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Forum design
Columbia University's
contribution to the National Forum focused on a process of
popular consultation, which took the following form:
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A popular
information bulletin (English) (Portuguese
version) was drafted, tested and revised, sketching
the basic facts regarding the country's potential oil
reserves, the new law through which revenues are to be
managed, and the potential role of oil revenues in the
economy.
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At the same time, a questionnaire
(English version, Portuguese
version) was drafted, tested and revise, eliciting people's
opinions about what the government should do with any oil
revenues it might receive.
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A series of 56 open meetings around the country were convened,
to discuss the bulletin and complete the questionnaire. A total of 20,000 copies of the bulletin were distributed,
approximately one per family.
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Each meeting was led by a moderator and one or more facilitators,
all of whom were chosen from Santomean civil society or
government and participated in a detailed training
program with the Columbia team. Training involved two
day-long sessions plus informal consultations and a series
of four test meetings.
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Actual attendance at the meetings ranged from 20 to 170
people. After an open discussion of the bulletin,
the meetings broke into smaller groups of 10-30 people,
each led by a facilitator, for the purpose of completing
the questionnaire.
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In addition to completing the questionnaire, the groups
elected local representatives to attend a series of follow-up
meetings in the capital.
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Questionnaire
results were analyzed and summarized by the Columbia
team, to inform the follow-up meetings and other discussions.
Relevant Documents
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