E-mail to Potential Co-Sponsors:
E-mail to Relevant Student Group Leaders/ Professors in Relevant Departments to help secure a space, advertise, and cosponsor the event:
Dear NAME/Professor NAME,I am a NUMBER-year student at UNIVERSITY and a campus coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy (www.aidemocracy.org), a non-partisan educational organization that seeks to raise awareness in the U.S. about global issues. I am writing to you because I know that you are involved with STUDENT ORGANIZATION.
Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) is currently planning a major initiative called Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world instead of relations based on fear and misunderstanding.
As part of this exciting series, I am planning to host a conference here at INSERT UNIVERSITY. Our plan for the conference is to have brief opening presentations by two to three high-profile speakers who will address questions such as: What lessons have we learned since the 9/11 attacks? What role is the United States playing to improve relations with the Muslim world? What policies is the United States pursuing and are they effective? After these presentations, the speakers will lead students and the general public in an interactive question and answer session.
(STUDENTS ONLY)
Would NAME OF STUDENT ORGANIZATION be potentially interested in co-sponsoring this event? We already have speakers in mind for the event and a mini-grant to put it on (although additional resources are always helpful). The key help we need at the moment is for a registered student organization to reserve a room for the event. Would your organization be able to cosponsor and to reserve a room for the event? We look forward to working with you.(PROFESSORS ONLY)
At the moment, we are trying to reserve a room for the event. Given your potential interest in this type of event, I wanted to see if it might be possible to reserve a room for this event through you or the INSERT ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. We would also be delighted for the department to co-sponsor the event. We already have some speakers in mind for the event and a mini-grant to put it on (although additional resources are always helpful). The key help we need right now is to reserve a room for the event. Would the department be able to cosponsor and/or to reserve a room for the event? I look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Member, Americans for Informed Democracy
Publicity - $30
- black & white posters on color paper
- chalk
- facebook adsRefreshments - $20
- pretzel
- chips
- juice and water
- Call the speakers you’ve identified, if you can find a telephone number.
If you reach the speaker directly (or you reach a secretary), you can introduce yourself and the event and find out the best way to send them an invitation by saying something brief:
“Hello NAME OF SPEAKER, my name is NAME and I am a campus coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy at UNIVERSITY. I’m calling because I admire your work on AREA OF EXPERTISE and would love to have you speak at our organization’s upcoming conference, Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world, instead of relations based on fear and misunderstanding. The event will take place at LOCATION on DATE. At the moment, I am wondering what the best way to send you the invitation is. I plan to send it via e-mail, but I can also send it via fax or mail if preferable.”
Note: If the speaker requires fax, send your invitation as an attachment with fax number to autumn@aidemocracy.org and we’ll fax it right out.
If the speaker is not in when you call, leave a short message:
“Hello SPEAKER, my name is NAME and I am a campus coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy at UNIVERSITY. I’m calling because I admire your work on AREA OF EXPERTISE and would love to have you speak at our organization’s upcoming conference, Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world, instead of relations based on fear and misunderstanding. The event will take place at LOCATION on DATE. I am wondering what the best way to send you the invitation is. I plan to send it via e-mail, but I can also send it via fax or mail if preferable. Let me know at NUMBER if you would like your invitation sent another way. Thank you.”
- Send the invite. E-mail invites using the template to 12-15 speakers unless they inform you otherwise.
Dear SPEAKER,
On behalf of Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), I am honored to invite you to speak at a CITY conference. The conference is a part of a non-partisan global initiative called Hope Not Hate, which aims to engage non-expert Americans in discussions about the future of U.S.-Muslim World relations as well as to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the September 11th tragedy. The CITY conference will take place on DATE, TIME AND LOCATION.
Hope Not Hate is an annual fall series of conferences and international videoconference dialogues on the future of U.S.-Muslim World relations spearheaded by Americans for Informed Democracy. In September of 2006, Hope Not Hate engaged over 7,500 students and citizens in more than sixty communities in conferences on the topic of US-Muslim World relations. The series, which has been coordinated annually in 2003, 2004, and 2005, was called by The Boston Globe editorial board “a victory of knowledge and inquiry over fear and blind pledges of revenge”. We look forward to even more support for the Hope Not Hate series this fall and the acknowledgement that a call for positive action between the US and the Muslim world is needed.
Our plan for the conference is to have brief opening presentations by two to three high-profile speakers who will address questions such as: What lessons have we learned since the 9/11 attacks? What role is the United States playing to improve relations with the Muslim world? What policies is the United States pursuing and are they effective? We envision that these opening presentations will last ten to twelve minutes. Then, panelists will lead students in an interactive discussion via questions and answers.
We would be truly delighted to have you serve on our conference panel. We have carefully selected a small and balanced group of individuals equipped for the panel and you are on the top of our list. Your unique insights as a prolific expert in AREA OF EXPERTISE/RESEARCH would add valuably to the discussion. Your participation would also support the broader goal of our organization, which is to foster informed and fair dialogue between our world’s top leaders and its rising young leaders.
Although we have received significant media attention, Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) may be new to you as an organization. AID is a non-partisan organization that seeks to educate and engage young Americans about global issues. Over the past year, AID has brought together tens of thousands of young leaders to discuss America’s role in the world through conferences, international videoconferences and youth summits. AID members have written op-eds in the Washington Post, L.A. Times and Christian Science Monitor, and been featured by the New York Times, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and CNN. For more information, you can visit our website at www.aidemocracy.org.
Given the mission of our organization and this initiative, we would be delighted and honored to have you on our conference panel. In closing, I should emphasize that your participation would not only add a fresh perspective, it would also give the young leaders present a chance to see world-class leadership put into action on some of the most important issues of our time. Please let me know at your earliest convenience whether you might be able to speak as part of this remarkable and much needed series.
With my best wishes,
FIRST LAST
Campus Coordinator, Americans for Informed Democracy
NAME OF UNIVERSITY
- 3-5 days after you send out your invite, follow up with a phone call to all unconfirmed speakers.
“Hi NAME, this is NAME from Americans for Informed Democracy and I just wanted to follow up on the invitation that I sent you on DATE. As that invitation expressed, we would love to have you as a panelist at Hope Not Hate, our upcoming conference on the future of U.S.- Muslim World Relations. I’m calling because we are in the process of finalizing our panel and I wanted to see whether you could speak on it. I sincerely hope that you can, but if not, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can begin the search for a suitable replacement. My number is PHONE NUMBER. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.”
A Phone Script to Call Your Local Press Outlets:
“Hello, my name is NAME, and I am a student at UNIVERSITY and a campus coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy, a non-partisan organization that promotes global understanding. I am calling to let you know about an upcoming YOUR CITY conference. The event will take place at TIME on DATE at LOCATION and will feature INSERT NAMES AND TITLES. This event is part of a nationwide initiative called Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
Since we would love to get out word to your audience about this free event, we are hoping you might be able to provide some advanced coverage. Is there a way that I can send you more information so you can decide if advanced coverage would be possible?”
NOTE: If you are speaking to the community calendar, follow the same format for introducing yourself and the event, but take out the last two sentences and instead say: “Since we would love to get out word to your readers about this free event, we were hoping that NEWSPAPER might be able to include this event in your community calendar.”
A Follow-Up E-mail to Local Press Outlets (With the Press Release Included):
Dear NAME,
As I mentioned over the telephone, there will be a major YOUR CITY conference on the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations at UNIVERSITY on DATE. The event will feature INSERT SPEAKERS HERE. The event is free and open to the public and will include free refreshments.The event is part of a timely and important global initiative called Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. To help you gauge the enormous impact this series has had in the past, know that in September of 2006, Hope Not Hate engaged over 7,500 students and citizens in more than sixty communities in conferences across the country on the topic of U.S.-Muslim World Relations. The series, which has been coordinated annually in 2003, 2004 and 2005, was called by The Boston Globe editorial board “a victory of knowledge and inquiry over fear and blind pledges of revenge.” The series also received Search for Common Ground’s Award for International Understanding.
I have included a press release about our upcoming conference discussion below. I hoped you might be interested in advance coverage of the event so that your readers could know about this free, public event in our community.
(OR FOR THE COMMUNITY CALENDAR PERSON:)
I have included a press release about our upcoming event below. I hoped you would feature this in your community calendar. If you are interested in covering this event or require more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at this email address or at PHONE NUMBER.
Thanks!
FIRST LAST
Member, Americans for Informed Democracy
NAME OF UNIVERSITY
www.aidemocracy.org
YOUR PHONE NUMBER; YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: DATE PRESS RELEASE IS SENT
Press Contacts:
YOUR NAME
Coordinator, YOUR SCHOOL Chapter
Americans for Informed Democracy
YOUR PHONE NUMBER
YOUR E-MAILMarceline White
President
Americans for Informed Democracy
(410) 962-8770
marceline@aidemocracy.org
CITY Conference Commemorates the Sixth Anniversary of 9/11, Brings Hope for the Future for US-Muslim Relations
TOWN – On DATE, TOWN will commemorate the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks with a conference on the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations. Concerned young citizens across the United States are marking this event by launching a series of dozens of conferences that feature broad, inclusive conversations between citizens and a bi-partisan coalition of members of Congress, ambassadors, journalists, military officials, religious leaders and scholars. In addition to these conversations within the United States, young Americans will also be talking ‘face to face’ with peers in the Muslim world, in countries such as Indonesia and Egypt through international videoconference dialogues.
On DATE, Hope not Hate is coming to CITY. The CITY Hope not Hate conference will take place at TIME at the LOCATION. The event will feature LIST OF SPEAKERS AND THEIR TITLES. The event is free and open to all, and free refreshments will be served.The conference series is intended to serve as a call to action rooting from the ashes of the September 11th tragedy. The 9/11 Commission report stressed that the U.S. must act aggressively to define itself in the Islamic world. Students across America have joined together with many 9/11 family members to carry out this task with the hope of inspiring a new generation of U.S.-Muslim relations based on understanding and mutual respect.
Hope Not Hate is an annual series consisting of conferences and international videoconference dialogues on the future of U.S.-Muslim World relations that is hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). In September of 2006, Hope Not Hate engaged over 7,500 students and residents in more than sixty communities in conferences on this critically important topic. AID’s Vicente Garcia explains the importance of the series: “The tragedy of September 11th remains a definitive moment in the lives of young people within and beyond American borders. Creating a space for dialogue and discussion through AID’s Hope Not Hate initiative can promote cooperation and progress during a period of continued division between the American and Muslim communities.”
The conference series is supported by a coalition of non-profit organizations, including Americans for Informed Democracy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the United Nations Foundation, as part of a broader initiative called The People Speak. For more information about this highly influential and unprecedented series, please visit www.AIDemocracy.org or www.ThePeopleSpeak.org.
E-mail for Professors or Student Group Leaders:
Dear Professor NAME/ STUDENT GROUP LEADER:
I am a student at INSERT UNIVERSITY and a campus coordinator for a non-partisan student organization called Americans for Informed Democracy (www.aidemocracy.org). Our organization is going to be hosting a major conference on the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations called Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
To help you gauge the enormous impact this series has had in the past, please note that in September of 2006, Hope Not Hate engaged over 7,500 students and citizens in more than sixty communities in conferences across the country on the topic of U.S.-Muslim World Relations. The series, which has been coordinated annually in 2003, 2004 and 2005, was called by The Boston Globe editorial board “a victory of knowledge and inquiry over fear and blind pledges of revenge.” The series also received Search for Common Ground’s Award for International Understanding.
I would be most grateful if you could share the announcement attached and copied below with your students.
With many thanks,
NAME
Campus Coordinator, Americans for Informed Democracy (www.aidemocracy.org)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of September 11th by Looking Forward…HOPE NOT HATE: THE FUTURE OF U.S.-MUSLIM WORLD RELATIONS
featuring
Speaker Name, Speaker Title
Speaker Name, Speaker Title
Speaker Name, Speaker TitleWhen: TIME, DATE (DAY)
Where: ROOM NUMBER
Questions to be addressed include: What lessons have we learned since the 9/11 attacks? What role is the United States playing to improve relations with the Muslim world? What policies is the United States pursuing and are they effective? An interactive question and answer session will follow.
Free Refreshments will be provided.
Sponsors: Americans for Informed Democracy, INSERT OTHER GROUPS
For a List-Serv, use the flyer attached to the end of the e-mail above.
E-mail Confirmation for Speakers:
E-mail each of your speakers one week prior to the conference to confirm and send the press release. Here’s a sample:
Dear SPEAKER,
Thank you again for agreeing to speak at our upcoming conference on the future of U.S.-Muslim World Relations. In this mailing, I just wanted to update you on our event on our event and share our press release with you.
I think our conference at UNIVERSITY will be extremely exciting. The conference will be held at INSERT DATE/TIME/LOCATION/DIRECTIONS/PARKING INFORMATION. As you know, the plan for our conference is to have brief opening presentations (of approximately ten to twelve minutes each) by the panelists that answer the following questions: What lessons have we learned since the 9/11 attacks? What role is the United States playing to improve relations with the Muslim world? What policies is the United States pursuing and are they effective? This opening panel will be followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience. The confirmed speakers for the event are you, LIST OTHER SPEAKERS AND THEIR TITLES.
I have attached a press release below about our upcoming conference. While we anticipate a great student turnout, we are working hard to recruit coverage from local media because we would love for community members of YOUR CITY to attend our event as well to ensure that it is truly a conference. On that note, if by chance you know any local media who might be interested in this story, we would be delighted if you could share this release with them.
It is again a great honor to have you as a part of our conference series. I look forward to meeting with you and to hearing your speech.
With my best wishes,
FIRST LAST
Member, Americans for Informed Democracy
NAME OF UNIVERSITY
www.aidemocracy.org
YOUR PHONE NUMBER
Hello everyone, my name is YOUR NAME, and I am the UNIVERSITY coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy. It is my great honor to welcome you to today’s event.
I want to begin by telling you a little about the student organization hosting today’s event, which is called Americans for Informed Democracy or A.I.D. Very basically, our mission is to bring the world home by hosting conferences, international videoconference dialogues, documentary screenings, discussions and more—all to get Americans talking about our country’s role in our increasingly interconnected world. We believe that the United States is at a historic moment in its role in the world. Climate change, global poverty, nuclear proliferation, and other global issues cross borders and require global solutions. We are a group of young leaders who want to ensure that the U.S. uses this historic moment in its role in the world to work collaboratively with other countries to address these compelling and urgent issues.
Our organization was started by a group of American students who studied abroad just after the September 11th attacks. The students were traumatized by September 11th and wary of being overseas so soon after the tragedy. But to their surprise, they were met with intense sympathy and solidarity from people from around the world. For them, the tragedy seemed to reveal the possibility for a global community of shared values.
But when these young Americans came back to the U.S., they were often greeted with questions like “How is it living abroad where people hate America?” The students realized that the picture of the rest of the world that Americans were seeing in U.S. media was not the experience of the world that they were living abroad. As an example, these young Americans abroad were having conversations with moderates from the Muslim world about how the U.S. could work with moderates to help root out extremism. But the only question being asked in the U.S. at the same time was “who are the extremists and why do they hate us?” The result was that Americans only saw the extremists and threats from around the world and not the collaborative opportunities and potential global partners.
Over time, much of the goodwill that initially embraced the American students abroad vanished and their international peers began raising the question: “Why should the international community support the U.S. if the U.S. is not willing to join the international community?” And so, on both sides, misperceptions and stereotypes grew, and the common ground and values that once seemed obvious loomed distant.These students set up Americans for Informed Democracy to bring the world home to Americans and to showcase the opportunities for the U.S. to play a more collaborative role in the world from ending global poverty to acting as stewards of our earth. They began hosting conference forums to bring new questions to the U.S. public. They also hosted international videoconferences that allowed Americans to talk face-to-face with peers from around the world. Based on their own experiences abroad, they believed that if Americans had new ways to connect with the rest of the world, they would see new opportunities for the U.S. to work with other countries to solve global problems. These students did not seek to advocate a specific position or partisan ideology. Instead, they believed that if Americans just had a chance to be exposed to new issues and new perspectives, and to see the world in terms of both threats and opportunities, they would become more likely to support a collaborative U.S. foreign policy. In other words, they sought to inspire a more informed democracy.
We at Americans for Informed Democracy are still committed to that mission of an informed democracy today. As a leader of the organization here at INSERT UNIVERSITY, I am proud to be part of a vast and growing network of over 12,500 students on more than five hundred university campuses. Through events like today’s, we are empowering a passionate, young generation that can help America find a principled, collaborative foreign policy that is appropriate for our interconnected world.
Today’s event is entitled Hope Not Hate. The event will address the future of U.S.-Muslim World relations as part of a national series that is working to develop a comprehensive strategy towards more positive relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. We’re here today to start the discussion and to begin to think about how we—as individuals, as residents of this TOWN community, as citizens of the United States and as members of an interconnected world—can be involved in ensuring that the United States plays a leading role in the addressing this pressing global issue.
Now, I am pleased to introduce the distinguished speaker(s) for our event. They join an impressive list of speakers that have spoken at AID chapters in the past, such as Bill Gates, Sr., Senator Timothy Wirth, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, and Actor Jason Alexander.
The speakers are:
PROVIDE SHORT BIOS FOR EACH SPEAKER.
I want to ask the speaker(s) to keep their remarks to TIME LIMIT so that we can have a question and answer session with the audience for at least twenty-five minutes. Thank you! And now let’s welcome SPEAKER to the podium.
SAMPLE CLOSING REMARKS
Thank you all so much for coming to tonight’s event. In closing, I just want to say that I hope that you’ll join Americans for Informed Democracy and our movement to promote global consciousness. Harvard Professor Joseph Nye has argued that the United States’ “historical test” will be whether we can use our time as the world’s superpower to build a global “consensus on principles and norms that will allow us to work with others to create political stability, economic growth, and democratic values.” We at Americans for Informed Democracy envision a U.S. role in the world that meets Nye’s historical test. We believe it is in America’s interests, as well as the interests of the world, for the U.S. to work with its allies through collaborative channels to advance our principles and to leave behind a better world for future generations.
I got involved with the organization because WHY YOU GOT INVOLVED. Please put your name on our sign-in sheet to get involved or speak to me after the event to talk about what’s next on campus.
Thank You Note for Speakers/Volunteers:
Send a thank you note to each of your speakers and anyone who helped you via e-mail or a handwritten note on the day of the conference. Here’s a sample:
Hi SPEAKER,
Thank you so much for your wonderful talk and warmth at today’s conference. Your work to engage Americans in foreign policy is a passion that I deeply share and greatly admire. I thought your presentation today was inspiring and insightful. It was also really heartening to see someone in your position who is so genuinely interested in engaging in discussion with students.
I hope that you enjoyed the talk and the questions afterward. We all certainly enjoyed your talk, and it has added even more energy to our efforts of promoting a more globally conscious U.S. foreign policy.
With many thanks,
FIRST LAST
Member, Americans for Informed Democracy
NAME OF UNIVERSITY