Calgary Mulaqat

Hospitality Lead

Calgary, Canada
2018

Training

I helped to create the training for the Hospitality Team, tailoring it to plans of action that we created as a team. Because we were training volunteers in multiple cities, I set up a live stream, something that had not been done by this group before, so that volunteers from other cities could interact in real time with the trainers during the training session.

Communications

I set up an access point for our almost 200 volunteers, monitored all day, so that volunteers could keep up to date with information and schedule changes. This also helped to triage new volunteers through various Mulaqat teams.

Collateral

For the event days, I created volunteer manuals. These consisted of 8 page books and a card insert with emergency information. These volunteer manuals included protocols, schedules, and other information that Jamati members might need on the days of the event.

Hand-binding the books the night before because we didn’t have the budget or approval to get them professionally done.

Coordination

On the first two days of the event, I was stationed at an offsite seniors parking lot. I had a handful of volunteers to help me direct seniors to buses that we had set up to bring them to the venue. Unfortunately, on day two, the doors to Jamatkhana were locked and no one was within contact; I had to improvise, in order to keep the seniors from freezing in the morning rain. After a few hours, we were finally able to get the seniors to their Mulaqat and safely home in the evening.

Coordinating final egress

On the last day, I assisted my team members at the train station, directing people to the correct entrance and dealing with some minor security issues. And on egress, I helped to coordinate thousands of visitors returning to their buses, cars, and hotels, all within the matter of a few hours.

My experience with Mulaqat forced me to think on my feet and act in the best interests of thousands of people without support or leadership.