SGLMG Forum - Engaging The Community - 6th July, 2002

How can G&L people’s needs other than for a party be met through the MG period? (Art, dance, culture etc)

Does the festival have to be?

1. In a block
2. Just in February
3. Just focused around MG?

How can we co operatively fund MG?

The cost of festival events is a disincentive to younger community members for attending events.

The festival is a core event that educates & inspires the G&L and other communities

• MG establishes a forum for artist & performers in June/July to create a community arts festival that constitutes the core of the MG festival at minimal cost. MG provides space & a process not money
• Use things like the Fair Day extension parties to provide limited & targeted cross-subsidies.
• Establish a system for using the computers to make short films. Set up a way to get GLB & Queer youth in to make short films for inclusion in the film festival.
• Organise a pre-festival survey to establish what people want from the festival in June or earlier.
• Organise a good post festival survey to find out why people do or don’t attend events
• Use the forum process (point one) in order to facilitate other independent festival events
• Co-operate with other arts festivals to see if we can organise co operatively funded events.
• Use our relationship with FOX studios to stage cheap street events at Moor Park
• Conduct events within the Sydney Festival as gay targeted events.
• Hold the under 18 party @ FOX on the Friday night before MG party

Politics is central to MG. It is a unifying universal issue which at once combines, divides, inspires, angers. Arts has been used in various forms like satire & irony to represent political issues which are at the heart of the community. How can we & MG re engage the community in the artistic and political life of the organization. How does MG set up the structures or framework to allow inspiration to develop

• Engage the community by providing the framework for political agendas to be brought forward
• Be fearless and subversive to engage others in politics
• Use subversive art to create & inspire others to engage
• The organization could use its political position to allow subversive agendas develop
• The organization has become to fearful of litigation/offending the public
• MG should stop beaurocracy (its own) from getting in the way of art & politics
• MG should endorse others ideas and not rely only on formulaic systems especially in relation to the parade & party but also for all MG events.
• Mardi Gras must continue to have a workshop to create to create art & an environment for art to develop
• Participants will create (?) ideas and inspiration, the organization must allow this.
• We should re-evaluate the name of the organization to be inclusive of contemporary sexual & political agendas.

• MG Action Plan indicates search for events/opportunities outside MG season (eg Pride Week)
• MG historically provided F/R opportunities for other community org – now looking to others
• Raise prospect for conflict
• Current situation requires MG to maximise opportunities
• MG needs to support large staff population & growth therefore need to focus on bottom line

ISSUE: Revenue verses expenditure: Does MG need other F/R opportunities or do they need to look for better financial managementWhat are the drivers for need for revenue?What size is the right size for MG?Who makes the decision to grow – what is the consultative process?Limit to money available to community orgs & activitiesWe need to look at revenue source & distribution in G&L community orgs over last 5 yrs in order to manage for futureIs MG a community development organization – how does MG define its role in community development?Is there a conflict between MG survival & community development role?

1. Engage new/young generations through competitions for Marketing materials like posters, lead float etc rather than tender
2. Look to events in partnership rather than ownership of events
3. Honest open relationships with & between Community Orgs
4. Cost cutting by sharing resources among community orgs
5. Establish common approach to fundraising through "Community Chest" with commonly established criteria & cross group or independent management

• No one from Pride to state Pride’s point of view
• Discussion of history of both Pride & Mardi Gras
• Need to understand primary purpose of both Pride & Mardi Gras. Expand to include other community organizations
• Clear benefits to merge in terms of rent & insurance etc.
• Option of shared resources, premises, possibly under a holding company/organization but politically separate
• Actual perceived overlaps between Pride & MG (roles) – MG moving into community development, Pride Arts Festival etc.
• Potential loss of 94 Oxford St would impact on a large number of community organizations
• Pride has acted and could act as safe guard for MG and vice-versa
• "Mardi Gras is a celebration of Gay & Lesbian Sexuality in Sydney" – anything else it does or is or follows from is secondary.
• Mardi Gras provide one month of the year that makes it easier to get G&L issues discussed in the wider community
• Lobby for the donation of a building. (not in run up to an election but longer term dream

1. That Pride & Mardi Gras do remain separate organizations but move towards sharing of physical and intellectual resources
2. All community organizations (not just MG & Pride) restate their reasons for existing & inspiring community support and involvement
3. Investigate what infrastructure community organizations require to continue in their activities
4. Create a vision for community organizations for the next 10 years
5. Form a position fro organizations in run up to (state?) elections

• Term Length, continuity, election, volunteering time, staggered boards, filling casual vacancies
• Skills – how sourced
• Responsibility and accountability
• Using our citizens up and spitting them out (ex board/mgt/staff/volunteers)
• The management of events and activities, who – Board, staff, committee, volunteers

• What should the board’s focus be? – Admin & Management? Events? M/ship? Political voice? Who drives the action plan?
• Board have ASIC responsibilities & duties,(?) duties to members & law, responsible for the assets & $$ of the org
• Continuity – Where, Board, staff, committee

• There is continuity – it is guaranteed by the current political system (constitution)
• Continuity empowers them/ship not the board (??)
• The mess comes from the oligarchy – real change needs to come from m/ship

1. Consult the community & membership for all vacancies – board, management, volunteer committees
2. Create 14 specific position descriptions for core directors & others (PD)
3. Specifically for the Directors of Board and then fill as per an accountable HR system, recruits, interview, select (who, Hall of Fame??)
4. Examine the needs of the org and then write the PDs
5. Need constitutional change to create an internal political system (voting) that is representative and that works
6. Source our board and management positions & committees from the pool of dedicated volunteers, give people a MG career path.
7. Make each board/committee have its own internal AGM. Each committee to be convened to make recommendations about its own composition
8. Re look at staffing structure to fit the new need of the organization
9. Nurture new leadership (how?)
10. Engage our SG+LMG historical corporate history (hall of fame) to advise the board
11. Make sure there is a strong relationship between board, management, staff and volunteers
12. Mentoring program, board & Hall of Fame, Management & Boards, staff and Management, Volunteers & Staff
13. Membership structural review. Young members want to involve their bisexual and straight friends in membership
14. Break the nexus between party ticket sales & membership

Discuss regarding youth issues particular to two groups, 13-18 age group & 18-30 yrsParade a safe environment in which young people can party, be engagedNon political (?) ensure that they have funCo ordination of youth focused committee or joint organizationProviding access to different events to G&L issues, (?) literatureVenues other than CBD – outreach programMake young people visible

The convener introduced the discussion by explaining what he meant by "citizens" and "consumers". "Citizens" were people who had a sense of belonging to a community or organisation (e.g. the gay and lesbian community or Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd) and through this sense of belonging, actively participated in community activities. Consumers were people who simply obtained/consumed services or products from Mardi Gras. Citizens were presented as being "active"; consumers as "passive".

The convener explained that this topic was partly prompted by the Mardi Gras draft action plan: it had a strong emphasis on members as consumers - through offering discounts, wine clubs etc, but nothing on members as participants.

No recommendations emerged from the discussion; nor was it in any sense conclusive. It was however valuable in that it raised several issues around this question, which warrant further discussion and exploration.

One board member said that the discussion helped to clarify her involvement with Mardi Gras and the dichotomies she faces. She saw herself as a citizen, but found she had to deal with Mardi Gras members as consumers.

The following points were raised during the discussion:

Mardi Gras as "a brand"

• Was Mardi Gras being treated as a brand to be marketed?
• What was meant by "brand" - the convener suggested he used the term brand in the way that Naomi Klein uses the term "brand" - as a commercial entity, which consumers identify with and purchase.
• A discussion participant who had been involved with Mardi Gras' marketing department defined "brand" as a unique promise and suggested the task was to formulate the core values of that promise.
• Another participant said that the Mardi Gras brand should be the Mardi Gras experience - not what was on caps and T-shirts.
• This lead to discussion about the nature of the Mardi Gras experience - and how it was created.
• Another person talked about Mardi Gras in terms of community arts suggesting it should be about "identity and bonding" or "alchemy and bonding". He said that "spontaneity and imagination had gone out the window.
• later, someone else questioned the need to market Mardi Gras to ourselves. "You market Mardi Gras to people overseas or elsewhere. Not to ourselves. When we have to market Mardi Gras to ourselves, you've really lost the plot."

Active participation

• Several people talked about the way people participated in Mardi Gras - in the parade itself, as a volunteer (eg being a parade marshal etc). Even going to Fair Day was seen as a form of participation.
• Not everyone could or wanted to participate.
• Need to communicate message that being a volunteer was "fun".
• The experience of being a volunteer was the reward for "putting something in".
• Alternative view: Mardi Gras treats its volunteers like fodder.
• Not everyone wanted to take part in meetings - particularly young people who found them boring.
• Criticism of Mardi Gras meetings being dominated by the same people all the time.
• Another person - Mardi Gras AGM is the best event Mardi Gras puts on.
• people are both citizens and consumers - some people are more one than the other.

Language and communication

• Questions were raised about the language Mardi Gras used - suggestions that it used two languages - marketing language and language of community.
• Claim that Mardi Gras had stopped knowing how to talk to the community - marketing department attempted to make up for this.
• Criticism that Mardi Gras did not communicate with its members. Suggestion that this was a perennial complaint "What is it that Mardi Gras is supposed to be communicating?"
• Suggestion we should talk about "our parade", "our party" etc.
• Question raised about the use of "queer" - does it alienate some people.

Other issues

• Mardi Gras should stick to what it does best - the parade
• The parade possibly the only Mardi Gras event which could not be privatised.
• If Mardi Gras is to be political - what is political that would resonate?
• We may be too narrow in our sense of ownership of Mardi Gras.

• Posting Assoc of membership on website
• Online renewal
• Allowing special circumstance for extreme circumstance for renewal after the date
• Allow an over(?) person to sell tix to someone who is "family"
• Pooling amongst member to sell extra ticket

• Cap the MG party 2003 at 15000 tickets. Great to sell out by Dec/Jan
• If party sells out, possibly release limited tickets in Feb
• Projected income for Botanica & Pool Party may be over estimated, consider competing Nov parties – people won’t go to all
• Festival has been scaled back over last couple of years. How do members feel about that?
• How do members feel about festival only being subsidised to $50 000? (Some in group feel that it shouldn’t be subsidised at all considering the debt/financials)
• Shame to see events cut back eg women’s writing event
• What kind of festival do people want
• People say that they want a festival but don’t go to it
• Is it important to see international? What? Are they relevant?
• Rather see local quality eg Paul Capsis than Drum Drag, Sherry Vine etc
• Fringe – What is relevant to the community?
• Important that some events engender community spirit
• Last years community festival events sold out
• Break evens talked about – what about events that are artistically successful – touch people’s hearts?
• Public Development fund will help pay for artistic endeavours
• Where is the experimental edgy work?

1. Suggest that MG look at the potential in the community
2. MG as the facilitator not the organiser
3. Look at Australian Acts that can be show cased
4. Ask people to offer services, not MG pay for services
5. Use the database to get intent for the festival – email members invite participation.
6. Different groups or events under the MG umbrella like queer screen, people out west.
7. Festival as an open plan – call for request eg Bob Down to perform under festival
8. MG events to be included in mainstream festivals eg Sydney festival.
9. Partnerships with other organizations eg Belvoir St, STC
10. Database tool to assist people to be part of the festival (????)
11. Suggestion not to have a $50 000 festival subsidy – have a festival committee.
12. International events & community events promoted through festival guide
13. Bring more people to MG festival – open it up to smaller groups & organizations
14. Branding to develop further using the MG brand name to launch event

• Pride
• Link MG website community activity & organization
• Communication between community groups
• Focus on community groups rather than commerce (eg not night clubs)
• Mardi Gras provide 4, yearly community forums
• Form more bonds with smaller groups like DIVA
• Is SGLMG still functioning as a community group?
• MG should endorse community groups (not financially)
• Fair Day
• Use parade to support groups eg, promote group instead of Bob the Builder.

• Parade on one night, party on another night
• Energy Fractured if over different days
• New reason required to parade & party
• Maybe a parade with a theme
• Intention to revitalise parade
• Poster to set theme for parade & party
• We have given away the rights for the TV coverage & lost control
• We need to control this
• Parade up Oxford St to different destination, maybe in the park. Have a wagon train party with parade entrants & floats as a back drop
• Change Parade
• Visitors
• Separate big party on the next night

1. Parade with small wagon train party at end on night (party for entrants)
2. Big party next night or other night (party for party goers)

• Are we too complacent with what we have achieved our city Sydney?
• We have achieved (?) visibility and legislative reform – but we still hold hands in Whyalla, Broken Hill or even Campbelltown
• There has been a loss of participation in MG
• The main aims of MG are:
  • Celebration
  • Visibility
  • Claiming space
  • Political message
• MG grew out of Stonewall (?) political protest – celebration as political message giving
• Too much emphasis on commercialising the organization. Members are not commerce they are the organization
• Balance must be generated between commercialisation and the membership
• Need to reach out to marginalised sub groups – empower them
• Outreach eg anti homophobic campaigns in Islamic Schools
• What community contribution comes from commercial floats

• Festival as Parade build-up (maybe theme the festival)
• Removal of commercialisation from relationship between MG and its members
• Political working group within MG
• (???)
• Launch should be more political
• Liaison with Gay & Lesbian groups outside Sydney
• Inclusion of marginalised sub groups in the MG process

• Outreach programs
• Partnerships
• Sharing knowledge information & scholarships
• On whose terms do we operate?
• Re-education/ Awareness
• Everyone has something valuable to contribute
• Celebrate ourselves

1. Social clubs and groups seem less committed to MG involvement as evidenced by their absence from this discussion session.
2. Groups and clubs are empowered into their own specific fetish, interest, activity, sport, recreation, (?), finding for themselves a niche market, therefore they withdraw from MG
3. Parade was made up from these groups
4. Loosing more of these groups yearly
5. Parade has a commercial appearance now
6. Sponsors are treated as more important
7. Clubs and groups feel irrelevant to MG
8. Rising cost of parade floats is hard eg: equipment hire
9. Seen in the program the dominance of commerce and sponsors over clubs and groups

1. MG to find a role in funding social clubs and groups
2. Clubs and groups need free exposure from MG to the greater community
3. Create links on the MG website to these clubs and groups listing their major functions and activities
4. MG representative to do a clubs and groups networking circuit, getting feedback of requirements at least twice a year
5. In MG program enter a community clubs groups page or pages with logos website addresses and activities etc to help promotion and integration

• Outside Parade, Fair day & launch attract most participation, can that participation be encouraged further? Can a more political focus be given to these events?
• Possibility of combining Fair day & Launch into one event Launching MG
• Possibility of Fair day culminating in Pool Party
• Launch needs to be radically overhauled
• Important because they occupy public spaces, (?)
• Problem of launch a) expensive, b) no real focus c) no official organisational capacity behind launch
• Fair days great strength is its inclusiveness nature (inc family) & attractive to diverse people & also their animals who can’t for various reasons participate in parade opportunities
• Too many commercials stalls & not enough people orientated events and activities
• We love Fair day.

1. Create a committee
2. Clever use of spectacle to put across powerful political message
3. Radical political action before or after event
4. Dangerous expansion of turning it a series of dance tents/party as in London

• Proposal for functionality
• Internal/external
• Short term goals
• Long term goals
• Volunteering/admin
• Demonstration
• Photos to piggyback

• Infrastructure/ hardware sponsorship
• (?)Volunteer group to determine short term, long term goals,
• (?)Liase with Sturt L / reading Room
• Internal/external requirements of requirements for website