Format - Regional Portals
By way of online Portals into regions of the world that are much in the news that are worthy of nuanced discussions about what is being presented in the media, the institute hosts opportunities for people within these regions to broadly share their in-the-moment perspectives with others. The Portals are hosted from outside of the region in focus and have a format that is more extemporaneous than that of the Discussion Forums, in that there is no formal presentation.
The most recent portals have involved residents of Gaza, Cairo, and Tel Aviv. Suggestions for hosting Portals into other regions of the world are welcome.
Entering one of the Portals ... Participants need to email us at least three hours before the start of their Portal (joerg@eaglehill.us) to receive a directly-clickable link to join. Earlier signups are helpful. Portals are open 30 minutes prior to their scheduled start time for those who welcome socializing or who may need help with connection issues.
Guidelines ... For practical reasons, the format of each Portal needs to be adapted to the topic and number of participants who sign up ahead of time. The following are general guidelines.
- A host presides over each Portal.
- Multiple presenters invited by the host are welcomed to engage with participants.
- A disciplined free-flowing discussion evolves under the guidance of the host, who decides how best to give as many participants as possible a chance to comment and/or ask questions.