In order to create the most well rounded agenda possible, we need your help. We ask you--as members of the Netroots--to help us develop and organize two different types of sessions that accurately reflect the issues that are most important to our community.

• Proposal Submission Form
• Speaker Info Sheet

A panel involves 3 or 4 speakers with different perspectives on a particular issue. The group--with the help of a moderator--conducts a lively roundtable-type presentation on a chosen topic.

A discussion has less structure: it generally consists of 1 or 2 people leading a talk on a particular subject. Discussions may include audience interaction through Q&A.

Here’s what we need you to do:

1. Develop your idea for a lively panel or discussion that focuses on one or more of the following: brings in multiple perspectives on a key issue of public policy; examines a way to leverage the netroots to make a difference in policy and media; develops a way to build the progressive/netroots infrastructure generally.
2. Contact potential panelists and get their agreement to participate. We also ask that you recruit someone to live-blog your session.
3. Submit a proposal that includes an abstract of the discussion, the names of your panelists, your vision of what they’d bring to the session, and your sense of what convention attendees might take away from the session.

To submit your proposal, please fill out the proposal submission form. (If you require a non-Microsoft Word form, please email nolan AT netrootsnation DOT org) Instructions on how to submit your proposal or ask questions are contained inside the document. The deadline is January 30. You'll also want to read this participant info sheet which contains details about hotel accommodations, travel and expenses.

Panels will be reviewed based on the following criteria: it addresses an important topic; it includes panelists with new perspective; it includes various Netroots voices; and it shows adequate planning.

Decisions will be made (for the most part) on which proposals to accept by March 1st, leaving space in the agenda for late-breaking issues.

We want to see panel proposals on all sorts of issues, such as health care, the current state of New Orleans, Iraq, Texas politics, education equality, and Netroots-initiated activism. And possible discussion topics include the war on science, the housing crisis, and the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

But you are not limited to these topics. We want Netroots Nation to reflect your interests. And your interests are best expressed by your proposal.

By submitting a proposal, you are accepting responsibility as the ORGANIZER of the session. As organizer, you will have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that you secure commitments from all participants, that you monitor logistics for your session (such as exceptional AV needs) and that all of the data about your session and its participants is uploaded into the participant portal (details on the portal will be provided at a later date). We’ll help you along the way, but ultimately, it’s your baby.

This is your way to get more deeply involved in Netroots Nation. Will you step up?

We'll update this page with new information and answers to frequently asked questions as time passes.