Propose a Panel

What to Submit

Here are a few things to consider when preparing your submission:

• We strive for inclusion and favor intersectional sessions that offer a range of diversity (ethnicity, gender, age, viewpoint, geography, etc.). If your proposal is accepted, we may ask you to make changes to reflect our commitment to diversity.
• How will your session help move progressive ideas forward? Will your panel provide lessons for those working on other issues? Will your discussion inspire activists to get involved and provide suggestions on how and where to get started?
• Does your panel engage an underrepresented community? Does it reach out to activists who may not yet identify as part of the progressive movement?
• No astroturfing. A session is not for the sole purpose of selling your book, non-profit, business, software, website idea, or Facebook application.
• Submit early if possible! This helps us gauge issue interest and see how much speaker/topic overlap exists.
• Give your panel a straightforward title or name. Unclear but clever titles and/or descriptions make it harder for attendees to understand what your session is about.
• Don’t just submit a bio for your proposed speakers; explain the expertise they will bring to your session. Are they intended to be a dissenting voice? Did they run an important campaign? Are they leading organizing efforts on a critical issue?

Things to Remember

• Panels should include a moderator and NO MORE THAN four panelists.
• We highly encourage Q&A or other audience interaction.
• Session blocks are 60 minutes. We’ll do our best to accommodate the scheduling needs of your participants but cannot guarantee a time slot.
• Because we have hundreds of speakers each year, we are unable to offer all speakers free registrations. However, we do not want cost to be a barrier for participation. Information on how to request a waiver will be sent to session organizers once sessions are selected.
• The panel process is very competitive, so proposals that are incomplete or not clearly articulated won’t fare well. It’s possible to submit “TBD Speakers;” but remember, you’ll be judged against other submissions that may be more complete, which could put yours at a disadvantage.
• On the submission form, you will be asked what level of commitment you’ve secured from each speaker. The review committee may consider panels with confirmed or tentative speakers ahead of those with no prior contact.
• Once the submission period closes, proposals will be broken up by issue area or topic and reviewed by small committees of community leaders. Panels that advance past the first round are then reviewed again by the final selection committee, which makes the final decisions about what sessions are presented at Netroots Nation.
• Notification of accepted sessions will be sent out in March. At that time, organizers will have 2 weeks to confirm their session and any timeslot conflicts. Anyone who does not respond in those 2 weeks will have their acceptance notice rescinded.

Organizer Roles and Responsibilities

• By submitting a proposal, you are taking responsibility as the organizer of the session. It is your responsibility to secure commitments from all participants, communicate with your panelists regarding session details and monitor logistics for your session (such as special AV needs).
• Please understand the difficulty in scheduling over 100 conference sessions. If we’re not getting responses from you in a timely manner regarding your session, we will be forced to cancel your session.
• Speakers and organizers are responsible for booking and paying for their own travel expenses. Information about our hotel block can be found here.
• There are many things going on during a session block, so we encourage you to promote your session in advance (we’ll send you a speaker promotional toolkit to assist you in your efforts).

If you have questions, send an email to panels@netrootsnation.org.