Event Activities: Running A Successful KinkForAll Sourcing and encouraging leadership for coordinated efforts Creating the Schedule Grid, Name Tags, and Other Items Timekeepers and Their Role Essential Communications Resolving Problems On-The-Fly Clean Up and Tear-Down Activities

 

Event Activities: Running A Successful KinkForAll

 

The key to running a successful KinkForAll is to remember that your goal is not anarchy, but organized chaos. KinkForAll is a free-form free-for-all exchange of ideas and information, but occurs within a tightly regimented model and plan. As an unorganizer, your role is to create and support a flexible framework that will enable participants to engage to their fullest.

 

In the days before your event, it is recommended that you provide your participants with logistical information about the venue, what to expect at the event, the timing of presentations, and other details. For examples of these kinds of emails, you should examine these threads from the mailing list, which were sent 2-4 days before KinkForAllNewYorkCity:

 

• Coordination on the day and personal autonomy
• What to expect at Kink For All New York City
• Presentation timing

 

The basic premise of logistical information will remain the same across KinkForAll events, as it is focused on making sure that the event adheres to the philosophies and model of KinkForAll. However, you should also include individualized information as it becomes available to you.

 

Sourcing and encouraging leadership for coordinated efforts

 

It will be helpful to designate lead contacts on the day of the event, so that participants will have channels to go through for issues they cannot resolve themselves. Rather than rigidly designate leaders well in advance, let leaders emerge organically—leaders might not volunteer themselves, and some volunteers who want to lead in this fashion will do so poorly. Leadership is about action, not a title; remember that KinkForAll is a do-ocracy.

 

Common areas in need of coordination that are enhanced by having dedicated leadership are as follows.

 

• Participants (people in general and specific volunteers): a leader in this role should actively be helping keep the event running on a schedule, especially by organizing and supporting timekeepers, funneling donations of food and equipment to appropriate places, and acting as a mediator for conflicts and issues between participants, if any arise. 
• A venue contact: a leader in this role should be liaising with the venue or organization physically hosting a KinkForAll, as well as acting as a point of contact for the venue itself and handling any issues concerning said venue. It's vital that KinkForAll events address concerns originating from the hosting organization in a thoughtful and informed manner, so the venue contact should be familiar with WhatToExpect at a KinkForAll; it's best if this person has already participated in one or more events.
• A technical/telecommunications coordinator: a leader in this role needs to capably maintain physical equipment, especially Internet connectivity, and should be comfortable troubleshooting ad-hoc computer networks, as well as providing assistance to participants in need of technical help.
• An Audio/Visual coordinator: a leader in this role should be helping participants record their presentation. A/V leaders often have and bring their own microphones and video cameras.

 

One participant may tackle one or more of these areas as their capabilities allow. Additionally, other areas that require highly coordinated efforts may emerge and you should encourage the people who show the most initiative, capability, and success to adopt a leadership stance in these activities rather than trying to do everything yourself (because you just won't be able to).

 

MORE CONTENT TO COME.

 

Creating the Schedule Grid, Name Tags, and Other Items

 

CONTENT TO COME.

 

Timekeepers and Their Role

 

Although you can rely upon spontaneous volunteers to take care of smaller administrative tasks on the day of the event, it is a good idea to reach out to participants beforehand and source dedicated volunteers to do event timekeeping.

 

A timekeeper makes an announcement 3 minutes prior to the end of the current presentation slot announcing what the locations and titles of the presentations in the next slot.

 

Essential Communications

 

A part of the very first time slot in the morning and a part of the very last time slot in the afternoon are reserved for opening and closing remarks, called essential communications. In a sentence, essential communications (or essential comms for short) are things participants need to know to make sure they can make the most of their time and contribute positively to the environment. That is, "things people need to know to be present at KinkForAll and not break it or themselves."

 

The EssentialCommunications page makes suggestions as to what information unorganizers should consider making participants aware of when they make essential comms announcements. As a general rule of thumb, remember that essential communications are precisely that: communiqués considered essential. This is not the time to make long speeches, give a keynote, or wax poetic about a particular topic; essential comms should take an unorganizer no more than 10 minutes on average to get through.

 

An example of opening and closing essential communications can be heard from the recordings of KinkForAll New York City.

 

Resolving Problems On-The-Fly

 

CONTENT TO COME.

 

Clean Up and Tear-Down Activities

 

Some points of things that may not happen and really need to happen:

 

• Be certain to archive or otherwise preserve the schedule grid of the event. This can be done digitally or otherwise, but it is needed well after the event is over in order to create the Schedule archive pages for your event. See, for instance, KinkForAllNewYorkCitySchedule.

 

CONTENT TO COME.