WORKSHOP "HOW TO" GUIDE

The SSF is an "open space" where maximum participation is encouraged. You can register your workshop prior to the weekend, but you can also simply turn up on the day and be able to host one.


Issues and Outcomes

Generally speaking, the 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 - and to try to arrive as possible outcomes, solutions, and strategies to help make it happen.

It is hoped that Saturday workshops focus on "where we're at". Sunday the focus will be on solutions and "outcomes".


Workshop Style

The SSF organising team is also 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 within the progressive and activist community.

Open Space

The Sydney Social Forum will be structured using the "Open Space" model. This is basically a self organising model in which the detailed agenda for the forum is defined on the day by the people who attend. Rather than being chaotic, it is a dynamic, clearly structured model which can respond to the needs of the people who attend.

'Open Space' draws on the work of science in the field of complex adaptive systems, where humans, like nature, are seen to be self-organising, not self-disorganising. If you accept this premise to be true then less becomes more. Outcomes arise in spite of structure and control, not because of it.

Rooms will be made available and time slots pre-determined. There will be at least 10 workshop spaces and 4 workshop sessions - allowing for something like 40+ workshops. People then are invited to announce their proposed workshop topics - within the theme of the forum - declaring who they are, what their workshop will be about, what time and in which room. These workshops are then mapped on the wall.

People can attend the workshops at their leisure. If no-one attends a particular workshop - fine. If people in another workshop decide that they want to spend the whole day exploring the issues in more depth - fine. The people who are there define and create the forum that they want. No one can control or co-opt the process.

Open space operates according to 5 principles:

• Whoever comes are the right people
• It starts when it's meant to
• When it's over it's over
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• You are free to do whatever has value to you (the law of two feet)

Participants take notes as they see fit. These will be typed up by participants as the forum proceeds and will be made available shortly afterwards.

For a more detailed explanation of Open Space, click here.


Your 4-step Guide to Workshopping

1	Get registered.
	You will need to be registerd as an individual or an orgainsation to be able to hold a workshop.
2	Work out your topic.
	Think about the style of workshop 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 this 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 workshop and 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 this website. A full publicity kit with PDF leaflets, posters, and rego forms can be downloaded from the website. Just download, photocopy and start dishing them out!

If you have any questions or if you want to get hold of leaflets and posters etc, please contact the organising team.