How to organise an electoral forum
An electoral forum is a public meeting or assembly for open discussion that is based in your
local electorate, typically during a Federal Election year. Ideally the forum will involve your
current local Member of Parliament (MP) and the candidate from the other major parties.
Electoral forums work by:
educating people in your community about poverty and injustice issues.
giving your MP and candidate(s) the opportunity to share their parties’ policy
positions on these issues.
demonstrating to political leaders that people care about these issues and that their
vote may be influenced by good poverty policy.
If you want to help put poverty and injustice issues on the political agenda, you should
consider organising an electoral forum this year.
Here are World Vision’s top 10 tips on how to organise an electoral forum.
Tip 1: Check World Vision’s electoral forum website
Check worldvision.com.au/act for our list of electoral forums already taking place. If a
forum has been registered in your electorate, make contact with the organiser to find out
how you can be involved. If there isn’t one, plan to lead your own. Register your event by
emailing [email protected]
Tip 2: Pick a few dates
Select two or three dates on which the forum can be held. Make sure the date is not when
Parliament is sitting as your local MP will be in Canberra. For sitting dates see the
Parliamentary Sitting Calendar.
Ensure that individuals and/or organisations supporting the forum agree to the date and that
it doesn’t conflict with any major events or festivals in your area. And be sure to give yourself
ample time (at least 6-8 weeks) to organise and promote the forum so you can attract good
numbers.
Tip 3: Select a location and time
Start looking for a suitable venue for your forum, making sure it’s in your electorate.
Consider how many people may realistically attend your forum and make sure your venue is
big enough to hold everyone, but not too big that the room looks empty.
If possible, choose a location that already has frequent visitors to it – for example, you might
look at holding a forum at your school, university campus or church. If this isn’t an option,
talk to your local city council about hiring a hall or meeting room. Explain what your event is
about as it may help you avoid paying a fee.
Timing is everything. Forums tend to work best on a weekday after work in the early
evening. Consider running the forum immediately after a church service, class or lecture
when people are already around, to maximise attendance.
Tip 4: Select a topic
Choose a specific topic or theme for your event. Consider an issue that will be of interest to
your audience – for example, overseas aid, the Millennium Development Goals, maternal,
newborn and child health, child protection and trafficking, food security, education or
economic development. Also consider what issues your MP and/or candidate(s) are
interested in – search for them and find their biography and maiden speech.
Here are some ideas:
A fair go for all? Maintaining Australia’s overseas aid commitments
Global poverty: What is Australia’s answer?
What is Australia doing to end preventable child deaths?
Beyond the Millennium Development Goals – what next?
Consider creative elements to get the message across. For example, if your topic is water
and sanitation, you could have giant toilets at your forum, and posters on toilet doors. If your
theme is child heath, you could consider hosting a child’s fifth birthday party to help send the
message that every child should have the opportunity to survive past five.
Tip 5: Invite candidates and speakers
Invite candidates from the main political parties about six weeks out from the event. At a
minimum, invite your sitting candidate and the candidate for the other political party most
likely to win in your electorate (eg. Labor, Coalition and/or Greens candidates). If your local
sitting member is an independent you should also invite him/her.
You can invite candidates from minor parties as well but keep in mind your forum will be
lengthier, leaving less time to explore the positions of those likely to form the government.
Do not invite minor parties that hold less than five seats. To find your local representatives
visit the Australian Electoral Commission website. Read more about their background here.
The most effective way of contacting candidates is by mailing/posting an official invite and
then following up with a phone call to see if they received it.
In your invitation be clear about the following:
the purpose of the forum;
what topic you would like them to speak on;
how long you would like them to speak for (usually 7 minutes);
the extent of public interest in this event; and
whether you expect the media to attend.
Also let the MP and candidate(s) know that questions will be asked of them by the audience
so they need to be prepared to share their party’s policy position.
Make sure you’ve also lined up an MC who you’re confident can lead the forum successfully.
This person should be a capable public speaker, familiar with the main issues and able to
effectively moderate a debate. A good choice of MC could be a local personality or high
profile individual such as the principal of a school, pastor of a church or captain of a local
sporting team. You could also consider asking a local council member, NGO representative
or local media (radio/TV) personality as well.
Tip 6: Promote your forum
The success of your forum will largely depend on your ability to attract an audience. Your
target should be to have between 50-100 people or more attending or around 30 if you’re
holding it in a small town or rural area.
There are many ways to attract an audience. If your forum is going to be held at your church,
then start by asking for a space in your church news segment or newsletter, and also
personally invite members of your congregation individually. If holding it at university, try and
get an article in your university newspaper, put posters up around campus and put an
announcement on student radio.
Also advertise the forum to other churches in the area, local schools, local advocacy groups,
sporting clubs, local councillors (including the mayor), and to your own personal networks.
Aim to personally invite a larger number of people than you actually want to attend as it’s
unlikely that everyone will be available.
Ensure all invited politicians or parties are listed on the promotional flyers and posters –
even if they decline to attend – so the forum is presented as non-partisan. Put posters up on
community notice-boards, in grocery stores and shop windows.
Contact your local media to see if they can help promote the event with a story in the paper
or a segment on local radio (see our media guide for more tips).
Make sure to set an RSVP date – and provide an email address or phone number to
respond to – so that you know how many people are coming.
Finally, put the call out on social media. But don’t rely on positive responses on Facebook or
Twitter as RSVPs as they rarely translate into reality – make sure to provide details for
people to send you an official RSVP by email as well.
Tip 7: Develop an event program
Develop a program or running sheet that clearly outlines the timing of your event. Include the
time each speaker will present as well as when question-time will occur. Try and keep the
forum formalities to about an hour with time for mingling and tea and coffee afterwards.
An example might look like this:
1. Introduction and welcome – MC (5 minutes).
2. Poverty story (5 minutes). This could be someone reflecting on their own
experience/perspective of having travelled to a developing country, or involvement with a
development agency. It could also be a short video. World Vision has a number of videos
you could use, including Overseas Aid: An Australian View which asks ordinary
Australians what they think about our overseas aid contribution.
3. Introduce the topic – i.e. Australia’s contribution to overseas aid (5 minutes).
4. Introduce the speakers – have a short biography for each person and be sure to mention
which party they represent (3 minutes).
5. Speakers present (20 minutes).
6. Questions (20 minutes).
7. Closing remarks – MC (2 minutes).
Tip 8: Invite local media
Contact the media to tell them about the forum at least two weeks out. Write a press release
to send to your local paper and invite them to attend the forum (See our “tips for engaging
local media” guide for more information). Let them know what speakers are confirmed and
what photo opportunities there will be at the event. If the media agree to attend, try to line up
some interviews and quotes for them. This might mean asking the speakers to be available
for a chat afterwards. If no media are planning to attend, send a post-event press release
anyway the following morning. Recount what happened and include a few quotes from the
speakers. And remember to send photos – the media love photos, even more than words!
Tip 9: Send out reminders
A week before your event, don’t forget to send out a friendly email reminder and/or make a
call to your speakers, guests and the media confirming that the forum is happening. People
live very busy lives and can easily forget it’s on. Also do one last big promotional push and
let people know that bookings are essential and that seats are filling up fast to create a
sense of urgency.
Tip 10: Nail your event logistics
Prior to the event
Room set up
Set up the room so it feels like an electoral forum. Put posters on the front doors, and/or
inside the building that advertise what you’re doing and remind people why the event is so
important. Make sure there’s a registration table at the entrance to the forum where
someone can welcome guests and record their contact details.
Have someone dedicated to welcoming the candidates when they arrive and showing them
where to sit. Preferably there will be a raised platform for speakers. Ensure there are enough
chairs for the number of guests expected and put reserved signs on speakers’ chairs.
Arrange multimedia and other equipment (eg. TV, DVD, VRC, microphones,
PowerPoint/projector and lectern). Make sure you test all equipment beforehand and that
there’s someone at the event who knows how to operate it.
Finally, consider providing an opportunity at your forum for people to take action. This might
mean having a table where people can sign a pledge of support for overseas aid which you
can later present to one of the candidates in your area, or the sitting member. Ensure there
is campaigns information they can take home with them as well.
During the event
Catering
It’s a good idea to have some sort of food at your event, or at the very least tea and coffee.
This encourages people to stay around and chat afterwards and also creates more of a
community atmosphere both before and after the forum. Ensure that your tea and coffee is
ethically certified, as this sets a good example for how you are helping make a difference in
the fight against poverty and injustice. In terms of food, be creative with how you prepare for
this. For example, if hosting the forum at your church, put a call-out for people to bake a
cake for the event. They might not be able to attend the actual event, but this is a good way
for people to still support you. You could also make a collection jar available at the forum
and ask people to make a small contribution to the catering if you’re left out of pocket.
Photos/video
Aim to organise for someone to take photos (of the speakers) and even film the event. Make
sure you get all your guests to sign a photo consent form so images/footage can be used for
promotional purposes. Before candidates leave, arrange a photo with them. As mentioned
above, you can send photos to local media, and you can also upload photos and videos to
social media to let people know how it went.
Thank speakers
At the end of the forum, plan to present a small thank you gift – for example, a block of
ethical chocolate – to speakers. Publicly thank them for their time.
After the event
Send a thank you
Follow up with attendees to thank them for coming. Let them know the outcomes of the
forum and what their efforts helped to achieve. Let them know about other actions they can
take to support the cause. Also send a thank you letter to the speakers after your event
acknowledging their time and effort in making this event a success. Also reiterate some of
the important points that were raised at the forum and any agreed action points.
And finally, let World Vision know about it!
We would love to know how your electoral forum went. Please email details and photos to
[email protected] so we can use your example to inspire others!
Please remember that when advertising or conducting your electoral forum you should be careful not
to give the impression that you are a spokesperson or representative of World Vision Australia or that
your activity is endorsed by World Vision Australia.