The Consensus Process
This blog post has three parts. The first part will be a general overview of the OWS General Assembly I attended yesterday. The second component will touch on the power of media in the OWS movement and how accessibility has been lacking. The third part comprises of my thoughts and reactions to the OWS General assembly.
The General Assembly
I attended the OWS General Assembly in Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square/Liberty Plaza on Monday, October 24th 2011. This was the first time I was able to see the much-talked-about “Consensus Process” used by the OWS movement. It is a very interesting process. There are mediators who have to be on their feet and make sure everyone is on-topic and have to work to bring the session back to focus if someone is off-topic. Below is the embedded YouTube video I shot of the General Assembly process for an idea of how it works but it is nothing like going in person and checking it out so if you get the chance I strongly encourage you to do so! As of right now, General Assemblies at OWS in Zuccotti Park are ASL-interpreted on Mondays.
The Video: ASL-Interpreted Video of the Consensus Process, 10/24/2011
OWS, Viral Videos & Accessibility
While doing research on the OWS, I was able to find a lot of videos, some well-made and others more rough cuts of vlogs or events- unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any that are subtitled! But there is some good news! When I reached out to Meerkat Media, the producers of “Consensus” a great, well-made video- they were really nice and said they were already in the process of transcribing it and were excited that I had contacted them- the newly subtitled video will be ready soon! In the meanwhile, you can see “Consensus” – it’s been uploaded with subtitles now.
My Thoughts on the General Assembly & the Process
Before I start, I want to say I was very impressed by how hard the facilitators and other members worked to make the meeting effective and at how it really was an effective consensus process. That being said, I did notice some things that were not the most efficient and am going to write some of my observations. However, I have not been attending previous meetings so I haven’t had the chance to really see how they have evolved and streamlined their processed. From what I can see on Twitter it seems like it is a constantly evolving process.
First of all, and this is minor in the scheme of things- I have some gripes about their “sign language.” The sign for process is something that, in ASL we would never pick for any kind of formal or informal use. I’ll say it quickly- it doesn’t look good if a sign you picked means vagina in ASL. I plan to talk with someone at Zuccotti Park to give my feedback on the signs. As for the other signs, they’re OK I guess. I wish I could get more feedback/suggestions from other deaf people on what they think should be the signs. I think the Agree, Sort of Agree and Don’t agree are all right, if a little intensive on the fingers. They’re very similar to the ASL “Upplause” sign and the spatial use of down for disagree, up for agree and middle for sort of do work with ASL rules and concepts. We point down when we say downstairs, and up when we say upstairs. I’m definitely interested in getting more input from other deaf people on the sign language adopted by OWS.
As for the process, this was my very first General Assembly. It was long- we had a long, heated discussion about drummer’s hours at the park, followed by another long and heated discussion about paying $500 a month for a reduced-rate “heavy-use” PO box and package receipt services. I think this is still a steal since they get about 500 boxes a day. Yes, you heard me- a DAY. While I enjoy hearing all the details of what goes into something- that’s just the part of me that likes to know how things work, not everyone does. Especially not at their first General Assembly or at their first visit to the park. That got Robyn and I talking- Robyn has a lot of experience in marketing and she made some great points.
1. Separate the explanation with the actual meeting to increase productivity: The first 15-20 minutes or even 30 minutes should be used for a pre-meeting session, geared to those who are not as familiar with OWS or are new to the movement. The goal will be bringing in more supporters.
2. Focus on potential new members/supporters: During this time, you can do a lot of things- explain the sign language and facilitation process involved in meetings. Say thank you, new members for coming.
3. Close the Deal: You could even have ambassadors to stand up and state why they are involved, and then be available to connect with prospective new supporters during the time between the pre-meeting and the actual meeting. “It’s all about marketing, then closing the sale,” Robyn said. I’ll have to agree, some simple changes could recruit or bring into the fold new supporters that might otherwise feel overwhelmed and not know where to start getting involved.
That being said, I was still immensely impressed. I really liked how the process utilized a “Stack” tool, where during certain sessions (the question/clarification period, the comment period, and the amendment period) people could put their names on the stack list and then would be called to speak. I look forward to my next General Assembly and seeing how they’re continuing to evolve and streamline the process!
Thanks for reading!
