Mozilla Festival to bring community-led technology debate to Barcelona
The October 28–30 gathering expects more than 2,000 participants and will include sessions on AI governance, digital archives and shared control of technology.
Barcelona will host Mozilla Festival from October 28 to 30, with more than 2,000 technologists, artists and activists expected to attend. The nonprofit Mozilla Foundation and the City of Barcelona are organizing the event, which focuses on community-led approaches to technology.
The program features more than 200 talks, workshops and art installations at Recinte Fabra i Coats, an arts center housed in a former textile factory. Part of Open Tech Week, the festival is returning to Barcelona for a second consecutive year under the theme “Wilding.”
Speakers include Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, UpScrolled founder Issam Hijazi and Princeton University professor Ruha Benjamin. Poet and comedian ALOK Vaid-Menon will host. Discussions will address AI’s social tensions and approaches to digital tools based on care and shared power.
Sudanese music producer Khaled Alsedeg will lead a session on using digital archives to preserve Sudan’s musical traditions. An installation called Wild Lots draws on city data to envision unused urban land reverting to nature.
A youth program includes role-playing for teenagers aged 13 to 17 to explore rules covering AI, online platforms and mental health. Another workshop uses an AI guide developed with and for Gambian girls. Mozilla and Barcelona have signed an agreement for the city to host the festival through 2027.
