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General Assembly Planning Meeting Notes 1/10

GA Planning 1/10

Check in wisdom

·      Role transitioning/people coming in is a qualitative shift in the organization of the space

·      Getting more people involved in space administration as focus of energy

·      Design misses a lot of needs

·      Additional alignment among admin collective people

·      Burn to make space for new growth

·      Being able to take space and return refreshed is a good sign, move toward

·      Role in ongoing mutual aid in the neighborhood, connecting to emerging neighborhood energy

·      Building a program for the GA

·      Ways of being in the space that feel regenerative or regenerating outside the space

Agenda Setting

·      What is a GA

o   Big meeting to generate ideas and topics

o   Not as useful for specific detail-work

o   Allow people to self-organize

§  Increase capacity

·      Goals of GA (40 min) Build consensus

o   Help everyone understand what has happened

§  Why we set up the spokes in the first place

·      What is hard in the spokes, what works

§  What is RC now

§  Communicate in a chill way that we are not Woodbine

o   **Build shared narrative and vision

§  Why are we all here

·      What are we trying to do

·      What does this space need to keep functioning

§  What do we think this space is

·      Collective of projects

§  This can happen in broad discussion, then relegated to a committee, then brought back for broader discussion

§  Picking point people and having them self-organize

·      Can include new committees and/or existing committees

o   Generate buy-in and interest in the space

§  Keep the space funded

§  Inviting people into leadership roles in the space creates more investment

o   Determine ongoing role of the spokes, if any

§  Re-transition with less urgency and more insight

§  Outside groups may have desires for the space that would impact their work

§  If Spokes continues, clarify the relationship between the GA and spokes

o   Advocate for scalable, participatory organizing and governance

§  Some people were used to being able to just show up

§  What does it mean to carry this project together

o   Address cynicism and encourage optimism

o   Broadcasting to the larger community in Ridgewood

o   Cookies, dinner after

·      Main Engagement Questions for the GA

o   What do we care about; What are things impacting you, this community, society, and the world that we can address together?

§  Tension between the bigger vision/outside stuff and the closer social reproduction stuff

o   What do you want to get out of the space in the next year

§  Hopes, fears, goals

·      How do we want to achieve those goals

o   Proposed Meeting structure

§  Context and history (10 min)

§  General Exercise to understand what the issues in the room are (20 min)

·      Hopes and Fears; Rosebud/Thorn conversation

§  Breakout discussion utilizing Liberating structures 4-2-1 Model (45 min)

·      Journal as individuals, pair up and elevate best ideas, pair with pair and pick 2,

§  Big group conversation (45 min)

·      (30 minutes reports back)

o   Need: Butcher paper or projector

·      (15 minutes weaving consensus and committee-building; invitation to create written reports back)

§  Note cards that people can put up in the space to guide us as we move forward

o   Potential series of GAs

§  Grounding

§  Practical process/form conversations

§  Maybe seasonal meetings

o   Drawing out contradictions

§  Potentially finding places of alignment within contradictions

o   Frame initial conversation as very positive

§  Criticisms of other experiences are useful for framing what you want to see

§  Creating a container for fears can be helpful for making sure people have heard each other

·      What is the value for people coming to GA from inside

o   Sharing positive experiences and creating a culture around that

o   Meeting everyone

·      What is the value for folks outside the neighborhood

o   Benefit from the wisdom of others who are invested in the space

o   Should they be invited?

·      Asynchronous proposal

o   Post to Spokes WG Chat

o   Voting on the proposal via emoji

o   Have WG/Acs identify delegates

o   Vote by EOD Wednesday to be counted

 

·      Timeline for GA

o   Sunday 2/8

§  Doors 3:30; Meeting 4:00-6:00pm – transition into dinner

o   Invitations out by 1/17

·      Action Items

o   Set up Private WithFriends event - Libby

§  Dinner? Dietary restrictions – This will let our lovely dinner folks prepare

·      Talk to Dinner people - Paul

§  Child care

·      Reach out to child crafts and tutoring groups - Ash

§  Language services

·      We have a couple whisper translators (Spanish)

o   Ash/Libby to reach out

o   Follow up meetings

§  Facilitation

·      Pedagogy

·      Choosing facilitator based on RSVP

·      ID and secure tools

o   Butcher paper - Libby

o   Working markers - Libby

o   Note cards - Libby

o   Tape

§  History of RC

o   Outreach

§  Minimum orgs

o   Set up GA book for the Wiki - Libby