Host Your Own Meeting!
The Meeting-in-a-Box toolkit empowers you to host meetings with your friends, family, and neighbors to inform the comprehensive plan recommendations!
Meeting-in-a-Box Toolkit
What are the goals of this tool?
Increase the number of people “Macon it Happen”
Provide additional opportunities for engagement
Help people feel more invested in planning efforts
Who is this for?
Community leaders
Anyone unable to attend public meetings
Anyone who’d rather discuss ideas in a smaller, more intimate setting
People who want to focus on a specific plan element
Are you ready to host your own meeting?
Currently, we’re focusing on the transportation element. (We’ll be coming out with toolkits for our remaining 4 elements in the coming months!)
We want to hear the voices of the community’s youth!
Young people experience their community differently than we do. They know where they like to spend time, what feels welcoming, and what’s missing. This activity is designed to help educators and anyone who works with Macon-Bibb County’s youth gather those perspectives and share them as part of the community’s Comprehensive Plan update.
The Macon-Bibb County Comprehensive Plan, also known as “Macon It Happen” is a long-term guide for how the community grows and invests in things like parks, transportation, housing, jobs, and public spaces over the next 20–30 years. By hosting a short conversation or activity with your students, you can help ensure that young people’s ideas and experiences are included in shaping that future.
How to Use This Toolkit
The Meeting-in-a-Box toolkit as everything you need to host a conversation in the classroom, after-school club meeting, or youth program. The activity can be completed in about 30-60 minutes and works well with elementary, middle, and high schoolers.
Participants will be asked to share:
What they enjoy about their community
What they think is missing in their community and in the rest of the county
Ideas for making the community better for young people
What they want for the future
The goal is to create a comfortable space for students to share their perspectives and ideas.
Why Youth Voices Matter
Young people may be the future of the community, but they are also important members of the community right now. Their ideas can help identify needs and opportunities that adults may overlook. Their input will help us make better decisions about investments, improvements, and policies that affect the next generation.
What to Do Next
After you guide your students through the activity, please submit the responses using the instructions provided in this toolkit so that student feedback can be included in the Comprehensive Plan.
Thank you for helping bring youth voices into this important conversation about the future of the community!