OVERVIEW

The Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN) is seeking a facilitation team (preferably based in Mexico or within Latin America) to support the design and facilitation of OPEN’s 2025 Global Summit in Mexico City, Mexico between June 2 and June 5 2025. The summit will be held in person and in English.

OPEN is a Network of 17 digital campaigning organisations, and our summits are spaces for digital campaigners, technologists, and operational and other specialist staff to meet and learn from each other. OPEN’s Global Summits have been a focal point for sharing ideas and learning, building trust, developing new skills, and working on collaborative plans. They are our largest annual event and a vital opportunity for our international Network to gather physically in one place.

The Summit will include a mix of programmed and open space content, and be shaped around the needs of participants. We expect participants to want to discuss key campaign issues such as climate change, election campaigns, the rise of the far right, LGBTQ rights, and the cost of living. As well as professional development and training on digital campaigning. Finally we always aim to make our Summits fun and to provide lots of opportunities to create and strengthen relationships across the OPEN Network.

OPEN requires a facilitation team with the relevant level of skill and experience to confidently approach the scale and nature of our Summit; to create the conditions for participants to have a rich and meaningful dialogue across languages and cultures.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL SUMMIT

OPEN’s 2025 Global Summit will be held in Mexico City, Mexico between June 2 and June 5 (starting on the morning of 2 June and concluding the evening of June 5).

Summit’s goal:

To provide a multi-channel event facilitating skill-sharing, problem-solving and collaboration for members and associates based on participant needs.

Summit’s objectives:

● Participants develop stronger relationships with each other that will encourage deeper sharing and collaboration throughout the year.

● Participants share ideas, innovation and inspiration from around and outside of the Network with both organisational and campaigns focus.

● Provide deeper dives into some content (e.g. climate change, electoral work, organisational development - TBD), in appropriate formats such as workshops and skillshares.

● Provide open spaces where participants can lead their own session, following through threads of learning and engagement.

● Build community, trust and a sense of belonging between community members

● Challenge our members to learn and engage with activities around equity and inclusiveness.

● Hearing and sharing strategies to combat the rise of far right movements and disinformation.

The Summit is managed and led by staff from the multi-national OPEN team. The Facilitators will work with and support this team. A design committee made of representatives from the network will be engaging with the OPEN team in order to collaboratively design the Summit’s priorities, processes and agenda.

Approximately 50 participants are expected for the event.

It is worth noting that our community is genuinely digital and global, and groups want and need to connect with and learn from those who are not in their region. As not all regions have equal size, nor groups have common needs, connecting in

person is very important.

Inclusion in all forms is extremely important to our community and key stakeholders. All OPEN events and spaces have a code of conduct, and our events must be designed to uphold it. This means designing co-creation systems, sessions, session support, and the overall activity respectfully considering equity across race, gender, ethnicity, age, skills, abilities, etc. The event must be a safe space for all.

ABOUT THE POSITION

We are looking for an experienced facilitator or team (multiple facilitators ideally, but not mandatory), preferably based in Mexico or within Latin America, who will work alongside OPEN's staff to plan and deliver this event. The scope of this contract is to lead the design and facilitation (with the support of OPEN staff) of the event itself.

Design tasks include:

● Designing an event and an event programme that suits the diverse needs of participants

○ This includes designing a survey or engaging directly in 1:1 conversations with some of the OPEN member organisations (to be facilitated by OPEN staff) to source ideas and recommendations before designing the event and sessions.

● Meeting remotely with OPEN staff to ensure the event as a whole is coherently and professionally planned and delivered.

● End of event evaluation and report to be submitted to OPEN within two weeks of the event end.

Facilitation tasks include:

● Delivering the planned sessions over the four-day period.

● Creating a space with adequate conditions for participants to have a rich and meaningful dialogue across language, cultures and skill sets, building this into the process and agenda in advance.

● Being responsive to the emerging needs of the community and attendees.

● Ensuring an inclusive, safe environment and way of working as a community and group.

The contract is expected to run from early April to mid June 2025, including participation in at least one hour of evaluation discussion after the event is wrapped.

REQUIREMENTS

● The successful facilitator(s) should ideally be based in Mexico or within Latin America.

● The facilitators must have extensive demonstrated experience in the planning, design and facilitation of international events, conferences and/or workshops and groups. A minimum of 5+ years’ experience in facilitation would be preferable, particularly at an international level. We would preferanyone applying to have worked together before.

● Experience of facilitating and designing events with communityco-creation and participation is essential. Experience facilitating networking and social activities to build real connections will be an asset.

● Knowledge and experience of working with social justice and/or progressive organisations and/or issues would be an asset. We are particularly keen that, overall, the team has experience working through a justice, equality, diversity and inclusion lens.

● Excellent English and Spanish language skills are required. Additional languages are an asset.

● The facilitators must work as independent contractors and will be responsible for all their tax contributions.

● Flexibility and ability to meet with OPEN staff in diverse timezones for occasional calls/meetings towards planning will be important.

● General availability in Euro/African, Pacific and/or East coast US time zones would be valuable for coordination with key OPEN team members.

BUDGET

Our total budget is around US$ 10,000 for both the design phase prior to the event and the facilitation phase during the event itself. OPEN will cover travel, meals and accommodation costs during the event (in Mexico City) for the contractor(s) if needed.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must include the following:

1) Please indicate where you are located.

2) A description (no more than 500 words) of each Facilitator’s prior experience in facilitation of international events, conferences and/or workshops and groups, approaching this work through a justice, equality, diversity and inclusion lens.

3) Send us your initial recommendations for delivering this event, with specific ideas on how we could achieve the goals mentioned above.

4) A resume of each consultant included in the proposal.

5) Your proposed costs, including a breakdown of the time you propose to spend on the project.

Please submit your proposal as a PDF to Matt Blizek on hiring@the-open.net by the end of 10 April 2025. Proposals which do not include the above requirements will not be considered.

The project’s anticipated timetable is as follows, although this might be modified on a rolling basis:

● Contractor interviews: 1st- 2nd week of April

● Contractor appointed: 3rd week of April

● Kick-off meeting: 4th week of April

● Agenda design and planning: 4th week of April - 4th week of May

● Summit: June 2nd - June 5th

● Post-event evaluation and debrief: 2nd week of June

Thank you for your interest.