Event Logistics

Venue -  SFU Harbour Centre has the Fletcher Canada Challenge Theatre, which accommodates up to 200 guests. Ideally we would like around 150 students.  Coffee/tea/water will be provided for attendees. Bagels and muffins will also be available.

Guest speakers – We would like to invite at least 4 speakers to come and present at the event. Notables include Mark Haden, and Libby Davies. As well a  former addict and business-minded person/economist should provide a nice contrast.

Group Formation – Each group would consist of 8 students. That number will change depending on many attendees. Students can manually select up to 3 other students they want to work with. The remaining will be automatically allocated based on year of study and concentration. This allows a mix of view and opinions on the topic.

Prize for Groups - Since its a mini case competition, the winning group would receive a cash prize, sponsored by The Economist. The prize may be around $5000 allowing each member of the winning group to receive at least $625. The top 2 groups will win tickets to Blueprints for Beyond Prohibition, a large conference on drug policies. We would sponsor one group,  with CSSDP sponsoring the other.

Advertising – Mainly through word of mouth and teaming up with other student associations such as SIFE and SFSS. There will also be in-class presentations for business classes. Flyers will be posted around campus.

 Venue Date –  Since it would take time to create awareness and allow speakers ample preparation time, September would be the ideal month. As well the school semester just started therefore students shouldn’t have too many commitments. Weekends, specifically Saturday, would be the best time to avoid potential school conflict.

Time Breakdown – The forum should go from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Here is the potential breakdown:

  9:00 AM     Introduction to Conference 
   9:15 AM     Group Formation and Instructions
  9:45 AM    Short Film on Drugs
 10:15 AM    First Speaker & Questions
10:45 AM    Short Break
11:00 AM    Second Speaker & Questions
 11:45 PM      Third Speaker & Questions
 12:15 PM     Fourth Speaker & Questions
12:45PM     Group Meeting
 1:00 PM    Lunch Break
 2:00 PM    Group Meeting
2:45 PM     Presentations
4:30 PM      Winner of Presentation / Speaker Feedback
5:00 PM     Conclusion / Meet and Greet

The first half of the event, we want students to have a bit of background on a topic through presentations from speakers. They can ask questions and interact, creating a open dialogue.  The second half is reserved for group presentations.

Group presentations – Each group will have 5 minutes to present their ideas. No PowerPoint is necessary. Panel of speakers will judge base on feasibility, novelty and presentation.