As we enter 2022, and approach another virtual MozFest on 7-10 March, we’re exploring what it means to reset, refocus, and refresh. Specifically, we’re:

• navigating the resetting expectations of self and resetting self care needs in pandemic.
• refocusing personal and professional goals, knowing many will continue to work online this year.
• Asking ourselves, “how do we refresh and invigorate our community when we’re all battling virtual meeting fatigue?”

As you set new year’s resolutions, short- and long-term goals, or establish your “word” for the year, we encourage you to join us in refocusing and refreshing, both personally and professionally.

Pay-what-you-can MozFest tickets are now available and include access to fringe events leading up to the festival in March. These events, and sessions taking place at MozFest, include important and critical work towards Trustworthy AI, alongside moments to reset, refocus, and refresh. Important work will be intertwined between a diversity of sessions (some away from Zoom!), coffee breaks, self care, and tons of fun.

Below, you’ll find a sneak peek of a handful of community-designed and -led sessions that breathe life into our festival and include actions you can take to start resetting, refocusing, and refreshing right now

Post Pandemic Wellness in the Neurodiversity Space

The pandemic has taken its toll on our collective mental health. Despite that, the silver lining is that it has also created more opportunity to openly talk about these issues, like burnout, depression, work-life balance in a normalized way.

One of the simplest and most accessible wellness tips is to expose our brains (via the eyes) to sunlight in the morning. It may not sound appealing for those of us in winter climates at the moment, but this exposure to natural light can also combat the effects of seasonal affective disorder. This practice includes getting outside first thing in the morning for a few minutes (a mere 2-10 minutes!). Pair this with a walk to get your body moving for an additional mood boost. If you want to learn more about the science behind this exposure to light, check out this clip of neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman. Try it out and see how it feels!

At MozFest, Julia Simon will talk about more practical tips and tools to foster mindfulness practices and generally prioritizing your wellness.

Hackers to Humanitarians, leverage your tech skills for social good! In The Trustworthy AI Space

How can you use your technical skills for social good this year? Volunteering is a great way to do just that! In this session at MozFest, we'll hear from GitHub Social Impact on how GitHub matches employees with social sector organizations to assist with projects, programs, and more through their Skills-Based Volunteering program. Jump right in yourself to help a social sector organization with a technical issue during this session. Fill out the form here!

Ahead of the session, learn how to leverage your skills to make a positive contribution to the world by checking out this sample case study of Skills-Based Volunteering with Mobile Pathways and watching GitHub's Building Tech in the Humanitarian Sector.

“Play, Connect, Relate! Exploring Game Mechanics To Create Meaningful Connections” In The Neurodiversity Space

Through playful exchanges and embodied interactions, gaming can play a role in many aspects of our digital and offline lives. MozFest Facilitators Jelger Kroese & Shauna Jin will help us explore how we can make use of games to break down barriers, create connections, and increase individual and societal wellbeing.

Start 2022 off with inspiration by learning about James Carse's concept of finite and infinite games by watching this quick explanation by Simon Sinek and exploring the more elaborate Octalysis framework for gamification and behavior design.

Want to attend this session in March at MozFest? Please go here and answer the following questions:

1. What is the ratio of finite vs infinite game dynamics in your daily life?
2. How satisfied are you with that ratio?

Tales From The Magic Forest In The Sustainability Space

Let music relax, connect, and ground you in 2022! At MozFest, Romanian professional classical musicians Cleopatra David (soprano), Sorin Lupascu (French horn) and Ieronim Buga (piano) are hosting a not to be missed chamber music recital.

In this performance, the horn represents the sound of nature, the soprano represents the sound of the human mind and emotions, and the piano, the most artificial classical instrument, represents the sound of technology. This recital tells the story of Romanian’s forests, where the environment and the forests are put in danger for economical interests of third parties and the level of corruption is very high.

Between now and the festival, enjoy watching a past performance by the artists here and learning more about protecting Romanian’s forests here.

Different Types of Thinking Are Good And Important! In The Neurodiversity Space

As you consider your goals for 2022, does your way of processing critical thinking skills not always mesh with the “expected” way? There are 7 key types of critical thinking skills:

- Bodily Kinesthetic

- Intrapersonal

- Interpersonal

- Naturalistic

- Musical

- Logical-Mathematical

- Verbal-Linguistic

- Visual/Spatial

At MozFest, we’ll embrace the fact that there are many ways for neurodivergent individuals to succeed in engineering by utilizing their own unique skill sets. MozFest Facilitator Thomas A. McGonagle encourages everyone to embrace their most unique talents and traits, leveraging them for a mighty modern approach to work and life.