How to run events, meetings and forums

This guide is for community groups and Local Drug Action Teams (LDATs) running prevention activities in their local area. Your event might be a formal roundtable or a small, informal group meeting. Each community has different needs, so think them through in advance.

Decide what you want to achieve

Before you plan anything else, work through these five elements:

• purpose: what are you trying to solve, and what will be different after your session? You might want to broker partnerships, form a working group or introduce your community to your activities
• format: a forum with a series of speakers, or a meeting with more time for conversation to build a shared understanding of the challenges your community faces
• content: what presentations will cover, such as introducing your group or explaining risk and protective factors, depending on who is in the room
• people: which organisations need to be represented, and who the local influencers and decision makers are
• experience: what venue and catering will make it a positive experience for everyone.

Invite the right people

Who you invite should depend on the outcome you want. Read local media and community social media pages for background, and look for organisations, programs and services that share your purpose. Then reach out to:

• your local council, which may help with a venue and promotion. The mayor or a councillor may be interested in hosting or opening the event, and state and federal members may be too
• your local Aboriginal organisation, if you’d like a Welcome to Country, and to invite them to be involved
• schools, where parents and teachers can be a great source of community-minded people
• community sporting clubs, including local Good Sports clubs and clubs not yet in the program
• local police, who are often strong supporters of community prevention work
• local online networks, radio and community noticeboards that can help promote the event.

For more on working with local organisations, see AOD and community partnerships.

Choose a venue

When choosing a venue, check:

• seating for everyone, with access for people with disability, such as a ramp or lift, and whether you need Auslan interpretation or audio description
• public transport and free parking nearby
• technical facilities, such as a projector and screen, sound system, microphones, a laptop and Wi-Fi
• space for a registration desk
• whether there’s an in-house or preferred caterer.

Council buildings are often useful, neutral venues, and some councils provide them free. As a rule of thumb, expect about 20% no-shows and 10% walk-ins. If you’re providing catering, allow for dietary needs: about 10% vegetarian and 10% gluten-free.

Choose a facilitator or MC

A good facilitator or MC is crucial. They introduce speakers, set the agenda and pace, manage the audience, keep things on time and set the tone. Talking about AOD issues can bring up strong emotions, so choose someone experienced with a range of audiences.

Your MC should be ready to:

• politely but firmly redirect someone who is dominating the discussion, thank them, and invite them to talk with organisers or speakers afterwards
• respond calmly to anyone who becomes upset, and acknowledge their concerns. Consider inviting local support services to attend so they can help if needed.

Promote your event

Use local networks, social media and local media to make sure people come. Plan your approach before contacting journalists. See engaging the media for how.

If media are taking photos or filming, your MC should ask them to respect the audience’s privacy and let the audience know, so people can sit out of shot if they prefer.

Write your invitation

Your invitation should tell people:

• why you’re holding the event and what you hope it will achieve
• who is running it, and any partners
• what will be discussed
• the date, start time (including when to arrive) and venue address
• how and by when to RSVP
• who to contact with questions.

Send it about six weeks out, and ask people to RSVP early so you can plan seating and catering.

For a larger forum or event, allow about 10 weeks to prepare, and share the work across a team.

10 weeks out: decide your purpose and format, contact organisations that could support the event, check for date clashes and book a venue.

6 weeks out: start promoting. Lock in speakers, write a run sheet, key messages and promotional materials, and send invitations. For more than 10 people, use an online registration tool to track numbers.

2 weeks out: finalise the running order, track registrations and send reminders, review presentations, ask supporters and media to promote the event, and book catering and audiovisual needs.

1 week out: confirm catering numbers and collect speakers’ presentations on a USB stick as a backup.

2 days out: print documents, including feedback forms, confirm details with suppliers, your MC and speakers, close registrations and prepare thank-you gifts.

On the day: print a sign-in sheet, bring name tags, test all technical equipment, and finish setting up at least 30 minutes before guests arrive.

After the event: add walk-ins to your attendee list, send thank-yous to speakers, stakeholders and attendees, and pay invoices promptly.

Sample running order

A two-hour evening forum might run like this:

• 5.30pm: set up the venue
• 6.00pm: registration and refreshments
• 6.30pm: host welcome, then the MC introduces the speakers
• 8.30pm: formalities finish
• 9.00pm: pack up complete.

Speakers could include a local host, an MC and an expert presenter, followed by a Q&A panel with, for example, local police, a local AOD or youth service, and a community or family support representative. Adapt the line-up to your event.

You can also invite local services to bring information and talk with attendees, such as your council, local AOD and mental health services, Aboriginal health services, youth services, schools and police.

Open the event

The host usually opens the event with a short welcome of about five minutes. A typical order is:

• welcome everyone, on behalf of your group and any partner such as the council
• acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and pay respect to Elders
• acknowledge VIPs, such as the local Member of Parliament, and introduce key community members in the audience
• thank everyone who helped organise the event
• cover housekeeping, such as bathrooms, exits and mobile phones
• introduce the MC by full name, title and organisation.

Acknowledgement of Country: at public meetings it’s customary for the first speaker to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land. For example: “I would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of this land, the [name] people, on whose land we meet, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.” Acknowledge any Elders present by name. If you don’t know everyone, acknowledge “any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders who join us today”. If you’d like a Welcome to Country instead, contact your local Aboriginal organisation well in advance.

Tips for a smooth event

• start and finish on time
• use signage so people can find the venue and the registration desk
• test slides before you start and keep a backup copy on a USB stick
• make sure speakers understand the event’s aims and key messages
• confirm your host, MC and speakers on the day or the day before, and ask speakers to arrive at least 30 minutes early
• have a backup plan if a speaker doesn’t arrive
• check the MC’s script for names and titles, and who to thank
• note audience questions and who answered them, for your event report
• leave the venue as you found it.

What to bring on the day

Not every item is needed for a small meeting, but for a larger event bring:

• your banners and partners’ banners
• a laptop, projector, screen, speakers and remote clicker
• microphones and PA gear, if the venue doesn’t provide them
• a camera
• name tags, and name plates for speakers on stage
• signs for registration, reserved seating, bathrooms and directions
• registration or sign-in sheets
• the MC’s script, running order and a contact list for everyone involved
• feedback forms and pens
• resources for the audience
• stationery
• tablecloths and refreshments, if you’re not using a caterer.

Find out if your event was a success

Ask attendees what they thought, so you can improve your next event. Paper feedback forms left on seats get more responses than online surveys. Provide pens, ask the MC to remind people to fill them in, and collect them as people leave.

Keep the form anonymous and short. It might ask:

• in what role people attended, such as community member, council, education, health, police or sport
• what they hoped to get out of the event
• how satisfied they were with the information, speakers and Q&A, on a scale of 1 to 5
• whether they now better understand AOD prevention and protective factors
• the most valuable thing they learnt
• the strengths and challenges their community faces in preventing AOD harm
• what kinds of projects their organisation would like to be part of
• how they heard about the event
• any other feedback.

Collect contact details from willing attendees, at the event or through registration, so you can follow up and share information about future events. For more on measuring results, see evaluate your activity.

Write up your event

Write a short report while the event is fresh. It will help you, your partners and anyone running a similar event. Cover:

• why you held the event, and whether it’s part of a series
• the partners involved, the venue and why you chose it
• expected and actual attendance, budget and actual costs, and volunteer hours
• who came, and whether that was the audience you wanted
• what worked, and any surprises, such as technical problems or unexpected questions
• any media coverage
• what the feedback forms told you
• the main reasons the event succeeded, the challenges you faced and how you’d handle them next time.

Related information

• Engaging the media
• Leveraging social media
• AOD and community partnerships

Last reviewed: 30 October 2026