Improving Citizen Participation and Feedback in Your Bagh: AManual on Town Halls
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ings, such as the local bagh government building, communi-
ty center, local school or university or public libraries may
be ideal. Similarly, the event date and time are equally im-
portant, particularly as it pertains to the inclusion of wom-
en. Chosen dates should avoid significant competing com-
munity events or major family-oriented holidays such as
Naadam. When selecting a time, consider typical work and
school schedules as well as the schedule of those who are
responsible for household upkeep.
Arrange for an event moderator
It is crucial that each event has a moderator who will
keep the discussion orderly and on schedule. Moderators
may also help to ensure citizens do not grow disorderly and
no one’s question or comment is unfairly silenced or over-
looked. Moderators should be well aware of the discussion
topic and the presenters or the officials. The panelists should
be introduced at the beginning of the meeting as well as the
rules of the meeting such as how many minutes the speak-
ers have for presentations, how many minutes citizens have
for comments and questions and that when speaking, people
should use proper language, not attack another person’s rep-
utation and that all should focus on the topic.
It is very important for the moderators to get the contact
information of the citizens that are giving comments/ask-
ing questions. For the subsequent follow-up meetings, these
contacts should be invited so that citizens can be in a posi-
tion to gauge whether the town hall meetings are efficient
and effective mechanisms for communicating with their
elected officials that citizens’ concerns are being respond-
ed to. Moderators should be careful when asking questions
or drawing conclusions of participant comments or speech-
es and they should remain neutral. If constituents ask ques-
