Plan an Event

Tips for Planning Your World Day Event

June-July – Getting Ready

• Read through the World Day Planning Guide 2011.  Set up a file, folder or notebook to jot down ideas and stay organized.
• Find co-workers.  Send out a call or invitation through your worship bulletin, newsletter, email list, or other ways.
• Who in your community (house of worship and beyond) has a passion for working with/for children?  And in what capacity do they enjoy working? 
• Invite someone with time and interest to assist you in organizing.  For example, a retired teacher or an unemployed student.  Give your volunteer a title that he/she can use in their resume, such as “World Day of Prayer and Action for Children Project Assistant.”

August – Hone the Vision+ Form the Teams

Form your small planning committee.  To shape your event, ask: “What can we do for children where we are?” and “What can we do with what we have?”

Enlist and brainstorm for “team captains” in six areas in the event planning manual (religious leader, project developer, promotion/media, location, volunteers, young adults). 

Develop a list of children’s needs via a short meeting, email or education committee agenda item, for example.  Select from the list what is doable and most helpful.  The ideal Nov 20 event will combine what children need with the strengths and abilities of your group.  Visit www.dayofprayerandaction.org for inspiration.

Announce in your regular Fall communications channels (monthly newsletter, bulletin board) that World Day 2011 is coming.   Decide on a date (whether Nov 20 or another) and ask people to hold it.

September – Boost the Teams

 Meet again with your planning committee.  Involve parents and children in outreach and programming.  Ask your house of worship schoolteachers how children might take part.

Dream up a symbolic activity that will unify the World Day in the minds of the public – e.g. a moment of silence, a meaningful song, a practical visual such as a cap or T-shirt.

Identify who has gifts in music and song leading, arts and crafts, fabric/banner/mural arts, movement arts, food and transportation.  Agree on who will do what by when.

Raise visibility through established networks and innovative communication.  For example: local radio shows, existing newsletters, established task forces and social networking media.

Check in regularly with your team captain leaders to see what they need and how to support them. 

Promote the World Day

Promote Your Event

On the internet

• Post the event on your own website. Encourage people to also visit www.dayofprayerandaction.org for more information. Send news on your event for the World Day to share on our website. Visitors to the website will be particularly interested in events in their vicinity.
• Write e-mails to invite people to join in on the Day of Prayer and Action for Children and direct them to visit our website. Send out the announcement to listservs in your area. Appoint a representative from your organization to be a contact person for the World Day.
• Ask your partners -- whether they are from faith-based organizations, places of worship, local service or advocacy organizations – to also appoint a representative to serve as their point of contact for the event. Invite these persons to be part of the planning committee.

In your community

• Write (or find someone to write) a few lines about the event with all pertinent information about time, place, and so forth.
• Ask the groups you are affiliated with to place this in their bulletins and newsletters, both online and in print. The announcement should ask people to visit your web page and list you as a resource for the event — while also inviting them to view our website. 
• Ask your religious leader to announce your event to the members at their weekly worship. Read our Religious Leaders Guide.
• Ask your school, house of worship, and any other organizations you are part of to help you publicize your event. Find out where you can post flyers about the event. Get necessary permissions first.

Get Media Coverage

Working with the media is crucial. Media coverage expands your outreach and attracts the attntion of a large number of people beyond your usual network who may be good partners for you in the future.

Do your preparation:

1. Designate a member of the planning committee to serve as a media liaison or spokesperson.

2. Create a contact list before reaching out to the media. Ask yourself:

• What are the major newspapers, on-line news sources, television news networks, and radio programs in your area?
• Which reporters and correspondents cover issues related to children and youth?
• In what ways do they present the issues?

3.  Collect relevant contact information – the email addresses, phone and fax numbers and street addresses — for reporters, correspondents, editors, producers and other relevant departments.

4. Not sure who to contact? Call the media outlets general phone number or write to the general e-mail address to find out. You might ask to be referred/routed to the assignment desk. Reporters and correspondents receive their assignments from this department‘s editor or producer.

5. Find out the deadlines for each media outlet as well as their preferred mode of communication (phone, fax, email or post).

Do the outreach:

1. See if you can get your event listed in a community calendar of events. Some media outlets post these calendars on their website.

2. Write a press release and send it to your media contacts one to two days before your event.

At the event:

1. Document it by recording it — or portions of it — if possible.

2. Take photographs — and have media release forms with you. These are important for getting permission especially from parents if you are taking pictures of their children. Ten Tips for New Photographers in the Field provides helpful tips for a new photographer!

3. Keep track of who attended the event and their affiliations. Your notes will help you later when you write captions for photos, summaries or stories about the event.

Get Involved

World Day of Prayer and Action for Children celebrations are planned by local teams. In 2010, the World Day was celebrated in 46 countries through 69 events with more than 33,000 participants from around the world.

A typical World Day celebration frequently begins with an inter-faith service organized by community religious leaders. Individual religious communities can also celebrate the Day through an appropriate service. In both cases, the services are followed by an organized activity designed to meet the needs of children in that community.

Visit our Take Action page to be inspired and get ideas about how you can act!

The World Day Council comprising prominent religious leaders of different faiths and representatives of leading child welfare organizations, suggests activities and themes for the World Day each year.

While the World Day can be celebrated with any sort of action that benefits children at the grassroots level to stop violence against children, in 2011 there are suggested themes and activities for the Day: promoting positive parenting, preventing child marriage and promoting universal birth registration. Visit our New Theme page for more information on how you can Stop Violence against Children.