Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook

Prep and Practice

Participating in Public Forums

Attending community meetings, or meeting with officials can be disappointing and frustrating if you don’t know what to expect. People are often disappointed because they expected to get more accomplished or didn’t know that the issue they are concerned about was the fourth item on a long agenda. This can be avoided by preparing well for what’s going to happen.

1. Ask people to share their experiences of community meetings or meetings with officials. What kind of meeting was it (community meeting, council meeting, hearing, etc.)? What are the similarities and differences in the experiences?

2. Regarding a particular meeting you would like to attend, think about:

• What kind of meeting is this?
• Who is sponsoring the meeting and what can you predict from that?
• Is the meeting about one issue or several? (Can you get an agenda?)
• How will people participate?
• What are the objectives of the meeting? To discuss ideas? To hear testimony? To make a group decision? Etc..
• How do you feel about going to the meeting? What would make you feel more comfortable being there? Participating?

 

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