Need help while you’re participating in The Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest? 

Start with these Frequently Asked Questions.  Most of the 160+ events happening in the Fest are designed and produced by Festival partners. Thus, the Fest itself doesn’t control the production details of those events, but we very much want you to have an exciting and satisfying experience! We aim to please, and the following information should help. If these don’t answer your question, please email your question to festival@jewishclimatefest.org.

Where do I find the link to join my event?

• You will receive an email the day before your event with the link to join.  Search your email for “Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest” or the name of your event.

• You can also find the link in your own list of events. Click here to see the events you’ve registered for, then click on any and scroll down to find the link to attend.

I found the link but I can’t get into the event!  

• Please check the date and time of your event.  Almost all events are listed in Eastern time (unless they are specific to an audience in a different time zone).  If you live in another time zone you may be off by an hour.  Or a day.  

• If you need to contact the host of your event, click here to see the events you’ve registered for, then click on any and scroll down to find a link to message the specific host of the event.   

I can’t make the event time -- will these be recorded?

• We hope to have many of these sessions recorded and posted after the Festival for you to enjoy at your leisure.  If you’re interested in a specific event, please register for the event so we know to follow up with you about the recording if/when it’s available.

I’m having issues with Zoom - what can I do to fix it?

• Zoom is a platform that allows you to participate in an online meeting. All you need to do is click on the Zoom link provided by your host to join the meeting. You may be asked for your name and email as a security precaution. If you have not used Zoom before, you may be prompted to download the free Zoom application. You do not need a subscription to Zoom to participate.

If you can’t hear anyone else in the meeting:

• Make sure your computer volume is turned up. 

• Make sure you have the correct speaker selected.

  • Next to the “Mute” button (looks like a microphone in the lower-left hand portion of your screen) you’ll see an arrow “^”. Click on that to reveal your audio settings. Make sure that under “Select a Speaker” you have your computer’s speakers selected. If you’re using wireless headphones, you’ll want to make sure that they are turned on and that you have those selected.

• Did you "join the meeting with computer audio”?

  • Upon joining a meeting, you may have been presented with a dialogue asking if you wanted to join the meeting with computer audio. 

  • In the lower-left hand corner of your screen, if you see an icon that looks like headphones with “Join Audio” written underneath, it means you’ve not connected your computer’s audio to zoom. Click on the icon with the headphones and “Join Audio” written underneath to do that now. That will open a dialogue box and you’ll want to click the large blue button that says, “Join With Computer Audio"

• click the large blue button that says, “Join With Computer Audio"

If you can’t be seen by anyone else in the meeting

Some Zoom events are broadcast only, so only the presenters are able to be seen on video. If you are in a Zoom meeting where everyone else can be seen but you can’t:

• Make sure that your camera is turned on

  • In the lower-left hand portion of your Zoom window, next to the Mute button, is your Start/Stop Video button (it looks like a video camera). If it’s showing a red diagonal line through it and if it says, “Start Video” click on it and that will turn on your camera. Everyone in the meeting will now be able to see you. 

• Make sure that your camera isn’t covered or blocked

  • If you’re using a laptop or a tablet with a built-in camera, make sure that your camera isn’t covered by something

• Make sure that you have the proper camera selected

  • If you’re using an external webcam, you’ll want to make sure that the camera you wish to use has been selected and enabled in your Zoom settings. To check, find your start/stop video button. Next to that, you’ll see an arrow “ ^ “. Click on that to reveal your video settings. Under “Select a Camera” make sure that you have the proper camera selected.

If your Zoom audio and video keeps freezing

• You may have a weak or unstable internet connection

  • Connect to your router with an ethernet cable if possible

  • Move closer to your router (in the same room with a clear line-of-sight between you and the router)

I’m having issues with a video stream on Facebook

On a computer?

• Can't hear? Make sure the player's speaker is unmuted and turned up!

• Try a different web browser. We recommend Google Chrome or Firefox; nternet Explorer and Safari may be causing your problem.

• Clear your browser’s cache. This process is different for different browsers and computers. 

• Try a lower bitrate or switching to audio only. Click the menu button at the top right corner when the feed is live to manually adjust to a lower bitrate or switch to audio only.

• Streaming works best on a fast broadband internet connection! Ethernet is better than WiFi…

• Check your antivirus or security software: sometimes they can interfere with streaming. 

• Pause any security scans or software updates your computer may be doing in the background while trying to stream.

• Shut down other programs and close other web pages. Streaming uses a lot of your computer’s resources and running other applications and programs at the same time may slow your computer down and interfere with the live stream

• Additionally, all public events will be available "on-demand" after its conclusion on our Facebook and YouTube Page. 

I want to unsubscribe from emails.

Thanks for letting us know. You may unsubscribe from enewsletters (like the daily update) through the link at the bottom of those emails. Per our terms of use, you will receive automatic emails with event information for any event that you have registered for. You will not receive those emails after the conclusion of the Fest.

IF NONE OF THESE TROUBLESHOOTS HELP, please email your question to festival@jewishclimatefest.org.

Enjoy The Fest,

The Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest Tech Team