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<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">While degree of participation (or lack of it) by different countries often sees cultural imprints playing themselves out, there are also some basic strategies to increase participation in gatherings that are not used so often.</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">From my experience in gatherings international or otherwise the idea of letting things develop without attention to maximizing participation across the board is what makes things end up in predictable situations of who speaks, who is silent, and who wanders off to chat with their friends in the next room.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Firstly, a lot of the ‘get to know you stuff’ is left to once the meeting starts and people address a whole group with a line about themselves and their involvement/interest. Lots of people aren’t really comfortable with this and especially if some people rattle off a long list of their own activism it can make others feel the cringe at not being as much as an ‘expert’, and the roles of speakers and listeners are already set.</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Also there isn’t the time frame or environment to ask lots of the questions you would immediately ask a person if you were in a normal conversation and they told something about themselves.</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A way to get around this is for organizers to link people up before meetings (come and meet X because they are doing something similar to you, I think Y would be interested in meeting Y etc) so people already feel they know each other a bit and are more likely to speak.</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Other way is of course in the organizational things (water, preparing the space etc) which are usually done by organizers, people they know or by walking up to a crew and asking for volunteers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It works better to address people individually or in a pair to help you with something and then getting one or two people from another crew and then leaving the task to them to do together, so people are kind of forced to break out of comfort zones of being with only who is familiar and talk to each other by necessity. </P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Also this obviously alleviates some of the organizational burden on co-ordinators.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">The more people know each other or what angle others are coming from the more likely they are to speak, and especially when there are disagreements ( when people often disappear and talk with friends).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>With some people who are quite shy it works to ask them if they wouldn’t<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>mind taking minutes/ timing at the meeting so they are involved and also by necessity have to speak. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">If some people are dominating the meeting in terms of time or pushing their particular proposal others can be reluctant to contradict them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If nobody else does it the facilitator can spark things up a bit by either suggesting something completely different , raising a question (would this strategy be appropriate in country X), asking a ‘dumb’ question (if dominant people are discussing things in terms of [falsely] presumed knowledge), voicing some doubt ( there might be some other factors to consider, could anybody from the region suggest any?) or referring to what they no to be in existence already there (redirecting the conversation to get somebody from the particular area to contribute when they night not have come forward themselves- so some people who came to listen end up bringing forward ideas/knowledge, and those who have a ‘great idea’ get to take on the listening and learning role).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Last thing I want to say is the value of being strict with timing, ie where dominant people reign and less dominant ones wander off.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Lots of non-participation is down to shyness, not feeling sure of the necessity of your presence, or authority of your knowledge compared to others, and cultural lines is just one of the ways this comes out.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some people may come on conference tours, some just to listen, some just speak and some just to find people to act out there grand plan, but acting against the ways these dynamics instill themselves can to a degree be done through different organization.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings"><SPAN style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">J</SPAN></SPAN> Jane<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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