Over 3,000 gather in Barcelona for Mozilla Festival to build a fairer digital world

Under the theme of "Wilding", participants explored new ways to shape a fairer, more ethical digital future.

BARCELONA, SPAIN, November 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Mozilla Festival 2026 concluded after three days at the Recinte Fabra i Coats with a rallying cry for defiant optimism amid growing concerns about the direction of technology.

Held by the Mozilla Foundation in partnership with the City of Barcelona, and as part of Open Tech Week, the festival brought together over 3,000 people from 110 countries around the world to build a fairer and more ethical digital world. Under the theme of "Wilding", builders, technologists, artists and activists gathered at the former textile factory and hub of creative expression to challenge, connect and build, across more than 200 sessions, experiences and art installations. Speakers included Dr Ruha Benjamin, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation, NYT bestselling author and inventor Gitanjali Rao, and artist Stephanie Dinkins. Activist ALOK Vaid Menon served as the festival emcee. The festival also welcomed performances from the world-renowned Saami Brothers and an impressive performance from the Colla Castellera Jove de Barcelona (local human tower group).

"Over three days in Barcelona, MozFest showed what happens when human agency comes first. Technology today can feel closed, controlled and extractive, and this community, from 110 countries, didn't just talk about a more dynamic, more alive digital future. They built pieces of it together. 'Wilding' asked us to loosen the grip on how technology grows, and people answered with care, creativity and courage. We're taking that energy into the year ahead," said Zeina Abi Assy, Festival Director.

During the festival, Mozilla Foundation also announced the first 20 grantees of Artists Make Technology (AMT), an $11 million initiative developed with the Doris Duke Foundation that gives performing artists the funding and technical resources to build technologies for use in their own fields.

INTERVIEWS: While the week's in-person events may be over, if you are interested in arranging interviews with any of this week's speakers or panellists virtually at a later date, please reach out to press@mozillafoundation.org. Photos and b-roll are also available on request.

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About Mozilla Festival: Mozilla Festival is Mozilla Foundation's annual convening at the intersection of art, technology and society. Since 2010, Mozilla Festival has served as the premier gathering for digital rights activists, ethical technologists and communities building a healthier internet. Each year, Mozilla Festival serves as a laboratory for bold ideas and collective action to create technology that reflects the values of openness, equity and human dignity.

Festival Tracks: Mozilla Festival unfolds across eight tracks, each a focused space where Wilding takes root. Through a decentralised process, each of these tracks is co-designed by community Co-Curators from across regions and disciplines. Wilding asks us to re-imagine the foundations of a better tech future.
About Mozilla Foundation: Mozilla Foundation is a global nonprofit dedicated to ensuring the internet remains open, inclusive and equitable. Founded in 2003, it supports people-first technology through funding, advocacy, education and research.

Rooted in the open-source movement and guided by the Mozilla Manifesto, Mozilla Foundation focuses on critical issue areas like ethical data practices, healthy digital ecosystems, and shifting digital power toward individuals and communities. Its work connects technologists, researchers, policymakers and activists to reimagine and rebuild systems to serve the public good.

With over two decades of global impact, Mozilla Foundation continues to lead the movement for a better technology future, powered by people, and open by design. Learn more at mozillafoundation.org.

Kristiana Papi
Mozilla Foundation
press@mozillafoundation.org