Open call for ideas

Who can submit an idea through the open call?

All organisations, businesses, communities and other groups are welcome to participate in the open call.

The ideas can be submitted in Estonian or English, and the discussion can be held in respective languages. It is important that your idea is thought through, your submission gives specific replies to questions set out in the form, and that the setup of the discussion would comply with the Good Discussion Practice.

Through the open call, we are looking for the discussion organisers, which means that if you are submitting an idea, you are also willing and capable to organise the discussion in collaboration with other discussion area organisers and the Festival team.

What happens after submitting an idea? Who puts together the Festival programme, what is taken into account while doing that?

As the open call for ideas concludes, the Festival team will evaluate the ideas following the evaluation guidelines. The evaluation team includes the core team of the Festival and the coordinators of the discussion areas.

As a result of the evaluation, the ideas considered best and gained most points will be divided into topical groups to share respective discussion areas.

The following is taken into account during evaluation of the ideas:

* the importance of the topic, and the general vision for the discussion and the reason it should be included in the Festival programme;

* the aim of the discussion, the understanding of how to achieve it and what wider influence it could have;

* the new angle or view at the topic;

* organiser’s compliance with Respectful Discussion Convention of the Festival.

What is the timeline for setting up a discussion?

The evaluation of the discussion ideas submitted through the open call will be completed by the beginning of April. At that point we will be in touch with the idea submitters to let them know who has been included in the Festival programme. Then, the actual work to design the discussion and the discussion area will start with the guidance from a volunteer discussion area coordinator. By mid-June, the Head of the Festival area Kaarel Vene is expecting input from all discussion organisers regarding construction of the areas. From April to mid-June is also the time to set and confirm every discussion detail from the final headline to names of the moderator and discussion participants. The final deadline to submit all the details to the Festival team is June 10. The programme of the Opinion Festival will go live on July 2.

Are there obligations attached to submitting your idea for the Festival?

If you submit an idea, we expect you to be ready to organise the discussion. The ideas chosen for the programme as a result of the open call will be divided into areas, and the organisers of the discussions are expected to jointly contribute to the technical setup of the area as well as into the setting up their own discussion.

What are the costs attached to the discussion at the Festival?

There are costs that you have to take into account when setting up a discussion at the Festival.

The Festival provides the signs guiding to the discussion area, the chalk board to use at the area, the electricity availability at the area, the recording of the discussions as podcasts, and drinking water at the drinking stations.

Other costs including building up the area, any design needed, video broadcast as desired, tents and shades, sitting options, etc are shared between the organisations holding their discussions at the same area. The overall budget depends on the details like the styling and the setup of the discussion area. The technical description of the discussion area is available at the Festival website and includes more specific information about minimum requirements for an area.

What if we don’t have the funds required?

If an organisation doesn’t have the funds necessary, it is possible, in agreement with other area organisers, to contribute to setting up and supporting the area in some other way.

Some examples of non-financial contributions over the years:

*leading and managing the collaboration between the organisers as the area lead;

*managing area communication work;

*coordinating area design and construction work (finding solutions supporting the concept of the area, etc).

Additionally, discussion areas are allowed to involve sponsors, yet sponsors’ visibility at the area should be in strict compliance with general rules of the Festival and the concept of the area. More information on this can be found HERE, questions can also be addressed to Head of Festival Area Kaarel Vene (kaarel.vene@arvamusfestival.ee).

Should we handle everything ourselves?

No, there will be help. The Festival team includes discussion area coordinators who help create an integrated discussion area out of separate discussions, help find answers to questions organisers might have and advise discussion organisers in order to support managing the area.

This year, the Festival team intends to provide additional support to discussion organisers on the content side. Our team now includes discussion design mentors who can assist discussion organisers with their first steps while putting a discussion together. They are happy to support finalising the aim, the format and the participants’ choice for the discussion.

According to experience, the moderator has one of the most important roles to play for the discussion to succeed. Our strong suggestion is to find your moderator as early as possible so they are able to contribute to discussion’ design process from the start. Opinion Festival partner SpeakSmart is providing consultations for moderators for them to be able to play their role as efficiently as possible. At the end of the open call, the Festival team will have a lucky draw distributing 5 free of charge consultations to lucky discussion organisers.