FAQ

• Clips: Videos up to a maximum length of 3 minutes, which you submit in a format ready for broadcasting.
• Lightning Talks: Up to 10 minutes long highlights on current topics by one or two people in a conversational situation. A demo video of up to three minutes should be submitted for CfP purposes in which you briefly describe your idea.
• Features: Contributions of up to 25 minutes on one topic that can be composed of different formats. We recommend that you work with two to four speakers/protagonists and one storyteller or moderator. Please submit a demo video no longer than three minutes in length to the CfP, in which you present your idea for the filming.

Off Stage Programme: You’re free to organise your content on a platform you choose (i.e. Instagram, Twitch, Tik Tok etc.) and then submit a corresponding link. As long as your activities take place during the days of re:publica (21-22 May 2021), you are free to set a schedule yourself. However, please also pay attention to our CfP guidelines. More information about the Off Stage programme can be found here.

Important:

• Your videos must not contain any graphics such as plates, straps or corner logos that describe the content of the session — we will take care of this for all videos
• Resolution: Full HD (1920x1080) or higher
• Frame rate should be p25 (p for progressive) if possible

Recommendation:

• Codec: H.264 with at least 10 Mbps in a mov container, alternatively: ProRes 422
• Audio: aac, 48 kHz

Once again, re:publica will take place digitally this year, alongside new challenges for all participants in our Call for Participation (CfP). This year we are looking for ideas and video formats for the programme that you produce in advance. There are no limits to your imagination and video art. The videos also play a major role in our Online Community Voting: they are your business cards, so to speak, for the voting process. Based on the video you submit to the CfP, our programme team gets a first impression of your idea and we can give you specific feedback or, for example, think of discussion constellations that fit well with your proposal.

From 20 - 22 May 2021, re:publica 2021 will take place in a digital edition titled "In The Mean Time". Find out more information here.

"Tracks" are general categories that you assign your submission to, (i.e. “Politics”). Here are this year’s tracks:

• Politics
• Education
• Media
• Culture
• Technology
• Work
• City
• Lifestyles

Find out more about our #rp21 tracks here.

The CfP for re:publica 2021 opens on 1 March 2021.

Our CfP for video formats (Clip, Lightning Talk, Feature) ends on 21 March 2021 (23:59 CET).

Our CfP for the Off Stage programme ends on 2 May 2021 (23:59 CET).

Community Online Voting for Lightning Talks and Features runs from 29 March to 4 April 2021.

The programme team will evaluate video formats from 22 March to 4 April 2021. Starting on 5 April 2021, acceptances as well as rejections will be sent out and consultation with submitters will be held.

The programme team will consult with applicants for the Off Stage programme  on an ongoing basis. All final decisions will be taken by 9 May 2021.

Anyone and everyone with a good idea can take part in the CfP.

Please submit your proposal in German or English. Please note that your submission must be written in the language in which you will be holding your session (Clips, Lightning Talks, Features and Off Stage activities).

Yes. The account allows you to register yourself as a speaker, manage your information and submit a proposal for the CfP. You can edit your proposal at any time—even after it's submitted but only until the deadline. Account registration and setup is free and only takes a few minutes. Just head over to www.re-publica.tv/en/user/register.

Yes. If you've registered for re:publica after 2014, you can continue to use your account. Please log in to the website for the corresponding re:publica event using your old login details and simply update your profile.

First off, you can only submit a session if you are registered as a speaker. Register here and create a speaker profile for re:publica 2021. You can log back in and edit your session at any time until the CfP deadline. Log in to the #rp21 website here.

1. Update your speaker profile or register as a speaker

Please note that your session can only be accepted if your speaker profile is complete by the end of our Call for Participation (CfP) deadline for sessions (video formats) on 21 March 2021 or by the end of the deadline for the Off Stage programme, on 2 May 2021 respectively.

A. You have been a speaker at a re:publica event before and already have a profile? Then please log in with your username or your registered email address here. Everything up to date? Great, then please continue with point 3.

B. If you want to create a new speaker profile simply follow these steps:

• In the first part of the form please fill in your personal information (first and last name)
• Choose your username. (HINT: if you use a combination of your first and last name, we will have an easier time to find you in the system when you have questions)
• Please enter a valid email address. This is important, as we will use it to send you further information.
• Click the Button "Create account"

B.1 After completing registration, you will receive an activation link on the email address you provided. (Please allow this to take up to 15 minutes depending on your email provider and please also check your spam folder. Follow the link in that email and set up a password.)

B.2 When you're logged in for the first time you need to complete your speaker profile. You can only save your speaker profile once you have filled in all fields marked with a red star. Ideally, you already have the following at hand:

• Upload your photo. Please make sure your file matches the following specifications:  800 KB Limit, Format: png gif jpg jpeg, The picture needs to be larger than 480x480 pixel. All pictures exceeding 1024x1024 pixel will be reduced.
• Fill in your short bio in 200 words / 1000 signs
• Fill in your organisation or your job title
• Please also add a link to your website or that of your organisation
• Change your password
• Save once and voila: done.

2. Navigation after login

When you log in, you will find a menu bar. Click on the gear wheel to open a dropdown on the left side of the page. You will find the items "Home", "My Dashboard" and "Add content".

• "Create Content": Here you can choose between: "Add Session": This button will take you to the form to create and submit an idea to the Call for Participation (CfP) (video formats: Clips, Lightning Talks and Features) and "Add Off Stage Action": This button takes you to the form to submit an idea for the Off Stage programme as a weblink
• "My Dashboard": This is where you can view and edit your submissions
• "Home": Here you can access the main page of re-publica.tv
• "My Profile": to edit your profile, click on the profile icon in the upper right corner and then click on the "Edit" link in your profile. Here you can change your email address, password and any other personal information

3. And now the most important: You want to add a session.

• Click on "My Dashboard
• Then select "Add Session" for either of the three video formats
• Now the CfP form will open. As a prerequisite for your participation in the CfP, please carefully read the CfP guidelines first and then check out our CfP FAQ.
• You can now start with your submission: Please carefully read the CfP form so that you can fill in all mandatory fields marked with a red star.Now go ahead and fill in all the required information — you can find hints for individual fields directly in the CfP form or in our FAQ: Title, Short thesis, Description, Track, Format, Language (English, German), Speaker (Add by username—this person must already have a profile), Experience & Videos (Here you can also add a video of yourself), Comments/Links
• CfP guidelines read? Great! Then please click on "Save" and tadaa: You did it, your proposal has been successfully submitted!
• Once you have saved your session and it appears  in your dashboard ("My Dashboard"), the programme team can see it, too
• Not much time right now? No problem — Just click "Save" in between and continue later. But remember that all details of your session proposal has to be completed before the time of the CfP runs out — that includes the details of all speakers involved!
• All this is no rocket science and should be pretty straight forward most of the time
• Please note: You can log back in and edit your session at any time during the time of the CfP. To do so, simply go to the #rp21 website to log in.

4. If you are planning a session with several speakers, each speaker must register with a profile and let you know their username.

• Click "Add item" to add an additional speaker box
• Enter the user name in the field "Speakers"
• Please note that you need to wait for the auto-complete to find the user name in our database

5. finally: Please remember to log out.

Thank you for being a part of re:publica 2021. We look forward to your submission!

No. We use your information from the form in order to assess and categorize your proposal. We will only publish your submission in case it is accepted by the programme team and of course in case it is  considered for the community voting. However, only information relevant to the visitors will be made public. Your contact details and other personal information will never be published.

Please thoroughly check your username and password and make sure that you chose the right domain (i.e. use the rp21 website, not the global landing page). If that doesn't solve the problem: Don’t worry, our team is happy to help you with any technical problems (that you haven’t been able to solve yourself after several attempts) via info[at]re-publica.com.

Spelling, grammar and proper punctuation are important. No one likes to read an application with unfinished sentences and typos. It’s therefore advised to have your submission proofread before handing it in. Here are a few key points:

• Use both upper and lower case letters for your title. Please don’t write your title only in caps or with all the words in lower case
• Punctuation brings rhythm and balance into your thoughts. So don’t be afraid of commas, catchwords, colons and exclamation points!
• Look out for copy & paste mistakes — really — they happen more often than you’d think
• Bonus: Please spell "re:publica" correctly if it appears in your description
• Read your description to someone else (ideally someone who doesn’t know your topic too well) — they can then give you feedback regarding if what you are trying to communicate is understandable
• AND: Even if your concept seems clear and coherent to you, don’t forget that most people who will be reading your description probably have a different background than you
• Some more info about the text lengths: The title allows for a maximum of 60 characters and the description of the session allows for a maximum of 2,000 characters

Of course funny titles are catchy. However, your title is fighting with many other titles for the attention of the participants. The more direct and explanatory your title is, the better. "All you need is Love: Social Media Strategies against Hate on the Net" is better than "Why All you need is Love".

There is a maximum of 60 characters in place. Under certain circumstances, titles are automatically shortened for the programme overview and when uploading the session video. Please make sure that  your great title won’t be cut off.

It should really be “short”: up to 350 characters to be precise. Only state your basic proposition and how you will be discussing/covering it. Your short thesis should make everyone clear what you are going to talk about.

The description of your session should be no longer than 2,000 characters. Even though we haven’t set up an automatic restriction, we only assess the first 2,000 characters. There simply won't be time for the evaluation of exhausting essays. Keep in mind that this will be the text that is published should your idea be accepted, so keep it as concise and easy to understand as possible.

No. Even though it is technically possible, we strongly advise against it as we can see in the backend when you have made changes. Any edits you’re making after the CfP has ended simply  make our curatorial work more difficult. Therefore, please do not make  any changes after the CfP deadline without prior consultation! Please only make changes to your submission if we ask you to do so (for example if you have suggestions for improvement) or if you have told us beforehand by email that you want to change something.We will decide on a case-by-case basis.

Yes. Any planned speakers should at least be informed and invited when submitting a session idea. By the Call for Participation (CfP) deadline, all speakers should also be confirmed and added to the session proposal (please note: each speaker needs a separate account).
If you are organizing a session, you are responsible for making sure that all speakers have entered their information into their profiles and manage it themselves. See also "Session Responsible". Propose a session only if it is feasible in its constellation of people.

Because the listed speakers influence the selection process, we encourage you to have the lineup confirmed by the end of the Call for Participation (CfP) phase. You can always add the speaker you want in the comments section, plus your relationship to him/her or why you think he/she will accept, though.

We suggest a maximum number of possible speakers for each format. Please respect the GENDER BALANCE — each session should be 50% female or gender diverse (the moderator does not count).

• Lightning Talk: 1-2 speakers (also readings or fireside chats)
• Feature: 2-x speakers
• Clips: 1-2 speakers

Your co-speaker must already be registered and have created an account. He or she has given himself or herself a username. Please make sure that this is the case before you continue.
If you then create a session in the CfP form, you will find a box "Speaker(s)" further down. Please enter the first letters of the user name of your co-speaker(s). The auto-complete will show the correct person if it already exists in the database. Save it. Done.
Only add people you have confirmed and who agreed to participate in the CfP! Adding people without asking can lead to exclusion.

• You are responsible for the production of the session and for taking our feedback on the format into account
• If you have submitted a session for several people, you are the contact person for all questions around this session
• You are the organiser and also appear as a speaker in that session
• You are responsible for ensuring that the co-speakers have all created their own individual speaker profiles
• You add the co-speakers to your session (see FAQ)
• You are responsible for passing on all relevant information to your co-speakers

This year, the Stage Hosts will increasingly take on the role of moderator between the Lightning Talks and Clips. We try to group your Lightning Talks and Clips thematically and have the Stage Host moderate them. In the features, however, it makes sense to introduce a narrator or moderator to guide you through your topic. That's why we recommend a moderator here. Feel free to contact us if you don't know anyone suitable.

Obvious advertising and marketing pitches do not stand a chance in the Call for Particiation (CfP). The re:publica audience, the programme team and the programme committee wish to have inspiring and well-researched content that deals with the challenges facing our digital society and presents potential solutions. There is no interest in marketing pitches disguised as educational sessions.This does not mean that the visitors of re:publica are not interested in the newest digital products or services. In case you want to present or pitch your innovation, please get in touch with our colleagues from Partner Management, who are happy to help out with more information on how to get involved: partner[at]re-publica.com

After we have reviewed all the CfP submissions, we will sort out the content that violates our CfP guidelines and fill suitable sessions directly into the thematic channels. From the remaining sessions, we will compile a selection of 10 Features and 10 Lightning Talks, which will then be released for public voting starting on 28 March 2021. On 04 April 2021, the decision on the top 5 from each list will be final and those will be entered in the programme and supported by us in the production of the content. The ideas you submit for our Clips category will not be part of the community voting, but will be selected by the re:publica programme team and then integrated directly into the programme and/or on our event channels.
If you explicitly do not wish to be included in the community voting, please let us know.