Improving Citizen Participation and Feedback in Your Bagh: AManual on Town Halls
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sentatives Khural. Through the report, constituents that were
unable to attend will get information about the meeting and
decisions made. Reports can also be uploaded on the local
websites. This will increase the trust of constituents and
transparency of your actions.
Do’s and don’ts while participating in town hall
meetings
• Do ensure that as many stakeholder groups as possible
have been notified about the town hall.
• Do not show up with a large group of handlers and assis-
tants that try to insulate you from the public.
• Do arrange for an event moderator who will keep the dis-
cussion orderly, on schedule and that no question or com-
ment is unfairly silenced or overlooked.
• Do not advertise a town hall meeting and instead treat the
meeting like a political rally or change the structure to
mean that attendees will actually have to wait in line for a
short private meeting. There is nothing wrong with either
of those activities, but they should be advertised appropri-
ately and truthfully.
• Do use and introduce the meeting topics in a simple way/
language so that every one of the constituents understands.
• Do not be dismissive or arrogant with your constituents.
Government officials work to serve their constituents. If
someone disagrees with you don’t cut them off and tell
them they have had their chance fully articulate their posi-
tion in a reasonable time and manner.
• Do make presentations and PowerPoints/pictures big
enough for the people furthest from the front to see and
use charts, graphs and tables as much as possible rather
than a screen full of words and paragraphs, in order to
maintain the interest and attention of participants.
