2020 Virtual Skills Symposium: Social Media and P2: How to design and host effective digital public engagement

Digital tools are essential for public participation in the age of COVID-19. This hands-on course will teach you to create social media campaigns that gather input creatively, enable collaborative online interactions, and sustain participation over time. We'll identify barriers to participation and examine strategies to build equity and inclusion online. Learn best practices for facilitating online meetings. Bring your questions and lessons learned, so we can learn from one another's engagement innovations during this global pandemic. Join by computer if possible (rather than tablet), as this course gives you an opportunity to experience both the convenor and participant sides of online participation.

Participants completing this course can:

• Define objectives for their engagement efforts and understand how these apply to online participation strategies
• Use simple online tools to “listen” to what people are saying online about a project’s key issues and people
• Begin to write content appropriate for social media public participation projects and understand the importance of two-way communication in this medium
• Identify participation barriers for digital environments and explore approaches to increase equity and inclusion
• Recognize the value and capacity of online advertising
• Craft a basic online strategy to engage people at all depths of involvement and at various stages of the project

PLEASE NOTE: International IAP2 members require a code to register. Please contact info@iap2canada.ca to obtain it.

Please note that scheduling online training is very different from face-to-face. This online course will be offered in four, three and a half hour segments over the week.

Just like the face-to-face Skills Symposium, we expect all participants to attend all sessions listed in the event.

Note that the session times are Central Saskatchewan/Mountain Time.

— Cancellation and Substitution policy —

Trainer: Susanna Haas Lyons, M.A.