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Publications > Youth voices > Aotearoa Youth Voices toolkit > Action guide 1
Action guide 1: Have a successful group meeting
This action guide is about how to have successful meetings to plan and organise an activity.
Meetings are a great way to make things happen. The aim of any meeting
is to get together to come up with ideas and then work out who will do
what and when.
But when meetings go bad … people start talking about other things
(things that aren’t to do with your meeting), get stuck on a single
point, go on too long and then you go away and wonder what has actually
been agreed!
A good meeting will allow you to ...
Work out what activities you all want to work on as a group
An activity idea might take heaps of time for one person to do but
would be more successful (and fun) if you all worked on it together.
Sharing the work means you know who is working on what and you won’t
repeat something that someone else is doing.
Find out what other people’s strengths and interests are
You might be really into talking in front of big groups of people while
someone else might like writing and would be into writing a blurb for
your local newspaper. That way everyone gets to do something they enjoy.
Support each other
Everyone has different strengths and different things they feel
comfortable doing. For example, you may not feel comfortable writing to
an MP about an issue even though you think it is really important. Talk
to other young people in your group and see what they think. Maybe
someone else is really good at writing and you could work on a letter
to the MP together.
Sometimes no one in the group feels comfortable with an activity … say,
talking to a reporter. Having a meeting is a way to work out how you
can do something all together. If you are all taking a small bit of an
activity then it will seem easier and not so full on.
Get creative
Brainstorming leads to awesome ways of doing things − it has to be
better to have more brains working on an idea than just you thinking
about it!
Your first meeting
The first time a group of you meet up will be a bit different to the
rest of your meetings. That’s because you may need to set the scene,
get to know each other and work out a few things.
You’re going to have to work out how often you can meet up as a group
and what time suits everyone. Do sort out a place that is comfy and
re-arrange furniture to meet your needs.
Make meetings work
Here’s some ways to make sure everyone feels they have achieved something at your meeting.
WHO? (who is doing what?)
Two key roles in the meetings are the facilitator (or the chairperson)
and the note taker (or minute taker). You can share these jobs around
the group and let everyone have a chance at doing it.
Facilitator: It is the facilitator’s job to make sure everyone
has a chance to speak, that all the things on the agenda are talked
about and decisions are made all within the time you have
available!
Some things for the facilitator to think about:
- Put questions to the meeting to get the discussion going.
- Give everyone a fair chance to have their say, but don’t let the meeting drag on, so make sure everyone sticks to the point.
- Allow for different views. Everyone in the group does not need to agree! It’s good to hear a range of opinions.
Note taker: Their job is to write down what was talked about at
the meeting. You don’t need to record everything, just make sure you
have key points or decisions you made and a list of action points, ie
the task and who is going to do it.
For example, the group decided we would write a letter to the editor,
Jess will collect newspaper articles over the next 2 weeks.
WHAT? (what are we going talk about?)
The agenda: The agenda is the TO DO list of the meeting. It is a good
idea to have standing agenda items as well. These are things that you
want to talk about every meeting. A good standing agenda item is “What
has happened since the last meeting?”
HOW? (how are we going to make things happen?)
Make decisions and make plans: After each agenda item is talked
about, get the note taker to write down action points (remember it’s
the task and who is going to do it).
A great meeting is one where everyone goes away feeling like they have
achieved something and there is a plan for what happens next.
Have celebrations: When you finish an activity or project, celebrate your successes and efforts!
Example of an agenda:
The Agenda
Agenda items
- Present: Who is at the meeting?
- Apologies: Who couldn’t make the meeting?
- Everyone update: How is everyone?
- Project work: These four questions and examples will help you along:
What are the things the group is working on now?
Example A: Writing a letter to the editor.
Example B: Presentation on a peace issue.
Where is the group at with this project?
Example A: Cutting out articles from the local newspaper that stereotype young people.
Example B: We have asked 20 young people about what they want to say to the Prime Minister about world peace.
Where to from here?
Example A: We are going to go through all of the articles we have collected and pick which one we want to respond to.
Example B: Add feedback from young people to the presentation. We are
also going to present some of it at the school assembly on World Peace
Day 21 September.
Action points (Who is doing what and when)?
Example A: As a group we will pick one article and brainstorm key messages we want
to say in the letter to the editor. Josh will type up the letter. Jamie
will proof read it and Nick will fax it through to the newspaper.
Example B: Anna will type up the feedback. David will design a PowerPoint
presentation and Sarah will organise with the Principal to talk at the
school assembly on World Peace Day.
What is the date of your next meeting?
Example:
Date: Monday 20 March
Time: 2pm – 3pm
Place: local youth centre
Copyright Ministry of Youth Development 2006
This action guide is one of a series of guides in the Ministry of Youth Development's
Aotearoa Youth Voices tool kit.
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