Improving Citizen Participation and Feedback in Your Bagh: AManual on Town Halls
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Appendix 6: Case Study: Jordan
Town hall meetings at the municipal level in Jordan are
held in municipal buildings and are organized by mayors
and their city councilors. To easily keep order and ensure
that all participants could see each other and their municipal
officials, they utilize row style seating for town hall meet-
ings that typically occur between prayer times on either Sat-
urday mornings or weekday evenings to ensure maximum
participation of citizens.
Citizens are welcomed into the municipal building,
asked to sign in and are provided water if they desire. At
the conclusion of the meeting, there will be refreshments
offered as well to encourage informal mingling with public
officials. When the town hall begins, they are welcomed by
the mayor and the flow of the event is introduced by a mod-
erator that is comfortable speaking in front of large groups
who is known and trusted by citizens. Typically, the mod-
erator is a member of one of the municipalities’ Citizen’s
Committees and has been recommended by their peers for
the position. A rapporteur from the mayor’s office records
all of the statements made and all of the questions received
throughout the event.
Following the introduction, the Citizen’s Committee
makes a 10-15 minute presentation (though the presenta-
tion is always given by someone other than the moderator)
about the specific topic at hand. If they have already been
engaged with the mayor or city council about the issue,
they highlight the collaborative work done to date, other-
wise they simply highlight the issue and what the Citizen’s
Committee has been doing about that issue. Following
their presentation, the mayor or a relevant technical advisor
makes a 10-15 minute presentation about the same issue. In
