Holding a forum or workshop: a DIY guide

Organising a forum or workshop for your community is a simple way to help publicise the issue of the Intervention, hear stories from those affected and their supporters, and build support for an end to racist laws in the Northern Territory and beyond. If you haven’t organised a forum before, it’s fairly simple. The main elements are:


1) A venue: preferably, one that’s free to hire.
Neighborhood community centers are often set up for exactly this purpose, and can be used for events at little or no cost. Students, particularly student representatives at universities usually have free access to certain rooms, including large meeting spaces. Or you could approach a school or university with your idea, and ask for a cheap or free room hire. When you are choosing a venue, keep in mind;
* How many people are you planning for? Don’t get room that fits 500 if you only expect 80.
* What will the speakers need to be heard properly? Check if your venue comes with microphones and a P.A.
* Whether you will have access to stuff like toilets, a kitchen for water, tea and coffee, etc, etc...


2) Allies and partners:
Other groups who might want to help build the event, co-organise and/or promote, suggest speakers etc. For example, get in touch with:
* Student Union and University Indigenous Officers and Indigenous collectives on campus
* Supportive University staff and academics
* Indigenous Students Network
* Indigenous Learning Center
* Arts Faculty


3) Speakers and presenters
Check out the contact list in this Students for Sovereignty pack for some ideas of potential speakers in your area.


4) A format for the forum
There are lots of styles and formats for forums - and definitely scope to be creative.

Some key roles:
* Facilitator / MC / Compere
* Space / audiovisual person - making sure there are chairs, the projector is working, the room isn’t freezing
* Meet ‘n’ greet person for those who arrive early... and late! They could set up a table at the entrance with a sign up sheet (so you can contact people after the forum), some materials, leaflets, stickers and posters.

Key elements might be:
* Acknowledgement of country - invite Traditional Owners to speak at the start of the forum. If you don’t know who they are - do some research, ask people in your community, call around.
* Facilitator: introduce the forum and speakers
* Speakers (ten minutes each)
* Questions and discussion
* Brainstorm possible collaboration / next steps, break off into small groups to work on, reportback)


5) Promotion

You can students, staff, other ngos to send via e-lists, put in their newsletters etc, article in student rags, do interviews on community radio with one organiser and one or two of the speakers, posters and fliers, etc.

Example: Public Forum: After Sorry - Where to for Aboriginal Rights?
Monday 25th Feb, Redfern Community Centre, 6pm.

Speakers:
* Bev Manton, Chairperson, NSW Aboriginal Land Council
* Phil Bradley, NSW Teachers Federation and Reconciliation for Western Sydney
* Shane Phillips, Aboriginal Rights Coalition
* Nicole Watson, UTS

Following Kevin Rudd’s apology there has been a marked wave of progressive sentiment on issues of Indigenous justice throughout the country. After 11 long years of setbacks and blatant racism under Howard, there has finally been an important step in the right direction.

Yet there is still much to be done. Up to two thousand people rallied the day before the apology against the ongoing injustice of the NT intervention, with the support of a broad range of Aboriginal organisations, unions, human rights and social justice groups. A meeting of the National Aboriginal Alliance took forward the project of building a strong political voice for Aboriginal people. People from affected communities gave moving testimony:

The cry for immediate review of the intervention has gone unanswered, the Racial Discrimination act is still suspended, Aboriginal land has been compulsorily acquired and Non-aboriginal business managers continue to have extraordinary powers, referred to as “analogous to a police state” by many from communities.

There has been a call for broad, diverse rallies on the first anniversary of the intervention in July. There are actions being organised at Centrelinks throughout the country on March 13th, highlighting the issue of welfare quarantines.

Come along to this forum to help build our power & to discuss the way forward for the movement for Aboriginal rights.

For more info contact: _____