Event announcement: Debriefing of KWPeace’s Perspectives on Peace
KW Peace 1 October 2016 Debrief
- Present: Mo, Louise, Dwyer, Gehan, Matt, Roger, Bob
- Attendance
- We think we had 63 people attend who registered
- Overall 83 people in attendance at beginning
- Maybe cap at 100 in the future for this venue, because people won’t always show
- Some people only came for Simon. Is that good because at least they came? Or negative because they didn’t stay?
- Day/timing
- Could rent on Sunday afternoon and have more snacky food to eat whenever instead of a big meal
- Should have left a half hour for set up after café closed so we weren’t rushed
- Discussion got cut short, but maybe ok because people chatted during dinner
- Was a bit long
- Food
- Food was good
- Maybe have undressed salad? As some people might not be able to eat the dressing
- People ate a ton of salad
- Took longer to eat then planned, but people had good discussion
- Made too much, but was good for fundraising
- Next time have easily accessible ingredient lists
- Location
- Location was great
- Some people came specifically because it was in the commons, liked what the venue had to say about the event
- Felt full, like something was happening. City hall would feel emptier
- Lightning rounds
- Time for lightning was ok overall
- Some people went over, should have been more forceful with limits
- Also clarify when people are representing multiple groups, they get more time
- In the future, we could have groups at tables and then pass around a mic
- Overall event
- Shuffling chairs/tables was a bit chaotic, lost some people in each transition
- Should clarify that groups should save networking/petitioning for the end
- Money
- $76 went to KWPeace website
- $20 for nametags
- $400 on food, but $150 was subsidized
- $250 for Commons
- $60 for Simon’s gift
- Raised $590, total expenses were $656
- Next time
- Maybe should have had networking instead of discussion?
- Definitely plan more networking into the event
- For next time, would we only have new groups present?
- Could have more themed discussion, more like a workshop, different speaker
- Maybe a panel on 4 topics, Q&A and breakup, though we had difficulty agreeing on topics before for the thunder rounds
- March 21st is Cross Culture’s Day for Anti-Racism, maybe we can do something with that event?
- It’s a Tuesday, from 8am-11pm
- Feedback from attendees
- Well organized, good speaker, good food
- Wonderful, glad to support the fight against the pipeline
- Heard about it through word of mouth, liked the speaker, liked the environment and peace topic, liked the food, sharing was way too long, should have given 1-2 minutes and line up before we started. Didn’t stay for discussion because it had been a long day
- Heard about it through food not bombs, liked Simon’s talk and finding out about other groups. Included new and positive information. Couldn’t stay for discussion because of children at home. More discussion would have been nice
- Heard through word of mouth, liked Simon and hearing about groups around KW and how to get involved. Would have liked more focused discussion groups on topics raised during the event. Also having more than one bathroom would have been nice.
- Amazing event. Heard through Emily. Liked the dinner and networking the best. Found the speaker a bit long and hard to follow. Food was amazing. Group sharing was good but could have focused on how to get involved or what their work is exactly. Just talking about an issue is a bit preaching to the choir. Use it more as a networking opportunity, pitch what they need or what partnership the would value. Discussion felt like the group overtook and pitched their cause. Dinner Discussion was more interesting. Venue was good, time went a bit late. Suggestion for giving people 3 mins: tell them they have 2:40 to speak, stand up at 2:45, have :05 to wrap up, place hand on shoulder at 2:55 and they’re off by 3:00.
- Newcomer to Waterloo, long time social justice, peace, and reconciliation activist and thought the event was amazing. Heard through Facebook or event pages. Liked the design and flow of the evening, chance to learn about climate change and security, enjoyment of food, drink and conversation, and opportunity to hear from the groups. Innovative handling of leftovers. Appreciated speech and visuals of speaker, opportunity to speak to him during the meal. Liked the 3 min limit for speakers, helped them focus and present key points. Handouts were helpful too. Venue was good, time/date was good, liked the concept and spirit of the event, seemed like people were happy to be there and see each other, felt welcomed as a newcomer.
- Feedback from organizers/groups
- Positive energy in space, attendees showed high interest, speaker was dynamic and relevant. Had time to network and converse. Food was good. Appreciated diversity of organizations, and addition of the Indigenous perspective for the time and space. Downside would be the people going beyond their 3 minutes when it was clearly established, resulting in less time for discussion, which had good potential. But as an initial venture, we learned a lot. Shuffle was a bit chaotic, could better communicate to people how to help.