A question of size ;-)

[Irv Sheffey]

I'm working with a local community group to organize a one day forum on
creating local sustainable neighborhoods, here in the District of Columbia.
We want the forum to be inclusive of a wide range of perspectives from
environmental NGOs, local government, civic leaders and most important,
folks from the community at large, namely the "grassroots".  The theme is
"Getting from here to there, creating sustainable east of the river
communities." We are targeting people who reside in a part of DC that is
geographically separated from the other, two-thirds of the District, by the
Anacostia River.  This part of DC is the home of over 140,000 people, many
who have been historically neglected socially and politically.  We envision
the forum to be a place where their voices can be heard  

 

This brings me to my question and I hope someone out in the network has some
suggestions.  How do we open space such that we get a good representation of
people from these neighborhoods, without overwhelming ourselves?  Whereas
it's relatively easy to work in a context of a given organization, i.e., a
company, a school, a profession, since affinity is defined and numbers
limited but what do you do when you're seeking a broad cross section of the
public?  We have a modest budget and a venue that could accommodate upwards
of 200 people.  How can you be "open" while reasonable as to how many people
can be logistically accommodated?

 

The forum is scheduled for late October and we will begin outreach efforts
over the summer.

 

I hope that this doesn't sound like a "duh" question for you more experience
facilitators.  I could truly use your insights. I've taken the liberty of
copying my co-organizers of this event.  It would be great if you can hit
"reply to all" in responding, so that they can be directly informed.

 

Thank you,

 

Irv

_________________________________

 

Irv Sheffey

Associate Field Organizer - Washington DC

Environmental Justice & Community Partnerships Program

Sierra Club

3101 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE  No. 314

Washington, DC 20020

tel:   202-575-1469

cell:  202-299-6503

 

e-mail: irv.sheffey at sierraclub.org

 


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