ReMoCamp and the Leadership Summit

As part of the plan for Global Gatherings the Participation team announced a new event called the “Leadership Summit”. We’re excited to have ReMoCamp be integrated at this event and to bring together a bigger set of leaders. Our initial plan was to have this event happen this year, just as we have done in the past with ReMoCamp, but we decided to move it to January to have more time to prepare a fantastic event.

The summit doesn’t stand alone, it is one part of broader initiative with MozFest and All Hands, with each gathering playing different roles in empowering communities. Learning more about your goals at Mozilla can help you understand which of these events is the best one for you.

The summit will be an opportunity for local and regional communities to work alongside Reps, and for all of us to define what leadership means in the context of Mozilla.  We are fully aware that the the words “leadership” and “leader” spark some discussion in the context of Mozilla. And we are actively working toward a framework for investing in leadership within our communities. We need all of our current leaders to help us define and shape a leadership culture that is true to our values and will unleash the potential of our communities.

Historically Reps has been a platform for Mozillians to be empowered, and in many cases Reps empowered their communities. It evolved into a broader leadership platform for communities, and one of our more organized ones in Mozilla. We see everyday how the magic of great community leadership ignites people all around the world to join our cause. We are more than ever committed to supporting and elevating our leaders and Reps is an important program for doing so.

Because Mozilla values leadership that can come from all the edges and we believe that empowering individuals and communities is our secret weapon, we want to make sure that local communities and Reps are connected, that anyone, on any edge, can be empowered. Our goal is that the leadership summit will catalyze the energy from Reps and other leaders and ensure we are all working as a powerful team.

Apart from bringing a different (and a bigger!) group of leaders together, we also believe that thinking about leadership and impact in the bigger picture that includes local communities will ultimately help the Reps program evolve to serve much better our communities. We will get “outside of the Reps box” and think holistically how to organize ourselves to have more impact. And of course we need Reps mentors, but also new Reps and local leaders to be part of these conversations. And as you know we’ll be doing this in Singapore, a location close to where our most thriving communities are right now.

We hope to learn a lot from this first event to be able to bring that experience and learning to many, if not all, volunteer leaders. And as with all we do: the leadership summit is an initiative that is open and that you can help shape. If you feel strongly about leadership, about regional or local communities, about empowering others or if you have ideas on what we need, just drop me or the participation team a line. We are eager to hear your thoughts and understand how to make this leadership summit the catalyzer we all want to see.