A-Infos (en) Brazil, OSL, Libera #181 - ORGANIZING MEETINGS AND ASSEMBLIES - SPACES FOR SELF-MANAGEMENT AND DIRECT PARTICIPATION OF THE PEOPLE (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Activist training is an ongoing process, and there is no one who acts in 
a socially organized way who is ready or no longer needs training. It 
can occur through specific training courses, in the practical day-to-day 
work of the grassroots, or even through self-teaching, through the 
initiative and search for improvement and study by activists. But it is 
essential that the steps of theory and practice go hand in hand. In 
other words, if the processes of organizing the struggle and grassroots 
work are also formative, the specific moments of study and training 
consolidate and make activists reflect on their practical actions, 
adjusting them when necessary.

Therefore, the exercise of re-studying the themes, reflecting and 
updating them is essential. And one of these themes is collective 
organization, because it is, together with a conception of combative 
struggle, one of the conditions for accumulating social strength and 
building popular power. And on the issue of collective organization, we 
will discuss here how to organize meetings and assemblies.
In an organized social struggle process, meetings and assemblies are 
important spaces for self-management, with direct participation of the 
people in the management, decision-making and direction. In other words, 
they are moments in which a group meets to debate, evaluate and make 
decisions and directions on certain matters. Agreements and decisions 
that must be respected and accepted, as a collective responsibility of 
the people participating.
It may seem that the meeting is limited to the meeting and discussion of 
the planned points - quite the opposite. To hold a good two-hour 
meeting, for example, it is necessary to work hard on its preparation, 
have good coordination and participation of the people. It is not enough 
to set the date on the agenda and wait for the day to arrive; it is 
important to organize a preparation team, which will ensure that the 
meeting goes well. And to do this, you can follow a few steps.
Define the objectives to be achieved with the meeting. We cannot go into 
a meeting without being clear about what we want to achieve with it. 
Although the result achieved is often different from what we expected, 
the important thing is to achieve concrete and collective results.
Prepare the meeting agenda. The agenda is the organization of the points 
we want to discuss and their items. Ideally, it should explain what we 
need to resolve on each point, and the methodology we will use to debate 
and approve each one. And with a set time to discuss each subject. When 
presenting the agenda, it should be foreseen that any urgent matters 
that may arise may be added. It is also important to check if there are 
any pending matters from the previous meeting that have not been 
addressed or resolved.
Define the date, location and work teams. You should think of a place 
that is easily accessible and has adequate conditions. It should be 
comfortable, with chairs, ventilated, with a bathroom, light, drinking 
water, etc. And it should also be safe and ensure discretion, avoiding, 
for example, holding meetings outdoors, where any stranger, or even 
repression, could overhear the matters or disturb the group in any way. 
In view of this, it is necessary to think about the teams that will 
contribute to the meeting and distribute the necessary tasks. Examples 
of tasks include preparing and sending invitations; printing the agenda 
and other materials; decorating and preparing the venue; entertaining 
the meeting; providing food, accommodation (if necessary), and snacks; 
hosting and transport (if necessary); and defining who will coordinate 
the meeting and who will write the report or minutes. The more people 
take on tasks and try to switch tasks at each meeting, the greater the 
participation and training of the people in the group will be.

Putting each point up for debate. The meeting coordinator must present 
the point and explain what needs to be resolved on that subject. The 
form of the debate, the methodology, can be in a plenary session, with 
each person who wants to speak registered, or by organizing small 
groups, or other methods. It all depends on the type of meeting, the 
number of people, the objectives of the meeting, the complexity of the 
subjects, etc.

Open the debate. The meeting coordinators advise that speeches be given 
in order of registration, limiting speaking time. For example, three 
minutes per speech. And in the case of re-registrations, prioritize 
those who have not yet spoken. The coordinators must be careful to note 
the proposed actions that are already being made during the speeches.
Placing and approving the proposals. Once the debate time for that point 
is up, the coordinators present the proposals that were made during the 
debate. In the case of proposals that are complementary, the 
coordinators can try to combine them into one, to facilitate the 
process. When approving the proposed actions, consensus is sought within 
the group.  However, when no agreement is reached, the proposals 
presented should be put to a vote.
Distribution of tasks. The debate on each point should end with concrete 
recommendations. Along with the names of those who will be responsible 
for the tasks, and the deadline they believe is feasible for carrying 
out the recommendations. The person who is writing the report/minutes 
should clearly note these recommendations. If the report has any 
questions, they should ask them to repeat what was sent for them to 
write down.
Reading the report/minutes. At the end, the person responsible for the 
report/minutes should report the recommendations for each point, and the 
people responsible for the tasks. This is important so that the 
coordinators and all those present can see whether the meeting's 
objectives are being achieved.
Evaluate the meeting, schedule the next meeting, and close the meeting. 
A brief moment can be set aside to evaluate the meeting and gather 
suggestions for the next one. If there is no set schedule, set the date 
for the next meeting or assembly. The coordinators should then announce 
the end of the meeting. There may be a lively moment to end on a 
positive note. It is important that the meeting leaves its participants 
feeling that it has achieved its objectives, so that they feel like 
returning for the next meeting.

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