Speakers
OpenEU Festival: The Open Canvas of Democracy
Speaker Information
Welcome
Thank you for being part of the OpenEU Festival: The Open Canvas of Democracy.
We are delighted to welcome you as a speaker, practitioner, researcher, artist or community contributor. This page contains all the information you need to prepare for the Festival — please read it carefully, as it includes important information and actions you'll need to take.
The OpenEU Festival brings together participants from across the world to explore democracy through dialogue, participation, creativity and exchange.
Personal and session information
As the festival approaches we need your collaboration to make the best out of your sessions. We are a very small team of students and we want to do our best to highlight your participation. We encourage you to visit our website and check the agenda, where all the information that we have and the time of your slot are programed. Do not panic, we can modify everything to your taste. To do that we need you to provide with the following information by September 17th:
1. Your final session title.
2. A short biography.
3. A profile photo — please upload this to your Folder for Speakers.
4. Your professional title and location — e.g. CEO of OpenEU Festival, Spain.
5. A short session description.
6. Your preferred session style.
7. Do you have a poll in mind? Please send it to us in the form below.
8. Three recommendations for the audience (that we will send to participants as a goody after the event) connected to your talk or profession — a book, film, documentary, project, website, app, or another resource you feel it might be of interest.
9. Your completed consent form — download it and upload it to your Folder for Speakers.
10. Any accessibility requirements or support needs.
11. Any materials that will help our International Sign Language interpreters prepare — please upload them to your Folder for Speakers.
****Please follow the instructions on this this form and fill up any missing information.*****
Your biography and photograph may be used in Festival communications and program materials.
Session Format
The OpenEU Festival is designed around conversation, participation and exchange. We encourage you to approach your session as an opportunity for dialogue rather than a traditional one-way presentation — our Festival is dedicated to democracy, and we want to honor that by inviting the audience to take part too.
Please consider:
• Creating space for questions and discussion.
• Engaging participants whenever possible.
• Using polls where appropriate.
• Focusing on key ideas, examples and experiences rather than delivering a long presentation.
Presentation Materials
Slides are not recommended, and we encourage you to avoid relying heavily on a presentation. We are looking for relaxed conversations with a human touch. This is a festival, not a conference. The audience is strongly encouraged to participate.
If you choose to use slides, please submit them by September 17th, and:
• Use high-contrast colors and clear, simple fonts.
• Avoid text-heavy slides.
• Explain images as you present, so participants who are blind or have low vision can understand what's on screen.
• Avoid relying on color alone to convey meaning — for example, “the red bars show…”.
• Add descriptions or alternative text to images, graphs and other visual elements.
For written materials such as handouts or summaries, we recommend following Easy Read/Easy-to-Read guidelines: short sentences, plain everyday language, one idea per sentence, and a clear layout. This makes your materials easier to follow for participants with cognitive disabilities, non-native speakers, and anyone reading quickly. If it's helpful, just let us know and we can point you to Easy Read guidance.
Rehearsal Sessions
We will run three rehearsal sessions to check that you can access the Festival and have the correct technical setup. We'll also run through:
• The agenda and your cues.
• How Zoom will work.
• How to take questions from the audience.
• Everything else you need to know before the Festival.
It's critical that you attend your allocated rehearsal session. The rehearsal sessions are:
• Friday afternoon speakers: 8 October, 15:00–15:30 CET.
• Saturday speakers: 8 October, 15:45–17:00 CET.
• Sunday speakers: 9 October, 16:00–17:00 CET.
You'll receive a calendar invitation for your allocated rehearsal on the following days — please accept it to confirm your attendance. You can easily convert the CET time your own time zone here: 24timezones.com.
Critical Technical Checks and Equipment Setup
Before attending your rehearsal, please:
• Test your internet connection and check that you have sufficient bandwidth.
• Use a reliable laptop or desktop computer — please don't join using a mobile phone or tablet.
• Check that your webcam and microphone work.
• Use a headset or earphones where possible.
• Close unnecessary applications to free up your computer's resources and prevent distractions.
• Have any slides or other presentation materials ready and open.
Update Zoom
Please make sure you have the latest version of the Zoom application installed on your computer.
Your Festival Timings: When You Need to Join
On the day you are due to speak, please join the Festival one hour before the Festival program begins:
• 23 October: 14:30 CET
• 24 October: 09:30 CET
• 25 October: 10:30 CET
This gives us time to complete final technical checks and make sure everyone is ready before the Festival begins that day. Once the checks are complete, you're welcome to step away until your scheduled speaking time — just be sure to rejoin promptly 15 minutes before your session begins.
Please check your session time carefully, taking your own time zone into account: 24timezones.com
How to Join
You'll use your personal Zoom Events ticket to join both the rehearsal and the Festival:
1. Open your Zoom Webinars & Events confirmation email
2. Click Join
The same email and joining process will be used for both the rehearsal and the Festival. We won't send a general Zoom link — your personal joining information is contained within your Zoom Webinars & Events confirmation email.
Watch this one-minute video explaining how to join: https://us06web.zoom.us/clips/share/wDhu_nAsTZ2yM7uiU8yRpg
Before the Festival
Before joining the Festival, please make sure you have:
• A stable internet connection
• A wired connection rather than Wi-Fi, where possible
• A reliable laptop or desktop computer
• A working microphone and camera
• Headphones or earphones, where possible
• A quiet environment without background noise or interruptions
• A clear, clutter-free background
• Good lighting directed towards your face rather than from behind you
We recommend testing your internet connection in advance at fast.com — the minimum recommended speed is 5 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.
During the Festival
During the Festival, please:
1. Mute your microphone when you're not speaking, to minimize background noise
2. Keep track of time and stay within your allocated speaking slot
3. Let us know immediately if you experience technical difficulties — contact the host or technical support via the Zoom chat.
Accessibility and Inclusive Communication
We are committed to creating an accessible and inclusive Festival for speakers and participants alike. To support all participants, please:
• Describe yourself as part of your introduction — for example: “I have short brown hair, I'm wearing a blue jacket and I'm sitting in front of a bookshelf.” This helps participants who are blind or have low vision.
• Speak clearly and at a moderate pace, especially when explaining complex ideas
• Pause briefly between key points — this helps live captioning stay accurate and gives everyone time to follow along
• Use accessible language wherever possible, and explain specialist terms when needed
• Keep in mind that participants come from different linguistic backgrounds — avoid idioms or slang that might not translate
• During Q&A or multi-speaker discussions, say your name before speaking
• Please avoid using a virtual background — it can create visual glitches that make lip-reading and sign-language interpretation more difficult
Live captions will be enabled for all sessions. If you have any accessibility requirements or support needs, please let us know in advance so we can prepare accordingly.
Communication and Promotion
We'd love for you to share your involvement through your professional and personal networks. The organizing team can provide Festival branding and promotional materials to help.
We've also created an Instagram account for the Festival, @openeufestival, and would love for you to contribute to it. Feel free to send us:
• A short video introducing yourself and your talk
• A relevant quotation
• Anything else you think would interest the Festival audience
You can upload everything to your Folder for Speakers.
Community Guidelines
The OpenEU Festival is built on respectful dialogue, curiosity and openness to different perspectives. We encourage you to help us create an environment where participants feel welcome to:
• Ask questions
• Share ideas
• Exchange experiences
• Engage with different perspectives
Contact Information
If you have questions about your participation, session format, technical preparation or materials, please get in touch with the organizing team. We're also happy to offer individual support sessions if you'd like extra help preparing.
Please email us, or send a message via Telegram, WhatsApp or Viber to +34 659 894 681 — if messaging, please do so after 14:00 CET. (to convert it to your time zone: 24timezones.com).
We look forward to welcoming you to:
The OpenEU Festival: The Open Canvas of Democracy
Menelaos Papamichelakis: menelaos.papamichelakis@ac.eap.gr
Tamara Diez: tdiez6@alumno.uned.es
The OpenEU Student Council