Inviting your local Member of Parliament (MP) to your Get Online Week event (14-20 October 2024) can help demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to ensuring your community is digitally included and educated about how to get online safely and with confidence.
For you, a visit from your MP can provide an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the local representative, raise the profile of your event, plus get photos and media coverage to publicly demonstrate your MP’s support for the work your organisation does in support of digital inclusion.
You can invite your local Federal and State MPs to your event. You can also use these tips when inviting other VIPs like Board members and your organisation’s leadership team.
Things to consider
Speakers: Who would speak officially at the event? Assign roles as soon as possible.
Decide what role your MP will be invited to take: What do you want your MP to do at your event? Requests could include asking them to meet with your staff or community members, take part in your Get Online Week activity (this can be a really fun way to engage with them), make a short speech about the importance of people getting online safely and with confidence, join a discussion panel, or present awards, prizes or acknowledgements to mentors.
This may depend on how how much time they have available that day to participate in your event.
Talk to your MP’s staff
Give plenty of advance notice about your event, as MPs are often busy and away from their electorate (although Federal Parliament is not sitting during Get Online Week 2024 and they should be in their home electorates).
The first step is to ring your MP’s office, explain that you’d like to invite the MP to your event and ask about their availability on the proposed date and time. Then follow up with a written request by email with all of the appropriate details, including:
- Aim of the event and activities planned, including if you are wishing for the MP to make a speech or take part in an activity
- Date
- Time
- Location
- Duration and directions to the event
- Estimated number of attendees and details of other invited guests
- Details of a designated contact at your end
- Information about the organisation hosting the event
- Information about Get Online Week (you can borrow our info here)
Don’t be disappointed if an advisor is sent in place of your MP. The advisor may become a very useful ally if you build a relationship with them.
Other things to consider
Invite the local media and issue a pre event media release. MPs welcome publicity, especially in their own electorates, but ask them if they are happy to have the media attend your event.
The best way to let the media know of your event is by sending them a media release via email (we have a template available), with a follow-up phone call.
On the day of the event
Meet and greet your MP. Schedule a meet-and-greet session for your MP at an appropriate time (eg before the official start of the event) and allow time for introductions. Make sure they know the order of the event and where they fit in.
Introduce your MP at the start of the event, giving a brief explanation of why the MP is there.
Take lots of photos
Organise for someone at the event to take good quality photos that you can use for your own communications, social media and share with the media, as well as Good Things. Your MP’s staff may also take photos for their own communications. When taking photos that include members of the public, make sure you ask for their permission, especially if children are present. It’s a good idea to ask before you take the photo and explain how you would like to use it. Your organisation may also have policies about photo release forms you need to follow.
You may also like to record some quotes from attendees at your event to share their experience.
After the event
Consider sending a post event media release. Local media thrives on stories of community events and activities. Send photos and a media release with details of what happened at the event, who was there and what your MP and others said. Be sure to highlight key information about digital inclusion and why it is important for your community/organisation.
Let Good Things know what happened. We’d love to know if your MP attended an event at your organisation. Please tell us!
To help inspire others, send us photos of your event so we can upload them to the Good Things Australia Facebook page. Email us the photos and details on connect@goodthingsfoundation.org. This will also help us track the MPs who support digital inclusion so we can keep engaging with them. If you will be posting your photos and event details on social media, please use the hashtags #GetOnlineWeek and #GoodThingsAustralia.
Thank your MP
Send a letter or card to your MP, thanking them for their participation. Include any follow up information you may have promised them.
You may like to let them know about future activities they can join, or that the community can take part in.
And, the most important part…
Have fun hosting your event and supporting your community to get online. Good luck with your event!