Thank you for your interest in hosting a forum site in your community. We are hoping to involve as many young people in this event as possible. This guide is meant to get you started in developing a successful local forum event.

Before the Event

All you need to know to host a Forum in your community is here. After reading our step by step guide, please complete and fax in your registration form. If you send in your registration form by Friday, September 26, we’ll send you a Local Forum Kit with promotional materials and the things you’ll need for the day of the Forum.

• Step-by-Step: How to Host a Local Forum
• Local Forum Registration Form

Promotional Materials

Here are promotional materials you can use in your community. The fliers include space to write in the location of your event. The educator packet includes information for teachers and professors including options for offering extra credit to students who participate in the event either in person on October 4 or online throughout October.

• Flier: The Future is NOW
  
• Flier: Take Tomorrow and Dream
• Newsletter Article
• 30 second PSAs
• Educator packet

If you have any further questions please contact Ian-Michael Hebert.

Day of the Event

Overview and Process

• Setup and Registration
• Facilitating the Discussion
• Entering Table Summaries at YoungAlaskans.org

Registration Table Materials

• Registration Form
• Volunteer Sign-in Form
• Media Sign-in Form
• Model Release Form
• Name tags
• Sharpies
• Pens

Handouts for Participants

• Agenda
• Discussion Guide

For Tables

• Table Tents
• Table Discussion Summary Sheets
• Pens

Computer Area

We suggest one computer with Internet connection per 20 participants setup in the same room where the discussion is going on. Your IT technician should also have access to one computer with MSN  Messenger installed to monitor the IM chat group and report videoconferencing problems.

• Follow these instructions on entering table discussion summaries during the event
• Monitor the TwitterVision-like Live Discussion Map during the event

Clean Up

• Encourage participants to apply to the Conference of Young Alaskans. They can apply online from October 4 to midnight on October 18.
• Suggest that participants take home their individual Discussion Guides for proof of participation in case their teachers have offered extra credit. They can also use them as the basis to write their application essay on “What is your vision for Alaska’s next 50 years.” Participants are also free to login to the website and enter more of their own comments online, especially if they feel the group discussion didn’t represent their contributions well.
• Save all Table Discussion Summary sheets, registration and sign-in forms.

Follow Up

• Fax or email the the media sign-in sheet by Wednesday, October 8 to:
  Jeanette Anderson Moores at (907)248-2511, mooreswj (at) gci.net
• Mail the following materials by Wednesday, October 8 to
  Information Insights, PO Box 73490, Fairbanks, AK 99707:
• Registration Forms
• Volunteer Sign-in Sheet
• Table Discussion Summary sheets

Please send in your table discussion sheets whether or not they got entered online. Those that were entered should have an X through the table number in the top right so we know they were already entered. We will enter everything that didn’t get entered once we get the sheets back in Fairbanks.

We hope it was a rich and memorable experience for the Young Alaskans who participated. Thank you for making it happen in your community.

If you have questions or comments on the process, please contact Ian-Michael Hebert at (907)978-2925 or info (at) youngalaskans.org.