Arranging a watch party for the Community Independents Project Convention is simple and rewarding - but a little planning goes a long way.

Here's how we suggest you do it:

1. Book Your Watch Party Ticket
   Register for a Watch Party ticket, as it will provide you with resources to help you to plan, promote and facilitate your watch party.

2. Choose a Suitable Venue
   Pick a location that’s accessible, comfortable, and large enough for your expected group size. This could be someone’s living room, a local community centre, library, council meeting room, or a co-working space. Local library meeting rooms and community halls can often be rented very inexpensively, and often include audio-visual equipment already.
   
   Make sure the venue allows for group discussion and has reliable access to power and internet.

3. Invite and Engage
   Invite members of your community and encourage them to bring friends or neighbours who are curious about the movement. Consider using social media, your “Voices” or campaign email lists, the phonebook on your mobile phone, or word of mouth.
   
   Cast your net wide and diversely, and don’t be afraid of having “too many people”. If numbers become unmanageable, split into smaller (more local) groups, and arrange a time to bring them together as a big group in the days and weeks after the event.

4. Organise the Tech

   The Convention will be livestreamed via Zoom, so you’ll need:

   • A laptop or device with Zoom installed and a reliable internet connection

   • A projector or other large screen for group viewing, with the ability to connect to your laptop

   • Speakers so everyone can hear clearly

   • Test everything in advance - especially internet speed, sound quality, and screen sharing. Consider having a backup plan (e.g. hotspotting from a mobile phone, or spare device) just in case.

5. Plan the Space and Atmosphere
   
   Consider room setup for comfort and interaction.
   Arrange chairs so everyone can see and hear, consider refreshments (tea, coffee, snacks), amenities (bathrooms, places for people to stretch their legs, or even places to speak if they’re bursting with ideas for discussion), consider whether you will be catering lunch, and think about ventilation, lighting, and accessibility.
   
   (Make sure you communicate these considerations to guests in advance, and at the start of the day.)
   
   Communities are stronger and more diverse when we welcome all and accommodate peoples’ needs.

6. Facilitate Discussion and Action

   Develop a plan for capturing ideas, and turning them into action.
   
   Notepads, sticky notes, butchers paper, and whiteboards are good places for big ideas and big thoughts to be recorded. Setting aside some time (outside of the room, skipping a session, or at the end of the day) to discuss these key points and turn them into plans for action is incredibly valuable.
   
   N.B. You may even consider a second post-event catch-up in the days or weeks after the event to build on your momentum, or spend more time developing action plans.