4.2.2. Booth at APC-wide convenings

Convenings like RightsCon, the IGF, FIFAfrica and the Global Gathering have a village/fair set up that allows organisations to set up booths or stalls to showcase their work. APC uses booth spaces for strategic purposes such as:

• To share information about APC and our work
• For members to talk about their organisations or present an initiative.
• To discuss specific issues or to profile specific publications. For instance, Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), LocNet, Take Back the Tech! (TBTT), GenderIT, and the Feminist Principles of the Internet (FPI), among others.
• To connect the importance of self and collective care as an element of imagining a feminist, rights-respecting, and enabling democracy digital space.
• Space for fostering connections between members, staff, associates and partners.
• Space for brief check-in meetings every morning and debrief meetings at the end of the day.

The booth is a key space in organising operations before, during and after an APC-wide convening and in designing the overall strategy. It is to be managed on site by dedicated persons looking after operations throughout the cycle. And only they should have the responsibility of maintaining internal primary schedule and booth roster.

Booth roster is used to seek and volunteer to take turns at being present at the booth with slots so that everyone has an opportunity to use the space for dedicated activities as well as the responsibility to take care of the booth as part of the APC community.

Booth design, activities and schedules are co-managed with Ops core team and Comms team since there are collateral and media and printing requirements, making sure the internal schedule and public schedule are aligned.

Whenever there is an info point or a booth, it is recommended to plan and budget for a dedicated person on site to take care of the booth instead of assuming this task will be done by the on-site logistics person. On-site experience has confirmed that the two roles need to be separated as participating staff members need to prioritise active networking, attending and speaking in sessions, as well as meeting donors and spotting opportunities.