Occupy Denver General Assembly

On January 11, 2012, the Occupy Denver GA voted unanimously to move GAs to Tuesday and Saturday. on March 13, 2012, GA voted to resume Tuesday GA at Civic Center Park, unless weather is bad.

Occupy Denver General Assemblies are held twice a week on Tuesday at 7pm and Saturday at 3pm. Our GA is focused on active committees, politics and strategy – Please join us anytime! Our General Assemblies are held at Civic Center Park on Broadway between Colfax Ave. and 14th Ave. In the event of bad weather on Tuesdays, the GA will move inside to the “deer pile” space above City O’ City at 206 East 13th Ave. (use entrance on West side).

On March 13, 2012, the Occupy Denver General Assembly voted to move to a consensus model that requires 90% approval for any proposal to pass.

Below you’ll find an outline of how GAs are organized and run. Please read through!

General Flow
- General Assemblies flow as follows:

Introduction
–Intro to General Assembly – a space for making decisions concerning the movement through participatory democracy
–Intro to Process – hand signals are use to communicate non-verbally with a large group and with the people serving the role of facilitator and stake keeper for the night

Announcements: 20 mins max
–Committee announcements
–Outside group announcements/endorsements
–Individual announcements
Agenda: 80 mins max
–Agenda items are formal proposals put forth for discussion and a vote from the group
Time limits: 2hr Max on GA meetings

 

How to get a proposal on the agenda:
In order to get a proposal for Occupy Denver on the agenda one should show up by 6:45 when the facilitator for the night will make a call out for agenda items and announcements. Proposals are best if backed by at least a few people.  Some nights, if there is a large number of agenda items, we are unable to go through them all and table the remaining ones for a following night.

 

Hand Signals!
In order to communicate non-verbally and unilaterally we use hand signals!

- Hand raised: if you have something to say
- Chopping hands: point of clarification/answer – not a new idea, short sentences only
- Triangle hands: point of order – stay on topic, issue from outside
- Rolling hands: you have made your point, respectfully move on
- Spirit fingers: I like this!
- Downward spirit fingers: I disagree or do not like this
- Peace fingers/vibes: respect each other, intense emotions casing problems

 

Different Roles at GA:
These are the roles served at GA to keep the process orderly and productive (Anyone can play these roles, just come to a facilitator training!):

 

- Facilitator: moderates the meeting, keeps people on point, is not the leader, serves as a neutral party for the sack of the group
- Stack-keeper: keeps track of who would like to speak, ideally of different gender than facilitator
- Note taker: takes notes, makes specific note of resolutions passed items tabled
- Time keeper: cheeks in with time when people are going over or when needed
- Vibes Watcher: pays attention to intense emotional or other factors affecting the meeting, intervenes with disruptions within the group.

 

Thanks so much for reading and educating yourself on our process. Please come and be a part of your Direct Democracy!