This schedule is tentative.
Day #1
8:15 am - 8:30 am
Registration
Meet CASA staff, grab a coffee or tea, and pick up your name tag!
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Welcome and Indigenous Elder Opening
A local Indigenous Elder will do us the honour of opening our conference.
9:00 am -10:00 am
Icebreaker Activity, What is CASA, Why a GOTV Campaign?
You will have the chance to get to know each other a little bit through an introductory icebreaker activity, before learning about what CASA does and its purpose for running a Get Out The Vote campaign.
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Break
10:15 am - 11:15 am
All About Pledges
This presentation will teach you best practices for collecting pledges and running pledge-driving and voter mobilization events. An overview of CASA’s digital campaign infrastructure, NationBuilder, will also be provided.
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Try It Out: Pledge Collection and Inputting into Digital System
In this practical session, you will be asked to try some of the techniques you’ve just learned for yourselves. You will be presented with a few specific scenarios and challenges that you will need to react to.
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch (not provided)
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Vote Pop Up (Guest Speaker)
Democracy and voter mobilization expert, John Beebe, will take you through a simulated voting experience called Vote Pop Up. At the end of this conference, you will also be provided with the materials to be able to run this simulation on your own campus, to demystify voting and raise awareness about the upcoming election!
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Break
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
Using Social Media to Amplify the Campaign
This session will provide you with training on how to use social media to your advantage during this campaign. It will also provide an overview of CASA’s plans to run Instagram contests, which you can use to help collect pledges on your campus.
3:45 pm - 5:15 pm
Campaign Planning Break Out Sessions
In this session, you will rotate between three stations (with the rest of your association team) to develop different parts of your campaign plan. The stations will offer you a chance to plan out your pledge-driving events, your volunteer recruitment/management plan, and learn about phone banking through NationBuilder.
Day #2
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Welcome
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Keys to a Successful Campaign: Non-Partisanship, Professionalism, Good Energy
In this session, you will learn how to run a professional, non-partisan campaign. The importance of looking after yourself, of celebrating the small wins, and of keeping a positive attitude will also be stressed.
10:00 am - 10:30 am
Scenarios & Activity on Non-Partisanship
This participatory activity will test you on what constitutes non-partisan and partisan behaviour.
10:30 am - 10:45 am
Break
10:45 am - 11:15 am
Elections Canada Presentation
Elections Canada will present you with important information about the upcoming federal election, voter information, and information about the vote on campus stations and the paid positions that will ideally be staffed by students.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions Run by Elections Canada:
Session #1 - Voter Information
Session #2 - Recruiting Students to Work at Vote on Campus Stations
12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Lunch (not provided)
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm
Media Training
Since the GOTV campaign is likely to attract some media attention, we will be providing you with training on how to best participate in media interviews.
2:15 pm - 2:30 pm
Break
2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Finalize Your Work Plan and Receive GOTV Materials
After having digested all the training and lessons learned throughout the conference, you will be given some time to finalize your work plan. At this time, we will also be handing out the materials you will need to run GOTV on your campus.