You are invited to take part in the Green Party of Ontario Campaign School in Ottawa. It is being organized by the campaign team and will be led by Jeff Brownridge, Provincial Campaign Manager.

Date: August 11 and 12
Location: University of Ottawa, Room 203, Montpetit Hall, 120 University Street
Starting Time: 10 am
Host: University of Ottawa Greens
Featuring: Frank de Jong, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario
RSVP: Jeanie Warnock, Eastern Regional Representative at jwarnock@ontarioeast.net

Information on Location:
UOttawa campus map: www.uottawa.ca/carte/CampusMapNorth.pdf
UOttawa campus map for parking spots: www.uottawa.ca/services/protect-f/parking-map.pdf
Directions to the university: www.uottawa.ca/map/direct_main.html

You can enter Montpetit at 120 University Street, proceed to the 2nd floor, turn left (north) and go down hall, past swimming pools (visible a floor below through glass windows) to classroom. Or access through the University Centre (Jock Turcot Centre). There is a hallway/tunnel on the second floor of the University Centre that takes you directly to Montpetit Hall and past the classroom.

Description:
The first day will be aimed at election strategies, preparation, and team organization for the candidates and their potential campaign teams and volunteers. The second (half) day will be directed more specifically at candidate training with a focus on messaging, mock debates, preparation for speeches, successful interviewing etc. The leader of the party, Frank de Jong, will also be in attendance. All interested individuals are invited to attend the first day but please try to RSVP in advance.

At the end of the first day, all attendees are invited to continue discussion on local and regional issues at a nearby pub (location TBA).

Advance Preparation:
Candidates and potential candidates (and their campaign teams, if they are in place) are encouraged to:

A. Prepare material on approximately 1-3 topics that are related to their particular ridings and to consider how they would present and speak to these topics at a debate.
1. Identify 1-3 issues that are specific to your riding or the ridings in your area, or that you think will be a hot topic of debate for your riding in the election.
2. Research the issue and work out the position that you would adopt on this issue.
3. Contrast with other parties’ approach­how is the Green Party’s different?
4. Tie your approach to this local issue into the larger Green Party philosophy, position, and values.

B. Take 1-2 Green party positions that do not seem directly relevant to your riding and see if you can tie them in to a local issue. Remember the six key focal points of the Green Party of Ontario’s election message are: climate change, energy, education, health, electoral reform, and walkable, sustainable communities.

These exercises will help you prepare for the upcoming debates. Equally important, they will allow candidates to share their approach to difficult issues and/or their knowledge about topics that may be equally relevant to other ridings in the area.