Instructions for the discussion organiser Instructions for the discussion organiser Target group definition, invitation and timetable Invitation sheet for inviting discussants Dialogue script Introduction to the dialogue Info sheets Instructions for the notetaker and disclaimer for recording Reporting Cards for facilitating a discussion and Ground rules for a constructive dialogue Other useful information Social media materials and invitation campaign Back to the top Target group definition, invitation and timetable The target group can be internal to an organisation, a network or a broadly diverse group. Consider which target group you wish to deepen your understanding of the importance of the forests with. Define your target group accordingly. We recommend 3–12 (face-to-face) or 3–8 (remote) participants in one discussion. We do not recommend a hybrid discussion due to it’s technical challenges. We recommend a discussion to last 2–4 hours. To invite participants to your discussion, we recommend using all the channels you have available. Just because a discussion is part of the Great Forest Dialogue Day does not mean that participants will automatically find your discussion. As such, we recommend allocating time to inviting people. The more personal your invitation, the more likely people will attend your discussion. You can easily personalise the invitation text by changing the motivational questions to address each group or person you invite. Keep the objectives the same for everyone, so that everyone comes to discuss the same topic. At the end of this section, you will find the Timeout tool, which has more information on inviting. The ways of inviting depend on who you want to discuss with. If your aim is to get as diverse a group of discussants as possible, we recommend spending more time inviting them. It is worth making an event page if at least some of the panellists are expected to come through open registration. If you organise a dialogue that has open registration, please send us a link to, so we will add it to the discussants list. We recommend making the invitations right away. You can either register by using the registration link or by requesting registrations, for example by email. The registration date on the invitation should be at least five days before the discussion. That way you will have time to make additional invitations if necessary, for example by making reminder invitations, phone calls to invitees or by increasing the number of people invited. For those who have registered, we recommend sending a confirmation message with more detailed instructions on participation, and a request to inform you if they cannot attend. There are many ways to create invitations. It is worth making some kind of general invitation text or event page that is communicated to different groups, for example via social media, email, bulletin boards or in person. A draft invitation can be found below. Even if the discussion is limited to an in-group only, the invitation should be prepared carefully, as it sets the scene for an equal discussion even before the dialogue. For more information on invitations, see here Invitation sheet for inviting discussants Use this to tailor an invitation that will inspire your target group. Download the invitation for your dialogue Dialogue script The draft script makes it easy for you to plan your dialogue in advance. The script is to support facilitation (i.e. guiding or leading) and does not need to be distributed to the discussants. For example, you may want to print out the finished script for yourself. The wording in the script is an example of the wording. You can adapt them to suit the topic of your discussion and your own taste. Download the draft script (pptx) Draft script (PDF) Introduction to the dialogue (to be published by 13 March) An introduction is a good way to kick-start the discussion. Use either the introductory video or the Many Stories of the Forests slides. You can also use any other article, news, research, song or other material relevant to the topic of your discussion. Feel free to send the material to the discussants with a confirmation message, so that they may already be tuned in to the topic when they arrive at the discussion. Link to the introductory video (to be published by 13 March) Link to the Many Stories of the Forests slides (PDF) (to be published by 13 March) Info sheets The attached forest-related information sheets (to be published by 13 March) have been made to support your discussions. You can refer to them for information that is relevant to your discussion, either during the introduction, to deepen the discussion, or if the discussion is going off-topic or does not seem to get off the ground. Link to the info sheets (PowerPoint) (to be published by 13 March) Link to the factsheets (PDF) (to be published by 13 March) You can also use the summary of the Confidential Forest Dialogues to plan your discussion (only in Finnish). Link to the summary (PDF) Instructions for the notetaker and disclaimer for recording Ask the notetaker to log the conversation as accurately as possible, what people say word to word – without interpretation or summarising, and without naming any participants. The scribe should not mind typos. All the records from the Great Forest Dialogue Day will be analysed as one big anonymous dialogue and the more accurate your record, the more useful it will be in summarising the dialogue. Agree with the scribe which one of you will tell the discussants what the record will be used for. Here is the prepared wording: ‘The record of the discussion will be used to summarise the Great Forest Dialogue Day and to make alternative scenarios for the future of the forests.The summary and scenarios will be published for open use by all.No one’s identity will be revealed in the records, the summary or the scenarios.” Reporting Please fill in the reporting form immediately after the discussion and attach a record of the dialogue. This is important as we will start summarising immediately after the day of the discussion. Link to the reporting form Cards for facilitating a discussion and rules for a constructive dialogue Download the Timeout Cards for facilitating a discussion and plan your dialogue using them as a guide before the dialogue. If you want to be even better prepared, you can find out more about the Timeout Dialogue tools here. Read and keep in mind the Ground rules for a constructive discussion. They are the basis for keeping a conversation constructive and should be visible during the conversation, for example in print. If the discussion is face-to-face, it is a good idea to print them out in the middle of the discussion ring. Link to the printable poster (PDF) Other useful information For a face-to-face discussion, make sure that the space reserved for the discussion is quiet and that you have chairs in the ring. For a remote chat, remember to try out the meeting software beforehand. Good dialogue is possible when there are 3–12 face-to-face or 3–8 remote participants and a facilitator (i.e. the person leading the discussion). The discussion is likely to lead to a deeper understanding of the topic and should be used in your own work. If possible, plan and agree before the discussion who you will share the content of the discussion with, in addition to a general summary. When posting about the event, use the tag #GreatForestDialogueDay and #SuuriMetsädialogipäivä. Wonderful to have you on board! Social media materials and invitation campaign If you want to challenge your networks, partners or others to join in, here is a ready-made challenge message for you to distribute for example by email. Download the invitation here (docx). We have put together a small social media package, which we hope will also help you in your communication. You can find ready-made templates and guidelines here.