Dear Friends,It's just under three weeks to go until the fourth Sydney Social Forum.
Unlike any other conference, the Sydney Social Forum is a do-it-yourself event. The SSF is not a series of "workshops" where panels of "experts" lecture to you. The SSF is an open space where maximum participation is encouraged. It's the participants who decide the content of the sessions, how they are run, and the issues that are discussed.
So what do you want to talk about? What are the issues that concern you?
Already, there have been a number of sessions registered covering a variety of topics, but there's still time for you to get involved and have a say.
You can register your session prior to the weekend, but you can also simply turn up on the day and be able to host one.
Below you can find out the hows and whys of getting you or your organisation involved and sharing your experiences and ideas in what will be a fantastic weekend for the social movements in our city.
Another Sydney is Possible!
SSF Organising Team
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4th SYDNEY SOCIAL FORUM
27-29 August 2005
Petersham West TAFE
Petersham Town Hall
The Sydney Mint
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WANT TO HOLD A SESSION AT THE SYDNEY SOCIAL FORUM?
ISSUES AND OUTCOMES Generally speaking, the weekend two days of the SSF are to discuss "where we're at" and "we're we want to be" in terms of community and workplace activism - to educate ourselves, share experiences, and try to arrive as possible outcomes, solutions, and strategies to make it happen.
WORKSHOP STYLE The SSF organising team is encouraging participants to think about the type of workshop you wish to hold, and how you might maximise the time-slot. For instance, you are encouraged to work out if you're going to hold an educational style workshop, or an activist style workshop. An "educational" workshop may be held lecture style, and is designed to allow those who may be new to an issue or new to activism to get a broader understanding. An "activist" workshop should be more dynamic, aimed at a particular constituency who may be more or less up to date with the area of concern. The aim should be maximum participation from those present. You might consider having a 5-10 minute intro followed by 20 minutes of discussion, 5 minutes from the front and further discussion etc. Try to think of how you can make the workshop "dynamic" and give yourself and participants the best chance of arriving at "outcomes".
THINK NETWORKING You are also encouraged to think beyond your particular issue or campaign area and consider how you could share the platform with other groups or speakers who may be able to contribute more broadly to a common area of interest. Remember, the SSF is not simply a "talk-fest", but an opportunity to network and broaden links among our social movements.
YOUR 4-STEP GUIDE TO HOLDING A WORKSHOP SESSION
1) GET REGISTERED You will need to be registered as an individual or an organisation to be able to hold a workshop.
2) WORK OUT YOUR TOPIC Think about the style of session you might hold in light of the suggestions above. Get in touch with other groups and maybe arrange a working group to identify the main issues in a particular area. For example, a number of environmental activists from different areas and organisations have formed a working group to discuss the most important issues regarding the environment and the best way to present and discuss them.
3) GET IN TOUCH WITH THE SSF ORGANISING TEAM We will take your workshop details and publicise them at the SSF website. Details required are: * workshop title * brief description about the aim of the workshop * who's speaking * proposed day/time * your contact details. We may also be able to put you in touch with others who may be considering a similar workshop, as well at let you know about any broad issue-based working groups which may be up and running. If there are particular time constraints (such as speaker availability), please indicate a possible time for your workshop.
4) PUBLICISE YOUR SESSION The SSF Organising Team does general publicity for the overall forum, but it's up to you to make sure that people know about your session. It's not safe to assume a "readymade audience" Get your friends and contacts to register for the weekend. Call and email all your contacts and anyone else who you want to attend your workshop and the SSF in general. Give them a leaflet or direct them to check out the SSF website. Following the final workshop deadline, a full publicity kit with PDF leaflets, posters, and rego forms will be available from the website. Just download, photocopy and start dishing them out!
ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions or if you want to get hold of leaflets and posters etc, please contact the organising team.
Email: info@sydneysocialforum.org
Phone: Melanie 0403 051 606 or Vince 0438 800 244
Sydney Social Forum
By SSF posted 22 August 05
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