Here's your chance to nominate your favorite luminary for a 2013 Pioneer Award! This year’s Pioneers will join an esteemed group of past award winners that includes World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, security expert Bruce Schneier, open source advocate Mozilla Foundation, and privacy rights activist Beth Givens. Nominations will open until midnight on Thursday, August 1.

What does it take to be a Pioneer? The nominees must have contributed substantially to the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based communications. The contribution may be technical, social, economic, or cultural.

Who can submit a nomination? Anyone may nominate a potential Pioneer Award recipient, and you may nominate more than one recipient. You may also nominate yourself or your organization. Please submit separate forms for each nominee.

What fields are required? To be valid, all nominations must contain your reason, however brief, for nominating the individual or organization and a means of contacting the nominee. In addition, while anonymous nominations will be accepted, ideally we'd like to contact the nominating parties in case we need further information.

Who is eligible for a Pioneer Award? Nominations may be of individuals, systems, or organizations in the private or public sectors.

Who is not eligible? Current members of EFF's staff and operating board and past Pioneer Award recipients are not eligible.

What happens if my nominee wins? Persons or representatives of organizations receiving an EFF Pioneer Award will be invited to attend the ceremony on Thursday, September 19 at The Lodge at the Regency Center in San Francisco, at EFF's expense.