SEAC’s Guide to Planning Conferences & Gatherings
**Draft Version**Draft Version**Draft Version**
Conferences and gatherings are a critical part of organizing strong networks within SEAC. When we come together we learn, we are inspired, and we can organize! This guide should provide some of the basic information you need to put together a successful state, regional, or multi-regional gathering.
When and Where?
By the time you’re reading this, you may already know that you’re organizing a conference on your campus on a certain weekend. However, if there is still time to figure out the when’s and where’s of the conference, this section should be helpful….
Picking a weekend for your conference
Conferences are generally held on weekends, from a Friday night to a Sunday afternoon in the spring or fall. Fall conferences are usually between mid or late September and the 2nd weekend in November (before the Thanksgiving break). Spring conferences are usually scheduled between mid-January and late March. April conferences will clash with Earth Day organizing and perhaps even finals. Conferences after April are not good for students, unless you have summer contact information for the people you hope to attract. You also want to be careful not to schedule things when you know students might be on break. Many students are reluctant to give up their spring break to attend a conference. Also many people already have plans for these weekends. If you have an ambitious agenda, you may want to pay attention to daylight savings time weekends and hold a fall conference when you know you’ll have an extra hour (or avoid the spring weekend in which you’ll lose an hour).
Make sure that the dates you pick do not already conflict with other conferences in the area you hope to draw people from. You also don't want to schedule a conference only a week away from another major conference that may draw many of the same people. To find out some of this, it pays to check with SEAC’s National Office as well as with groups like the Center for Campus Organizing to learn what other conferences may be happening. Once you pick a date for your SEAC conference, send the information to the SEAC National Office so that it can be placed on the calendar on SEAC’s website. This will help others know not to schedule things, which compete with your conference.
Note to large universities with massive football cultures… trying to get people to travel to a campus with HUGE sports events can be challenging. You may want to avoid such at-home event weekends. In addition, check for other university events that might be occurring on the designated weekend that would tie up university resources. For example, parking and room space conflicts.
Picking a good location for your conference
In general, you want to be sure that your conference is accessible to all those people who would like to attend. If you have a choice, choose to hold a conference on a campus which is centrally located in the area you want to draw from. Having some type of public transportation in the area is helpful. In addition, you have to keep in mind that many college campuses are not exactly in the middle of a city, so you want to be sure that you can provide detailed directions to all those people who would like attend, preferably from a well known road like an interstate. If it's a national conference, make sure it's close enough to a major transportation hub (like a large city) so that people can fly in or take a bus in without it costing them too much.
The location of the gathering will have a big impact on the type of conference you have. A conference on a retreat site deep in the woods is going to have very different characteristics then a conference at an inner city community college. Each site has its disadvantages and advantages. Choose one that you have access to and that meets your needs. If you are on campus, begin working with the relevant administrators early, so that you can get their support, and get all agreements (like room reservations) in writing. Remember schools exist for the students so don't let administrators give you the run around.
When you choose the site, try to get rooms that are flexible and close to each other and accessible to all. This will keep the conference cohesive. If people have to travel across campus to go to this workshop or that workshop, they easily loose touch with one another. The rooms you choose should be appropriate to the size of the crowds. You should choose rooms you know you can fill. If you are going to have discussion groups or interactive workshops, don't put them in rooms with unmovable chairs.
As a site coordinator, you should walk through the area as if you were a conference participant. Are there signs in the right places to give you directions? Is the registration table at an obvious entrance? Is there a table? Are the rooms easy to find? Are they unlocked? Is the audio/visual equipment in the right place? Is there a place for people to hang out? Is there a place for media to register? It's details like these that make a conference feel good and go smoothly.
Whomever is planning the logistics should expect to recruit some volunteers. If it is a large conference it is helpful to have a volunteer coordinator. Make a list of everything that needs to be staffed by volunteers and get people signed up to take on the responsibilities. It is no fun when you are in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly and you find your self stuck at the registration table for six hours. Delegate, delegate, delegate and don’t forget to follow up with your volunteers.
Getting Started
The first step to organizing a conference is to form a planning group. Nine times out of ten the final decisions end up being made by the main coordinators and the people planning the conference at the site. However, you should still try to get input on the agenda and other issues from lots of people in the area you hope to draw from. Both experienced people and new people should be on the planning group and active in organizing the conference. Also, the planning group must be ethnically diverse and gender balanced from the beginning or you will never achieve those goals in the conference. If one campus does not want all of the responsibilities, they can be divided between groups on different campuses. But, this division makes the communication more expensive and the decision-making slower.
With the planning group in place, the next step is to figure out a strategy for the conference. Most importantly you must define the goals of the conference and set targets for attendance. The goals will dictate the rest of the conference plan and the timeline for the program and the outreach. For example, if the goal of the conference is to revitalize a SEAC region, then there needs to be lots of time for planning and discussion during the conference, as well as time for people to get to know each other and share ideas. On the other hand, if the purpose of the conference is to launch a campaign, then the agenda will focus on the issues of that campaign and provide time to strategize. Clearly defining your goals will make your whole life easier.
Make a point to seek input from your regional SEAC email list and key coordinators in the region as well. This goes for goals of the conference as well as specific ideas for workshop topics.
Setting goals for outreach is also important. These goals should be both numeric and personal. Don't set the goals in a vacuum. Get a list of the schools in the area which the conference is going to address (contact SEAC National for this). Think about which schools and groups you want present, and how many people each group should send.
Once the goals are set, you need to list the tasks that will need to be done in each of the major areas of the conference, and layout a time-line. If you pace yourselves, you won’t find yourself doing 90% of the work in the last 2-3 weeks. Finally, it is good to clarify the decision making process in the beginning. Conference organizing usually happens very fast, and if you don't have a good, quick way to make decisions which people will support, you are doomed to frustration and endless hours on the phone.
There are four major areas to planning most gatherings and conferences: Program, Logistics, Outreach and Fundraising. Within each of these areas there are a number of smaller areas, which often make for good committees or coordinators.
All of the different aspects of conference organizing must be started early and simultaneously. You can’t do thorough outreach without knowing what the program is about. A good program doesn’t matter unless you have done good outreach to get people to your conference. You can’t develop a program and invite speakers without knowing that you’ll have the funds to put on the conference. However, school funders may not provide funds without knowing that the planning is done and the speakers are available.
The Program
The program should reflect the goals of the conference. So when the planning group sits down to hash out the agenda they should think carefully about how the agenda is going to accomplish the goals. An agenda is not simply a list of events, it is a plan for accomplishing something. There are a number of mistakes that SEACers often make in conference agendas:
TOO MUCH: Don't cram the conference full of everything you can think of. Too often people try to do too much during a weekend conference and they don't give people a chance to relax and talk to each other. The only way to focus the agenda is to decide on goals. Give people time to move from workshop to workshop, and to eat and network. Allow for about 10-20 minute breaks between workshops, depending on how far apart the workshop locations are.
TOO EARLY/LATE: If the conference starts on a Friday, give people time to finish their classes and travel to the conference. Don't expect everyone to arrive for a conference before 9:00 pm on a Friday. Don't put anything too important on Friday nights, so that people who arrive late won't be missing out in a major way. Anticipate that students aren't morning people. Some conferences appoint wake up people who are responsible for getting people out of bed. Don't start things (aside from breakfast, maybe) earlier than 9:00 am on Saturday or Sunday. End as early as possible on Sunday. Don't go past 4:00 pm, latest. Attendance can drop off severely during Sunday. People need time to travel home and catch up on school work.
TOO BORING: Make sure the agenda includes times for people to have fun and play. It is good to have more structured fun activities in the beginning to help new people break the ice, and then loosen up during the rest of the conference. Hangout time provides immeasurable benefits for individuals. Contacts with those we know personally are the easiest to keep up with. Consider the purpose of your conference and plan events accordingly. Mixes of different components will give a conference the feel you want.
SEAC conference schedules are made up of the following components: meetings, caucuses, actions, meals, workshops, speakers and entertainment. Any conference will involve a mix of these program pieces. Choosing the right amount of each depends on your resources and your goals. But laying out a good agenda, and filling in the details is the heart of creating a good conference. Try to keep the components balanced.
Meetings: If you want to accomplish anything during the conference, like organize a new structure, plan a campaign or action, and hold elections then you need to have meetings. Make sure to schedule plenty of time for this and find good facilitators. Planning in large groups takes a lot of time, and requires good preparation and facilitation. Have a few organizers plus a few conference attendees get together early at the conference to finalize the meeting agenda.
Don’t schedule SEAC meeting time as the first or last thing in a day. Meeting time doesn’t sound that thrilling and people who are new to SEAC may not recognize how important it is to go to this, and they might sleep through it or leave early.
Caucuses and Alternative Group Meetings: Caucuses are a very important way for people who have been traditionally oppressed by society to meet each other, organize, and empower themselves. Sometimes to build a strong inclusive movement we have to be separate to address issues like racism, sexism and heterosexism. It is good to have time for the 3 SEAC caucuses to meet, with the appropriate alternative groups meeting at the same time. All of the caucuses were formed and named by people who identify with these traditionally oppressed groups. It’s often very valuable for the separate groups to meet together afterward. The groups are:
Womyn's Caucus and the Men's Alternative Group
People of Color Caucus and the White Anti-Racist Program
Queer Caucus and the Straight But Not Narrow Program
Don't schedule other events during these caucus times,* and plan to have good facilitators ready for the alternative discussion meetings. There are a lot of resources available to work on these issues. Start with SEAC’s Guide to Caucuses and Alternative Groups. Call the SEAC National Office to get additional suggestions.
It is important to explain at the beginning of the conference what the caucuses are about and how they work. Make sure that the person doing the explaining has read SEAC’s Guide to Caucuses and Alternative Groups. If many attendees are new to caucuses, it may be worth the time to read it out loud with everyone present.
Remember that at SEAC events, any member of a Caucus can call for a Caucus and it’s alternative group to meet at any time – usually it happens when something happens that needs to be addressed immediately. Most people will not know of this ability, so it should be explained during the initial Caucus explanation.