Teach-ins and townhall meetings are powerful ways to educate and activate both members of your community and the lawmakers that represent them. Although similar in many ways, there are some key differences in the purpose and planning of teach-ins and townhall meetings. By offering qualified speakers of intellectual and/or experiential expertise, a teach-in provides a way to explore the issues surrounding the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Teach-ins are most effective when they supply real solutions and give opportunities to build powerful citizen coalitions. The best teach-ins are those that at once give a boost to your existing organizing efforts while also attracting new people to your campaign. A teach-in can also be an effective way to fundraise for your group and, unlike a townhall meeting, can be useful in the early stages of a campaign as an outreach tool.
A townhall meeting, on the other hand, is a large public meeting where community members are allowed to air their views with their elected representatives present. Elected representatives have the opportunity to hear from their constituents and to share their own views and positions in return. Townhall meetings are best held well into an organizing campaign. They should not be one of the first events that a group attempts to organize on an issue. The success of a townhall meeting depends upon an organization's ability to turn out hundreds of people that feel strongly enough about an issue to attend. For this reason, it is often a good idea to work with a broad coalition of groups to hold such an event.
Keep in mind that it can be difficult to get a member of Congress to agree to attend a townhall meeting. They have busy schedules and may not want to be put on the spot, especially on a sensitive issue like the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. If you are able to secure a representative's participation, you need to be sure that you can draw a large crowd. A poorly attended event can burn a bridge with a representative who may feel misled. Worse yet, poor attendance can be taken as an indication of low support for your position. This is the last thing you want to communicate to a member of Congress or any elected official.
The following steps have been developed specifically for townhall meetings, but they can easily be modified for use in planning a teach-in as well.
Preliminary Steps
What to Do Before You Start to Organize a Townhall Meeting
Select a moderator(s) and a topic your group is interested in and decide which representatives to invite. The moderator can be a group spokesperson or someone unaffiliated with your group but knowledgable on the topic, such as a university professor or a journalist. The moderator must be someone you can trust to be professional, well-spoken and able to control a rowdy crowd or heckler in the audience. The topic should be relatively easy considering the focus of your group. But remember to keep in mind that you want the event to be something that an elected official will be comfortable attending. A member of Congress would probably not have a problem speaking at an event called "America's Role in Middle East Peacemaking," but may not want to speak at "Israeli State Terrorism and America's Role in Funding It." Deciding which representatives to invite is usually also relatively easy. The rule of thumb should be to invite all relevant officials. Don't single one out over another. Your district only has one representative in the House, so inviting only that person is fine. If you are inviting your state Senators, you should invite both. If you are inviting city council members, you should invite them all. If some officials agree to come and others do not, that can be used as political leverage. Also, remember that these same steps can be followed to organize a candidate forum during an election cycle.
Think about Your Audience and Outreach
What are you trying to accomplish by inviting an elected representative? Who do you want to attend the event? How will you conduct outreach? Flyers, events, calendars, direct mail, email, phone calls, public service announcements, press releases and word-of-mouth are all good ways to get people to the event. Distribute the flyers as much as possible among friends and colleagues to be disseminated publicly at coffee shops, community centers, cultural centers, other events, churches, schools, universities, etc. Also use the press as a tool to get the word out. Write a press release and send it to campus and local media to get the press to cover the event. Send a flyer as well to make sure the event gets announced on radio stations and included in the community calendar or events section of local newspapers and magazines. The sooner you have materials ready, the better, especially in regards to media.
When considering all of these questions it is important to plan ahead. Also, keep in mind that because the townhall meeting provides an opportunity for audience members to share their views with representatives and to urge them to choose one policy direction over another, you will want to make sure that there are as many people in the audience who you know share your group's view as possible. So, while you do want to do massive outreach to ensure a large turnout, you will need to be cautious about where you outreach. Make sure to cover enough places that you feel confident will draw participants who agree with your group's position. Remember, the purpose of the townhall meeting is not only to educate, but to educate and persuade.
Think about Possible Cosponsors
Brainstorm and ask other members of your group for suggestions of other groups (student, community, religious, etc.) that may be willing to cosponsor the event with you. Keep in mind that cosponsors are a key component to generating an audience and sharing the workload and cost of organizing an event. Because you should only hold a townhall meeting after you have already done considerable awareness-raising and coalition- building on your issue, you will probably already have developed good working relationships with other groups who would be logical cosponsors. Also remember that a broad, diverse group of cosponsors will be added incentive for a representative to agree to attend.
Plan The Event: The When, Where, Who, and How
Select a Date
The date obviously is dependent on other factors, such as the availability of elected officials, availability of a venue, and whatever else is being planned in your community around the same time. Also, it is a good idea to organize your event around a date that has some significance in relation to the theme. For example, if the topic is related to American peacemaking efforts it may have added resonance around the launch of a diplomatic initiative or the anniversary of the signing of a peace accord. Or, if part of the overall goal of the townhall meeting is to affect legislation, have the meeting before a legislative vote is to take place. Find a Venue
The ideal venue is a free venue. Try to get a space donated to you. Churches, community centers, schools and universities are likely to do so. Also, consider the size of the space. The appropriate size of the space is related to how many people are expected to attend. It is much better to have some people standing in the back of the room than it is to have half the seats empty.
Confirm Your Cosponsors
There is no such thing as too much group participation or too much outreach. The point is to get as many people to the event as possible. A larger audience will be generated with outside help. Contact the organizations you think would be interested in being part of the event. Explain to them that you are inviting an elected official to a townhall meeting and that you would like for them to be a cosponsor. When they say "yes," suggest that they help with outreach by inviting their members. Among other things, they may be able to help publicize the event by putting it on their website, or adding their name to a press release. Also, don't be afraid to ask them for financial support. It costs money to host an event like this. This is not too much to ask if the organization's name is associated with the event as a cosponsor. Offer in return to include their name on any publicity materials that will be produced.
Develop an Agenda and Assign Roles
This is best done with representatives from the cosponsoring organizations. Typically an event like this should not last for more than two hours. The agenda should provide ample time for audience participation and also enough for the elected official to offer some remarks or comment on what he or she has heard. When inviting the representative it is key to clarify that the primary purpose of the meeting is for the representative to hear from the audience and not the reverse. The moderator should be prepared to control the discussion so no audience member monopolizes the time. You will also want to assign someone to greet the elected official and stay with him or her until the event begins. You should also identify one or two people to serve as press contacts.
Sample Townhall Meeting Agenda
Welcome and Purpose: 5-10 Minutes
The moderator welcomes everyone to the meeting, thanks the organizers, the group that provided the space, the elected official and most importantly the community members for attending. The moderator gives a brief talk about the importance of the issue, the goals for the evening, and the procedure that will be followed. Opening Prayer (If Appropriate): 5 Minutes
If the event is held in a religious center or has been sponsored by religious organizations, it may be appropriate to ask a local religious leader to offer a prayer.
Community Comments: 45-60 Minutes
This is the bulk of the meeting. This is where audience members speak about why they are concerned with this issue and why they want the elected official to follow a certain policy direction. It is a good idea to set a time limit of 2 minutes per person. It is also a good idea to arrange for certain people to speak in advance of the meeting, perhaps at one of the planning meetings. Think about identifying representatives of the cosponsoring organizations, religious or other recognizable community leaders, and if possible known contributors to the officials campaign. The point of their comments is not to persuade by logic as much as it is to persuade by the power of the numbers they represent. It is key for pre-appointed speakers to include this information in their comments. A religious leader might want to begin by saying that he or she is representing the concerns of his or her congregation of 2,000 people. A representative of a cosponsoring organization will want to mention that he or she is speaking on behalf of the group's 12,000 members. There should be time for unrehearsed audience participation as well, but appointing key people to speak in advance is a must.
Remarks from the Elected Official: 15-20 Minutes
Summary Statement: 5 Minutes
The moderator should summarize the outcome of the meeting and outline the next steps in the campaign if appropriate to do so. There should be another round of thanks. If there was an opening prayer, there should be a closing prayer. If not, the meeting can be adjourned after the thank yous.
Evaluation and Follow-up
After the event has ended successfully, consider all that went well and all that didn't. Learn from the mistakes and remember what worked. Thank your cosponsors, your members and anyone who helped to make the event a success. Make sure to send a thank you letter to any elected officials who attended.
