FAQ: Call for Applications
General
Friday and September 16th and Saturday September 17th, 2022.
This year’s festival will be hosted by Engelnest co-working space in the Schöneberg area of Berlin, Germany.
This year’s festival is focused on the concept of Green Cities. With almost 60% of the world living in cities, the importance of sustainable changes cannot be underestimated. That’s why in 2022 our attention shifts to the places we call home as we invite speakers, attendees, partners, and sponsors, to come together with solutions for both the future and now!
We want to encourage innovation, ideas, exchange, and impactful connections from Berlin and around the world.
Everyone!
Timeline for applications
May 15th, 2022 at 23:59 (CET).
The sooner we select the sessions for the festival, the better we can plan how they all fit together into a holistic and well-rounded experience for everyone at the festival—audience and speakers. This will also allow us to share the programme well in advance of the festival, giving us ample time to promote the content and give people something to look forward to and plan for.
The Call for Applications opens on Monday April 4th, 2022 and closes on Sunday May 8th, 2022 at 23:59 (CET). Once the call is closed, we’ll take time to review all applications and plan a comprehensive and engaging programme. We’ll let you know about the success of your application latest by May 31, 2022.
No, so please make sure you get yours in before the deadline.
We’ll let all applicants know whether their submission was successful or not by May 31, 2022.
Curation
The programme is informed by the applications we receive, as well as the topics that we as a programming team have identified as particularly relevant for this year’s theme ‘Green Cities’.
What would you be excited to hear about? Begin with the audience in mind and share an idea that will help or inspire your audience. A good session is relevant, innovative, leaves the audience with something to reflect on, a learning to take with them, or implement into their work or daily life. We are looking for well-researched and in-depth content from people with expertise in that particular area.
Applying
The Call for Applications consists of three sections:
- Info about you as a speaker (name, pronouns, title, bio, links to your online profiles, your affiliation, and a photo)
- Your idea (what type of session, category, tags, title, description, etc.)
- Contact information and data storage and use permission.
Find the application form here.
Information relevant to the session you’re applying with will be used to promote your participation and in the festival promotional and programme materials. If your idea is accepted, your name, title, links, bio, and the title and description of your session will be made public.
Your contact details (email, phone number), as well as accessibility needs, will remain confidential.
We’re looking for thought-provoking and engaging content around inspiring ideas and impactful solutions for Green Cities. For the Call for Applications we are not accepting company pitches or promotions. If you want to showcase your business at the festival, please get in touch with us directly: info@zerowasteberlinfestival.com.
Your session can be in English or German.
We recommend focusing on quality over quantity, and encourage you to submit only one brilliant session.
Yes! The programming team will be delighted to work with you to finetune your session and prepare you for your presentation at the festival. If you shine, we shine!
Yes! The speakers that you want to include in your panel should have been informed, invited, and have confirmed that they can participate by the time the Call for Applications closes.
As a panel organiser, you’re responsible for communicating with and organising your panel.
If you bring a fresh idea that fits the topic, do apply! In general, we’d love to give priority to new voices, but won’t say no to great ideas.
- You are responsible for ensuring that your session is well-balanced in terms of gender, experience, and background.
- You are responsible for producing your session and for considering our feedback on the format.
- If you have submitted the session for more than one person, you are the contact person for all questions about the session.
- You are the organiser and also appear as a speaker in the session.
- You are responsible for ensuring that we receive speaker info and images for the additional speakers.
- You are responsible for passing on all information to your co-speakers.
- You can only be responsible for one session at Zero Waste Berlin Festival.
Content
Yes! The theme of this year’s festival will also be reflected in the programme.
The following session formats can be selected:
- Talk / Presentation / Ideas / Innovation
- Panel
- Fireside chat / interview
- Workshop
- Masterclass
- Film / Short film
- Interactive / Installation / Art
The duration of the session varies depending on the format you’ve chosen.
- Talk / Presentation / Ideas / Innovation: 15-30 minutes
- Panel: 35 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
- Fireside chat / interview: 20 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A
- Workshop: 1-2 hours
- Masterclass: 1-2 hours
Can you find a different angle on your topic, or re-imagine it through the lens of ‘Green Cities’? If it’s not the right fit for this year, we invite you to come as an attendee, and check back in for next year’s Call for Applications.
A category is a thematic field that you can assign your submission to. This year’s festival has seven categories connected to the overarching theme of ‘Green Cities’:
- Mobility
- Green Tech
- Food Systems
- Fashion
- Sustainable Lifestyle
- Activism
- Community
Tags are keywords that let us know what topics your idea connects to. The tags give you an idea of what issues the programming team find particularly interesting and relevant this year. You will be asked to assign 3 tags to your submission—no more, no less.
1.5 Degrees
Accessibility
Apps & Digital Solutions
Carbon Emissions
Circularity
Civil disobedience
Consumption
Corporate Activism
Culture
Design
Education
Energy
Entrepreneurship
Feminism
Food in cities
Greening
Greenwashing
Innovation
Intersectionality
Leadership
Logistics
Materials
Mental health
Money & Finances
Networks / System Solutions
Plant-based
Policy & Regulation
Production
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Sharing economy
Social justice
Supply chains
Transformation
Transportation
Travel/Tourism
Trends & Futures
Urbanization
Volunteering
Waste
Zero Waste
Of course, we have blind spots too—this is what the ‘other’ tag in the submission form is for!
Categories are broader thematic fields that relate to ‘Green Cities’, for example ‘Mobility’, or ‘Food Systems’.
Tags are keywords that will help us define a specific focus for your session.
If you have any other questions not covered here, please feel free to contact us directly: info@zerowasteberlinfestival.com.
We look forward to reviewing your applications!