This week we've launched an important call out for festival proposals. We're offering Arts Award centres, Supporters and young people the opportunity to deliver a session at the festival. This could be in the form of a workshop, a demo or a piece of work to exhibit. At the heart of our call out are digital arts and the creative use of technology.

What gets you excited about digital arts and technology? It could be anything, like coding a Raspberry Pi to do something creative; showing off your music technology skills; or creating an inspiring vlog exploring a museum using virtual reality. We'd love to hear about your ideas and experience.

Get inspired by our photos from last year.

Opportunities for young leaders

This will be a great opportunity for young people to develop their leadership skills and an ideal chance to contribute to their Arts Award (Bronze Part D, or Silver and Gold Unit 2). So please take a moment to share this exciting news with the young people you work with!

Fully supported by us (the folk who bring you Arts Award on Voice), young leaders will be closely connected to the Youth Zone but able to deliver their chosen session in any of Mozfest's five major spaces.

This is an amazing event where young people and adults can collaborate no matter what their level of skill, and where you'll meet hundreds of inspiring technology enthusiasts from the world over!

Arts Award Gold achiever Agi K presented a workshop at Mozfest 2016:

'Back from London and buzzing from MozFest 2016, where thousands of dedicated enthusiastic people were sharing projects directed at making the world a better place. See for yourself the excitement, inspiration and passion at MozFest in the vlog I made about my experience there'.

Become a Young Artist in Residence

This call is about your ability to share your story and passion about your Artform. We are seeking young Artists who are passionate about their artform to come help us design the pilot for young artist in residence at MozFest. This is a unique opportunity to have a voice where you are the expert in your own artform. From Digital to Fine Art, we would like to hear and read about what you care about as your interpretation of what Art means to you.

Funding for young artists: We are offering a full bursary covering hotel for the 3 day festival, travel and a £75 budget for materials for 2 youth artists in residence in the Youth Zone space (together with a parent if under 18.)

Apply to be a Young Artist: Submit a session to Mozfest as below under 'How to apply' and if you have any questions just get in touch with [email protected]

The themes of the festival

This year, Mozfest will focus on Mozilla's 5 internet health issues which underpin all the work that Mozilla Foundation does. Your session will fit into one of these, and each issue has potential to inspire lots of creative approaches. They are:

• Web Literacy – ensuring that everyone has the skills to read, write and participate in the digital world
• Privacy and Security – ensuring people understand how their data is collected online and that it is safe
• Decentralisation – exploring who 'owns' the internet, making sure no one limits our internet access, experience and creation
• Digital inclusion – making sure the web has a range of voice and languages and is accessible, welcoming and safe for all
• Open Innovation – making sure the web is a place where you can publish and invent online without permission, keeping technology understandable so everyone can take part

The festival spaces

Every space at the festival will feature:

• The Shed, a practical area called hosting hands-on making workshops
• The Learning Room, where talks and debates will happen
• The Gallery, where exhibits and installations will be shown

Which of these suits your proposal best?

How to Apply

If you're interested in getting involved, first read a little bit more about the 5 festival themes/spaces and then visit the proposals page to fill out the simple form.

Your materials and reasonable technology requests will be provided for if your proposal is selected. A session could take the shape of a short 15-minute demo, a longer 60-minute session, or an exhibit that lasts all weekend.

What about the costs?

Arts Award will be awarding some bursaries to assist with travel to the festival, and Mozfest provides reasonable materials. So it doesn't have to cost you a penny if you can't afford it - and if you're under 18 and a bursary recipient we'll make sure an adult can travel with you too.

If you want to chat to us about your idea first, just contact us by email on [email protected] to set up a time to talk.

The Deadline

The call for proposals will close on 1 August.

We can't wait to hear from you!

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Want to know what it's like planning the festival? Have a quick look at Project Manager Emrys' blog about the planning week.