International and Regional RC workshops must be authorized by the International Reference Person. Set the date in consultation with the Leader of the workshop and the Regional Reference Person (for Regional workshops) and the International Reference Person (for International workshops). If the workshop involves more than one Region, send the information about the workshop to
Workshop organizers are expected to consult about scheduling any workshop with the Regional Reference Person of the Region in which the workshop is proposed to be located before a workshop site is agreed upon.
The responsibility for being in charge of organizing the workshop will be given to one person who will be designated as the Organizer by the International Reference Person or the Regional Reference Person. It will help if the Organizer appoints Regional organizers to recruit from various groups. In addition, the Organizer may delegate other tasks, such as the coordinating of rides.
All the Co-Counselors and Communities in the Region where the workshop is held are welcome to assist in the success of the workshop in every way possible.
Applicants must be approved by their Area Reference Person or, if they live outside of an organized Area, by the Regional Reference Person or International Reference Person.
The International or Regional level workshop is intended to develop advanced Co-Counselors towards leadership and teaching. Co-Counselors not ready to function on this level should be attending class and Area workshops rather than International or Regional workshops.
Outreach should not be mentioned in any advance publicity. In general we should seek out outreach recipients rather than have them seek us out.
Outreach to RC workshops are not given on the basis of worthiness or need, but only to train leaders and reach new populations.
Outreach from Area Outreach may only be approved by the signer of the Outreach account (usually the Area Reference Person). Outreach from International Outreach may only be approved by the International Reference Person. Outreach may not be furnished from the workshop income itself or from any Area Maintenance Funds. Organizers may recommend Co-Counselors for outreach.
Advance publicity should include full information about the workshop and the requirements for attending. That the approval of a Reference Person is required to attend should be made completely clear in advance publicity. Information on wheelchair-accessibility should also be included, with "wheelchair-accessible" or "not wheelchair-accessible" as the minimum information given. If the site is only partially accessible, the conditions should be described or a contact person's name, address, and phone number given for seeking further information.
The acceptance letter should include clear information about arriving at the site or how to rendezvous for transportation to the site, the cost of any transportation, what clothing will be needed, what kind of weather is expected, whether swimming is possible, and that workshops permit no use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs that affect the central nervous system by participants. All this should be in a letter sent after the Organizer receives the registrant's application form. Include the site's phone number and address.
The site should be comfortable, isolated if possible, yet accessible to the transportation available.
A thorough attempt should be made to find a site that is wheelchair-accessible.
When workshops draw from many Regions and many people will need to travel long distances to attend, it is important that the workshop site not be too distant from major airports and that the Region where the workshop is to be located be able to provide the logistical support needed for the workshop (help with transportation can be a major issue).
The Organizer of the workshop should propose a tentative schedule for the workshop to the Leader, and after discussion and agreement, the Organizer should have the workbooks prepared (unless otherwise arranged with the workshop Leader). The workbook should contain the schedule, a full roster of participants with addresses (including e-mail) and phone numbers, room assignments, any scheduled Co-Counseling pairings, and note paper, as well as selected articles, songs, etc. Individual names of participants should be lettered on the covers.
Food and menus should be written out in advance with the site organization, or, if the Organizer is arranging to provide the food, with the committee which will be doing the cooking and serving. Meals should be nutritious. There should be no garlic or onions , no highly spiced foods. There should be salads and nonfat milk at every meal if possible. There should be fresh fruits for snacks, if possible, rather than sweets.
The personnel on the site should be informed of what will be going on during the workshop, and told that occasionally Co-Counseling becomes noisy and that the sounds of crying and of fear or even anger are to be expected. They should be given literature and made welcome to the class sessions and in general the warmest relationship possible should be maintained with them. (Many site staff members have joined RC.)
Housing may be dormitory type (smaller rooms are helpful for Co-Counseling space). Housing for men and women should be separate. The rooms should be clean and comfortable, and there should be hot and cold water, showers, and adequate toilet facilities available. The sleeping rooms should be screened if insects are a problem. If possible there should be a telephone available for outgoing calls. (A pay phone is satisfactory.)
The workshop Leader should have a private room with a table or desk and reading lamp, remote from the general housing if possible.
There should be one pleasant lounge with comfortable seating and floor mats for the full workshop meetings. This large meeting room should have good acoustics and lighting, and walls suitable for posting posters, large notes, and lists; there should be electrical outlets for audio and video recorders, extension cords, a blackboard, and a sizable table for literature displays.
In addition, there should be meeting space available for as many groups of eight to ten people as the workshop attendance will divide into. This space may be dormitory rooms. Similarly, there should be some kind of semi-privacy available for each Co-Counseling pair.
A supply of baking soda (for tooth brushing and breath sweetening) and kleenex tissues should be purchased in advance.
Bed linen, towels, wash cloths, and soap should be provided either by the site staff, the workshop Organizer through other sources, or by warning workshop attendees in advance to bring their own. The Organizer may wish to bring extra cushions for sitting on the floor and a couple of extra sleeping bags.
There should be some facilities or space for outdoor exercise (a basketball or volleyball court, places for walks, a foursquare pavement, ping pong tables, swimming pool, etc.).
First aid equipment and phone numbers of physicians and hospitals should be provided.
A supply of RC scrolls should be arranged for in advance for the walls of the workshop. Arrangements for an ample supply of RC literature for sale should be made in advance.
There should be registration personnel and tables ready to register people when they arrive. A welcoming committee of experienced Co-Counselors should be provided in order to greet the newcomers as they come in and show them around. There should be a supply of notebook paper, pencils, and eraser and chalk with the blackboard.
The fee for a workshop shall be set by the Organizer in consultation with the workshop Leader. The fee should be calculated on a minimum expected attendance. The cost of the workshop to each participant shall be determined to cover all expenses, including 10% of the gross income to the Re-evaluation Counseling Community Resources Incorporated's Community Service Fund, and Leader's and Organizer's basic fees, and should allow for approximately $5.00 (U.S.) per day for each participant towards International Outreach Funds and Publication Funds. Sliding scales may be offered, ranging roughly from not less than seventy percent of the minimum needed to cover all costs, to at least five times the minimum. The Regional Reference Person must approve any sliding scale for workshops held in his or her region. (For more information see Guideline H.9.)
There will be one free place provided for young people for every twenty fee-paying adults. It may be divided among two or more young people each paying a partial fee.
As a rule, payment of tuitions in full should be necessary to reserve a place at the workshop. Exceptions can be made from the rule by the Organizer, but it's important that the basic rule be established first. Advance publicity should make it plain that cancellations after a specified cut-off date may receive half of their tuitions as a refund only if replacements can be found for them.
The basic fee for the workshop Leader may be negotiated to be lower, but shall not exceed the standard fee as stated in Guideline H.8.: International Reference Person and Alternate International Reference Person, $750/day; Regional Reference Person or International Liberation Reference Person, $350/day; Area Reference Person, $250/day; RC Teacher, $150/day; each, of at most two, family workshop leaders, $350/day, regardless of the position they hold within the RC Communities; former International Liberation Reference Person, $250 USD/day with the approval of the International Reference Person. The Leader's fare to and from the workshop shall be paid. A Friday evening to Sunday afternoon workshop counts as two days.
Workshops shall be led by one Leader and leadership fees shall be paid to one Leader. (A current exception to this is family workshops, which shall be led by no more than two Leaders who may each be paid a leadership fee.) Assistants may be unpaid volunteers or paid out of the fee of the Leader at his or her choice.
The Organizer will receive a basic fee for organizing each particular workshop as negotiated in advance with the workshop Leader. The ceiling on the Organizer's basic fee is one-fourth of one Leader's basic fee. Workshops shall be organized by one Organizer and an Organizer's fee shall be paid only to one Organizer. Assistants may be unpaid volunteers or paid out of the fee of the Organizer at his or her choice.
If the workshop is large or successful financially, the Leader shall receive, in addition, one-fourth of the net from the workshop. The Organizer shall receive one-twelfth of the net. Re-evaluation Counseling Community Resources Incorporated's Community Service Fund (International Outreach) shall receive one-third of the net, as shall the Publications Fund of Rational Island Publishers, Inc.
It is convenient to open a workshop account to deposit the fees into and pay the bills from.
Clear financial accounts should be kept of the workshop (separate from Outreach or any other funds of the Community), and prompt settlement made with all parties. A financial accounting form is found at the RC web site at www.rc.org (click here to go to forms page). This form should accompany funds remitted to the International office.
Large workshops will be organized in support groups as a kind of smaller "workshops within the workshop." Leaders of the support groups will be chosen by the workshop Leader from those presently, or expected to become in the near future, RC leaders. The support groups will meet as the workshop begins and daily during the workshop.
Support group leaders and assistants will meet with the workshop Leader and Organizer daily during the workshop. (Breakfast is a favorite time.)
Participants may volunteer or be asked to do particular organizational jobs at the workshop. In general, the more participation in this, the more enjoyable the workshop.
Some common organizational tasks are: registration and welcoming, collection of workshop fees, literature table, announcements, meal counts, setting up meal-time appointments with the Leader (if applicable), scribes, snack set-up, wake-up, songs, literature commercials, exercise breaks, greeting evening guests and latecomers, beauty and order, collecting reports for Present Time, audio-recording, video-recording, rides home, complaint person, committees to think about different groups.
If registration is too low to justify holding a workshop (and registrations do not occur without organizing work), it should be cancelled in agreement with the Leader, and written notices or telephone calls made promptly to all registrants.
Revised 3/07
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