SATURDAY AM SESSION

What makes an effective facilitator?

● Commitment

● Communication skills

● Listening to others

● Consistency

● Resourcefulness / Adaptivity / Flexibility

● Empathy / Understanding of others

● Relevant skills and willingness to learn

● Open to suggestions

● Leading by example

● Plays nice with others – part of a team

● Objective, understand your own bias

● Empowering others to make their own mistakes and learn

● Stepping up and making decisions when needed

● Keeping your cool under stress

● The ability to prioritise tasks

What attributes do we have (as individuals) from the list? (Mark R, David Cam, Constantine, Emma)

Mark R –

● Commitment

● Communication skills

● Over committing (not stopping when I should)

● Listen to others – except time wasters

● Knowing when to step up and use authority

● Keeping your cool under stress

● A bit closed to adapting to other people’s skills (incorporating other ideas)

● Need to build rapport with others and build team (rather than doing it myself)

David Cam –

● Commitment

● Communication skills

● Indecisiveness

● Listen to others, but I should make an effort to listen more

● Keeping your cool under stress

● Acknowledge and recognise others ideas when they have merit (and change my ideas)

● Need to build rapport with others and build team (rather than doing it myself) Konstantine –

● Commitment

● Communication skills

● Frustrated

● Hard on myself

● Over commit

● Listen to others, but sometimes to the extent of not trusting myself

● Empowering others to make their own mistakes and learn

● Keeping your cool under stress 

Emma

● Commitment

● Communication skills - sometimes does things without telling anyone

● Time poor / last minute actions

● Listening to others

● Delegating

● Knowing when to step up and use authority

● Keeping your cool under stress

How do we fill the gaps? Delegating –

● Need to build a team that you are confident in

● Feedback and discussion with team on how everyone is going

● Knowing what your own limitations are or when you are too tired

● Knowing the limitations and experience of your team

● Empowering others (and let them make mistakes, it’s only ConFest)

● Offer support but don’t control the outcome

Sent In

Pre Festival and Set up  

Pre Festival and Set up  - What went well

Set up - What went well

● CC Meetings were really good with good communication and little anger

● Site coordinators using messenger was really good for direct communication

● Market vendors were helpful and self organised many elements

● Art station and sign team in the market stage was awesome and really enjoyable

● Good numbers of volunteers arrived by 10 days prior to the festival

● Lots of new volunteers and ConFest virgins who stepped up to facilitate or take leads

● Small equipment was repaired and running by new volunteers

● Equipment was easy to find and gear was locatable

● Car allocations went well and was a good system to use (booking in and out)

● Good to have the site open for several months to allow for people to come back and forth

and do small working bees

● Slashing went well because it was done before the mass of set up volunteers arrived

● Compliance documentation went well and got done

● Internet connection worked well.

● Eating at the hive worked really well and was good during set up.

● Bike Crew was awesome

● Lifeguards had everything upon arrival for setup

● Site ops was great

● Our culture stood strong this year 

● Signage was real good

● Gypsy Kitchens permanent structure was awesome

● The hive’s vibe was on point

● Earth lounges were comfy as

● Toilets set up and ready to go

● Induction was great from Yani

● Volly station was good

● Great wood pile at the hive

● Dane felt very welcomed upon arrival to site, 2 weeks before gates

● Confest sign was up early which was nice

Pre Festival and Set up - What worked but could be better

Set up - What worked but could be better:

● Water was good but late to be operating

● Hive should be opened earlier (like 7 days before the festival)

● Wrist banding needed much more improvement including front gate control

● Checking people as they arrive

● Radio’s were not handed back after set up

● Signs got painted but there no teams to put them

● Safety equipment and PPE could be improved, including gators for people and more high vis

● Communicating information on site during set up between hive, villages, cottages and other spaces

● Clear policies needed around villages and infrastructure and volunteer requirements and eating at the hive.

● Bike crew
- went smoothly but needs to have a facilitator upon arrival
- People had their personal bikes taken
- Unclear about if you can keep the bike or not

● Family Beach
- Rope swings needs to be check and made appropriately for children to prevent injuries
- The beach isn't that safe, current is quite strong and entry isn't easy 

● Communication around
- Cookers in private campsites
- Photography - clear up what the policy is and implement a better system (maybe a certification application for photographers)

● Info
- Kept losing the list of volunteer list

● More radios

Clarity around some village spaces - GoKula and Zenthai? Didn't set up? But are on the map?

 Pre Festival and Set up - What didn't work at all

Set up - What didn’t work well

● Comms couldn’t talk to cottage during set up which would be better if this worked

● first aid during set up wasn’t communicated

● ticketing didn’t work at all – could check in people as they arrived

● Lock the forest down earlier so that driving is stopped in car free earlier

● Lock the front gate or have it manned

● Setting up sullage in the market when vendors were arriving

● People need to drive slower during set up (and this needs to be enforced)

● Facilitators that were off site expecting those on site to do their bidding

● Ensuring that the teams of volunteers are available to work when requested

● Organised teams with the volunteer coordinator but they were not available when needed

● Facilitators
- Had to many jobs to do
- Some spaces didn't have facilitators

● Villages
- Placement of areas

 Pre Festival and Set up - What can we do better next time

Set up - What can we do better next time?

● Water lines should be flushed and more water produced in readiness

● Having a time line with expectations of completing tasks in a timely manner

● A project plan or Gantt chart that allows us to ensure we don’t miss important tasks for a timely and pleasant set up

● Toilet set up should be planned so toilets are not next to food stalls

● Compliance documents should be circulated to ensure everyone knows where they are an what is in them – Team engagement

● Identify facilitators earlier – and know when they are onsite and be contactable

● Earlier dissemination of information to facilitators

● Wrist bands need a new picture

● The front gate needs to be manned for the last week of set up or gate locked with a radio to ensure everyone who comes in has a ticket and a site induction

● Naming the roads

● Car free camping  extended behind market

● More like festival not carpark

● Wellness to go into top of the forest

● First aid difficult to locate - Can it be moved

● Disability camping area created

● Potentially bikeshed area

● With disabled toilets 

● Aboriginal areas need to be fenced off and signed appropriately

● Permanent signage made from steel

● Mark more rodes for campsite

● More cooking circles 

● Prickle management before arrival - making sure there is control around spreading prickles

● Mini hut First Aid
- for minor first aid

● Signage could have continued on

● Info tent at the hive needs to have its name change to something like ‘volly station’

● What the fuck was with the sign near the front gate saying “please call this number” 

● We need a supplies team to manage our consuming
- Making smart purchases in bulk to prevent paying extra
- Prevent us from buying last minute

During

 During - What went well

During - What worked but could be better?

● Rangers started on Thursday but would be better to start Wednesday or Tuesday (maybe help with car free)

● People making last minute changes to tickets should be automated as it was difficult

● Emergency team needs late night shifts, especially wellness people.

● A chain of command during the festival and a leadership team for daily updates and meetings, particularly the EMT and infrastructure, plus a backup leader for each of them –needs a 2IC.

● Wellness and first aid need to talk better

● Parking around the car free boundary – improvement but could be better (maybe add disabled parking)

● Roads in come and go need to be clearly defined and safe for emergency vehicles 

During - What worked but could be better

During - What didn’t work?

● Volunteer meals at the Hive

● Sullage at the market

● No where to R&R at the emergency services hub /rangers – need a little oasis

● Shortage of volunteers towards the middle and end of the festival

● Water barrels in the market don’t work as used as bins

● No snake wrangler

● 2 Child liaison officers instead of 1.

● Information dissemination at the gate ie: moon cup toilet

● Sexism

 During - What didn't work at all

During - What went well?

● Ranger training

● Playground in the market

● Silent Disco!

● Generator sharing the market

● Toilets and Nathan

● Squirting the hippies with the fire truck

● Activist Village

● Emphasis on consent

● Fashion Parade

● Vibe and people were so lovely

● Wellness outreach program

● Village leads were very responsive

● Lifeguards had everything upon arrival for setup

● Site ops was great

● Our culture stood strong this year

● Signage was real good

● Gypsy Kitchens permanent structure was awesome

● The hive’s vibe was on point

● Earth lounges were comfy as

● Toilets set up and ready to go

● Induction was great from Yani

● Volly station was good

● Great wood pile at the hive

● Dane felt very welcomed upon arrival to site, 2 weeks before gates

● Confest sign was up early which was nice

During - What can we do better next time

What can we do better next time?

● Put water down the slide in the market and have a water slide

● Vouchers for meals in the market

● Training prior to the festival● Handouts from welcome crew with critical information

● Stickers, patches, gifts for crews as appreciation

● Recruitment drive for volunteers way earlier

● Videos of ConFest culture for you tube

● Every facilitator needs a 2IC ●

Pack Down

What went well
What worked but could be better
What didn't work at all
What can we do better next time

What went well?

● The first few days were good and people worked pretty fast so most stuff packed down

● It didn’t rain this year

● First aid was sorted prior to packing up container

● We lost someone and we found them promptly with a group effort

● Silent coordinated pack down into the woolshed which worked well

● Emma ordering an extra bin in the market budget

What went ok but could have been better?

● Didn’t have first aid during pack down

● PPE in pack down wasn’t enforced 

What didn’t?

● Lack of clarity for confidential information from Rangers, Wellness etc (where does this information get stored)

● Some volunteers were not working

● Rubbish from the Hive

● Problems with patrons going through stuff to take

● People refusing to go

● Volunteer identification for pack down

● Kitchen store room at cottage had open food (and thus lots of mice)

What can we do better next time?

● Share out the food from cool rooms and market earlier

● clean the cool room

● Expected departure of key villages and numbers of how many staying afterwards (eg. Gypsy

has 20 for a week)

● Stock take – what are you leaving on site?

● Having access to waste management at the back of the market for the Hive

● Recycling cardboard and recyclables.