# 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