Anyone can organize an event.
The only real rule is that you get out of it what you put into it. That said,
there are a bunch of helpful tips that
we collected from people who havve organized film screenings, concerts,
dinners, speak-outs and demonstrations. We have organized this advice into
steps, but the sequence is not so important.
STEP 1: BRAINSTORM
Before doing anything concrete, you should decide what the goal of the event
is. Are you trying to raise awareness avbout the Green Scare?
Raise funds for defendants or prisoners' commissary?
Organize a letter-writing campaign? Create some combination of these things?
The answer depends on your community, your
target audience, and the resources available.
You might create an event that raises
awareness about the Greens Scare screening the film 22/8: The
Jeffrey Luers Story, and then hosting a panel of speakers
or a workshop on
security culture. Or you might try to appeal to a larger,
more diverse audience by screening the kid-friendly film Hoot
and then discussing how it relates to direct action environmentalism.
STEP 2: FIND AN APPROPRIATE VENUE
Sometimes a venue defines the event - not every place can have a loud punk show
or comfortably seat an audience to watch a film. Consider how many people you
expect and consider that some venues might be sympathetic to the issue and let
you use the space at a discount or even free. If you want to organize a public
event like a rally, do not forget to investigate whether or not you will need
a permit.
STEP 3: GET VOLUNTEERS
You are going to need some help to pull this off.
STEP 4: BOOK BANDS, SECURE AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT, ETC.
Consider everything you need to have your event. A concert needs a PA, mics, a
sound engineer, etc. unless you do it on-the-cheap. Make sure you have all the
cables, power strips, and specialized equipment you need. Nothing is worse than
going to play your video and realizing you need an S-video cord and the Radio
Shack closed an hour ago. If you are going to have a bar or serve food, there
may be people willing to donate these things. If you keep your costs low,
you maximize
the money you can give to the people who need it.
STEP 5: PROMOTION, PROMOTION, PROMOTION
Back to the one rule - you only get out of it what you put into it. Make sure
you post your event everywhere on the internet - GreenScare.org, listserves, blogs,
Independent
Media Centers, community boards, etc.
Make flyers - GreenScare.org
will have a ¼ sheet flyer that can go on the back to explain
the background behind your event (or just steal parts of it and make your own).
Post flyers at coffeeshops, infoshops, bookstores -
anywhere your target audience circulates.
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
O.K., one more rule - don't underestimate your audience. Our neighbors and coworkers, mainstream environmentalists, registered
democrats, and many others are against the misappropriation of the word
"terrorist" and are against the repression of dissent. Reach out to those you
least expect to respond and while not everyone will lend you their ear, you
will be surprised by some of the responses you receive. For more on this subject,
we highly encourage you read Ten Lessons From the Criminalization of Dissent
by Camilo Viveiros (pdf).