OpenEU Festival 2026 launches Calls for Proposals and Volunteers
The OpenEU Student Council invites the entire community to contribute to a unique online festival exploring democracy through participation, creativity, and dialogue
The OpenEU has officially launched preparations for the OpenEU Festival 2026, a three-day online event taking place from October 23 to 25, 2026. Under the tagline “The Open Canvas of Democracy,” the festival aims to explore democracy not as an abstract concept, but as a living and participatory practice. Designed as a shared online experience, the event will bring together students, staff, researchers, and external contributors to engage in dialogue, creative exchange, and collaborative reflection.
As part of this initiative, two key calls are now open across the OpenEU community:
Call for Volunteers
The festival is currently seeking motivated volunteers to help shape and deliver this student-led European event. This is an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in areas such as event coordination, communications, design, and technical support, while collaborating in an international and creative environment focused on democracy and inclusion.
Open roles include:
Tech Savvy: "If it crashes, you fix it."
You are the bridge between the organising team and the technical infrastructure of the festival. You coordinate with IT teams across the universities, manage the platforms and tools we use, and make sure that when the festival goes live, everything works. You are also our first point of contact when something — inevitably — does not. Ideal for: Students in computer science, IT, or anyone who genuinely enjoys problem-solving
The Chat DJ: "The voice of the audience."
While the MC is on screen, you are in the chat — reading the room, surfacing the best questions, dropping polls, posting links, and making sure no great idea gets lost in the scroll. You coordinate Q&As; with the MC in real time, moderate the conversation, and keep the energy high between sessions. Think of yourself as a live producer working just behind the curtain. Ideal for: Fast typist, great instincts for conversation, comfortable working at speed in a live environment.
The Creative Mastermind: "You make it look like a festival."
You are responsible for everything visual: the poster, the social media graphics, the slides, the branded materials. You work closely with the OpenEU communications team and follow brand guidelines — but within that, you bring your own creative vision to make sure the festival looks as exciting as it feels. Ideal for: Students with graphic design, visual communication, or digital arts experience.
The Circus Director: "You make it feel like a festival, not a webinar."
You are in charge of the entertainment: the music between sessions, the surprising moments, the humour, the breathing space — everything that makes people turn to their screen and smile. You coordinate the interactive elements, branded countdown slides, mood-setting transitions, and anything else that keeps the experience alive, and unexpected. Ideal for: Creative, playful, full of ideas. Experience in performance, theatre, or live events is a bonus.
The Clark Kent / Lois Lane: "You find the story and tell it."
Together with the Master Planner and the Creative Mastermind, you produce all the written materials for the festival: announcements, social media copy, speaker bios, programme descriptions, and anything else that needs words. You write in a way that is clear, engaging, and human — you know the best communication does not sound like a press release. Ideal for: Students in communications, journalism, humanities, or anyone who genuinely loves to write.
Requirements:
Basic English proficiency
Deadline: April 30, 2026
Apply here: https://forms.gle/AVeiwSMieKnqECLA8
Contact: openeufestival@gmail.com
Call for Proposals
OpenEU is also inviting proposals from speakers, researchers, practitioners, and storytellers interested in contributing to the festival programme. Proposals should align with one of the six thematic tracks:
The Democratic Self
Deep Democracy, Organisations & DEI
Governance, Health & Society
Digital Democracy & Futures
Education & Knowledge
Language, Culture & Expression
Submissions should present democracy as a lived experience and be relevant, inspiring, non-partisan, accessible, innovative, and aligned with EU values such as dignity, freedom, equality, and the rule of law.
Requirements:
Deadline: May 30, 2026
Contact: openeufestival@gmail.com
The OpenEU Festival represents a key moment for the alliance to come together as a community and experiment with new ways of understanding and practicing democracy. All students, academic staff, and professional services members are encouraged to take part—whether by contributing ideas, volunteering, or simply joining the conversation in October. Soon more information!
0 comments