Organizing A Ventesol Convention
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This document provides guidance for organizing a successful regional convention for VENTESOL (Venezuelan English Language Teachers' Association). It outlines a timeline of tasks starting 3 months before the event, including forming committees, contacting presenters and sponsors, setting a date and venue, creating a budget, and promoting the event. The timeline counts down the days until the convention, with meetings of the organizing committee and subcommittees to assign responsibilities and ensure all arrangements are confirmed as the event date approaches.
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Organizing A Ventesol Convention
- 1. Organizing a VENTESOL Regional Convention How to prepare for a successful convention (and retain my sanity )
- 2. VENTESOL Regional Conventions Target Audience for this presentation 3 rd Vice President Region Reps VENTESOL members
- 4. VENTESOL Regional Conventions Pre-register 15 Remind institutions of events 40 HH Form committees for various tasks 50 Keep members updated 60 – 0 Use media Contact and follow-up on sponsors 65 Contact / follow-up on presenters 70 75 Confirm publishers’ presence 80 Inform all region members 85 Formulate a broad budget and send to Exec. Board. Get OK. 90 Establish possible dates. Get Feedback from Ex. Bd. on this
Notes de l'éditeur
- This presentation is directed towards the following and all volunteers involved in organizing a convention at the Regional level.
- Theses points will be covered in the presentation.
- Consider the timeline. WE can refer back to it whenever necessary. Not all details are included in this overview of the timeline. The idea is to get a sense of the time frame for organizing such an event. Remember all figures are approximations.
- Start at least 3 months or 90 days ahead of time. If possible start earlier. Communicate possible dates to the Exec. Board so as to ensure that there are no clashes with other events planned. Venue Keep in mind: Number of participants Easy accessibility Use of auditorium as well as 2 to 5 smaller rooms (for concurrent sessions). Use of sound system, if possible or necessary. A room or large passageway for publishers’ exhibits. Try to ensure this is also air-conditioned. Entrance to whole event can be monitored. Access to rest rooms Access to drinking water. Car parking (secure or supervised) Space for registration (near entrance) Space for serving refreshments/ snacks
- Budget Budget format is available in the folder Consider items listed. Get approximate prices for these. Use an approximate number of participants to calculate expenses (go by previous figures) Start looking for sponsors for all the items possible. Make sure there is a bank account to which the decided amount can be deposited. Communicate frequently with the Exec, Board re the budget. Plenary Speaker Look for a plenary speaker who can be a ‘draw’ for the event. Consider the involvement of state and local university faculty in this. It is not the popularity of the figure but the person’s worth in professional terms that is the key!
- Presenters Consider people who have given presentation before – they have experience and will add to the quality of your event Consider giving opportunities to those who have not presented before – this is their chance to ‘try out’. This could be a spring board for further and bigger presentations. Ensure a mix of target audiences – presentations for pre-school teachers; for primary teacher; for univ. teachers; for teachers of adults and so on. Establish one or two time slots for the presentations – 45 minutes and 1 hour etc. Decide how many concurrent sessions you want. 3 or 4? This would depend on the number of rooms available for presentations. Keep a/v requirements in consideration. Publishers Inform them well in advance Be clear about rental prices for table/s. Get a confirmation from each one. Ensure that the amount is deposited in the given bank account. Convey the size of the table available to them. Indicate whether you can provide a table cloth or not. Remember to provide 1 or 2 chairs for each table. Remember to keep one table (could be smaller than the one for the publishers) for items of the VENTESOL Boutique. Get the price list in advance from the Exec, Board. Request items you think will sell in your region. Identify some volunteers to take turns handling this table. Poster/Flyer Design Get members or other resources to design posters and flyers for the event. Avoid too many colors. Get quotes for the posters. Try to get sponsors. Flyers can be photocopied.
- Sponsors These are necessary part of any event. We need sponsors to help cover expenses for our events. And they are out there. It is up to us to find them. No, it’s not an easy task. It is not a task that everyone can do. It requires diplomatic abilities; persistence and patience. Look for sponsors for every item on your budget. Review your budget. Make up request letters in Spanish for all the items. Assign OBs/ volunteers to handle different items. If necessary set up a committee for this. As you get positive responses re-write your budget. Send this modified version to the Exec Board. The Exec. Board can also help with certain items on your budget. Remember one item can be split among 2 or 3 sponsors. Explore all avenues. Leave no stone unturned. Presenters Follow up on presenters. Assign some members for this purpose. Use email and phone calls. KEEP TRACK OF PHONE CALLS MADE FOR THE CONVENTION. Informing Inform members of the event. Use the Regional database to contact members. Use email, word of mouth. This is very important. All members need to know the basic information When? Where? How much? Remember to inform members from other cities and states. VERY IMPORTANT SO THEY CAN MAKE THEIR PLANS AHEAD OF TIME.
- Form sub-committees or groups to handle various groups of tasks Registration Hospitality Publicity Presenters HH Finance Logistics List tasks for each sub-comm. They should know what they have to do. Try to involve people from different institutions – so they will feel a sense of investment in the event and communication becomes easier with a wide range of members. Sponsors Follow up Informing Make up a list of institutions Inform all heads of institutions. Send an invitation to them for them and their language teachers. Include a flyer.
- Publicity Get the publicity going. Radio shows; TV, if possible Send out flyers to as many institutions as possible. Distribute flyers to individual members to put up in their institutions and to pass around. Put up posters in strategic places where larger numbers of language teachers (future teachers) are likely to be eg. University campuses etc. Make up a press note in Spanish to be published in the week when Pre-Registration for the convention begins. Most newspapers will run an article if you give them an interview at their offices. You might even include a photograph . This helps you to avoid advertising in newspapers – an extremely expensive proposition. Informing Inform members and prospective members of Pre-Registration Focus on the advantages of Pre-registration Inform about membership and RENEWAL of membership. Again contact institutions.
- Helping Hands HH can be students in advanced levels of an English program. This is their opportunity to practice English. A member who is a teacher /professor can arrange this. About 6 to 8 HH should suffice. This would depend on the number of participants. Make it clear that HH are not paid for this activity. In order to identify HH, they may be given T-shirts, caps or some other form of quick ID. Please ensure that such items are sponsored. HH may also be given certificates recognizing their work at the convention. Please do acknowledge this at the end of the convention in front of all participants. Also HH are given refreshments/lunch and do not pay registration fees. Refreshments Participants expect some refreshments. 2 breaks – one in the morning and the other in the afternoon (apart from lunch) are normal. Try to provide coffee and a snack in the morning – as most people come without breakfast. Soda can also be provided. In the afternoon it could be coffee and cookies??? Ensure that items such as coffee, soda are sponsored.
- Pre-Registration Make up the Pre-registration procedures. Make up receipts. Make up lists of members who need to renew their membership. Divide the pre-reg work among Registration Committee members. INFORM MEMBERS OF THE DAYS AND PLACES FOR PRE-REG. Let this process be done about 15 days before the event. Try to chose dates soon after a ‘quincena’ payment. Make lists of those who have pre-registered. A/V Requirements Check a/v list for Plenary Speaker and presenters. Make sure all such equipment is available. You may need to contact various institutions for this. Publishers Get tables for the publishers. These may be available at the venue chosen. Or you may need to rent them. Get someone to sponsor the tables if rented. Certificates Design certificates for presenters and participants. Ensure editing. Get good paper. Have them printed. Put names only on Presenters’ certificates. Have them all stamped (VENTESOL stamp) and signed by the Region President and an Exec. Board member. If this event is in collaboration with another institution , the Head of that institution may sign (rather than an Exec. Board member). The certificates may be sponsored by an institution or two. This is an expensive but necessary item. VENTESOL boutique Ensure that you receive the VENTESOL Boutique items with price lists. Allocate this table to some volunteers. Ensure that there is an accounting of the money earned at this table. The money has to be sent back with remaining items and an inventory to the Exec. Board.
- On-site Registration Put together the On-site Registration procedures. Ensure that there are enough people to handle this on the day of the event. Ensure the folders (Check further down this page) are ready and available for this. Ensure name tags are available for participants and presenters. Ensure there is a strategic placing of the Registration tables so as to catch all participants and to allow free movement of traffic. Have copies of lists of members available to all those registering. Have the receipt books broken up so that all those registering can use them. Have extra ball pens available. Have materials such as staplers, paper-clips, staple removers, masking tape, tacks, scissors, scotch tape, and other office supplies available. Folders Each folder contains the following: Writing paper A writing instrument A copy of the program A VENTESOL database form An evaluation form (for the event) Optional : Flyers from publishers Maps Recommended eating places for lunch Folders are to be sponsored. Also their contents – the writing paper and instrument. Organizing the place for the day Make lists of presentations – room allocation for each room door. Make lists of a/v equipment required for each room. Make lists of HH tasks and responsibilities. Remember a banner / posters to let everyone there’s an event on Remember directions to the various areas – eg. Rooms and room numbers, Rest rooms, refreshment area, Auditorium etc.
- Self-explanatory What will you do in case a presenter does not show up at the last minute??? Repeat a presentation (request a seasoned presenter to do this) Show a video if you have one Do announce the changes and have them on posters around the event area. Do this as soon as you know.
- Be there bright and early. Remember Murphy’s Law