Putting a ‘‘Zing’’ into Docklands Rotary

The Rotary Club of Docklands want local residents, workers, business owners, corporates and other Docklands stakeholders to take part in an innovative community meeting this month.

The club is planning its upcoming Rotary Club of Docklands Festival of Giving and will hold a “think-tank” style meeting on August 7, to find out how to encourage people to take part in and support the event.

Max Dumais, an accredited trainer in Edward de Bono’s thinking methodologies, will facilitate the meeting using the innovative “Zing” electronic meeting system.

According to Mr Dumais, the system is “cutting edge collaborative technology” and works by allowing people to respond to questions via multiple keyboards, which are linked to a single system, allowing ideas to be collated and edited collectively.

Mr Dumais said the process removed some of the fear around public forums, where often the same voices are prominent.

He described the process as “structured brainstorming”.

Docklands Rotary Club member Loryn Clark said the meeting would be an interesting experience for attendees. “Come along and experience the process,” she said.

Rotary president Richard Clark agreed, saying it would “show people something they’ve never see before.”

The aim of the meeting is to generate ideas and involvement in the upcoming Docklands Multicultural Festival of Giving, which will be held in Docklands over October 4 and 5.

The festival will include multicultural food stalls, dragon boat demonstrations, a car display and entertainment.

Local businesses will be invited to host marquees where they will exhibit how they support their community.  Festival visitors will be asked to vote on which business deserves to win the 2014 Business Community Award.

The public meeting will be held on August 7 from 5pm to 6.30pm at “The Village” at NAB’s 700 Bourke St building.

The club is also seeking new members amd meets each Tuesday at 12.30pm (for 12.45pm – 1.45pm) at “The Village”.