQ#Fairs This site contains information on how to host an Open Sessions (things you what to talk with a group of Mozillians about) or participate in the Fairs (things you want to share with Mozillians). There is also at least one evening of “down time” to share your special interests, talents and creative outlets so be sure to pack your musical instruments! Find out more at https://wiki.mozilla.org/Summit2013/Experiences
Our nearly 2000 participants will be made up of Mozillians from 90 countries and 114 languages. By function, we are predominately engineers, however Summit 2013 has more non-engineers than in the past as our emphasis on business development, policy, marketing, communications and infrastructure supports have grown. We are a large and diverse group. And every voice matters. The Diversity Work Group and the Community Builders are doing some thoughtful work creating participant guidelines. The idea of participant guidelines have been borrowed from other large progressive gatherings, most notable is Burning Man. These are not rules, but rather boundaries of participation during our time together so that we all get the most out of Summit and out of ourselves. Summit 2013 guidelines are on pace to be published next week.
In less than three weeks we will be at Summit. I am looking forward to the excitement and the collective energy that happens when we are together. I can’t wait to see us dig in and find solutions to some of our toughest challenges, to find old friends and create new ones, and to have some fun.
~ Deb (Chief of People)