We had a good discussion about WISE. We agreed that informality was very important and that we like the format of women talking to women. Something we did want to add to the mix though, was to give people the opportunity of meeting others when they come to a live meeting. We also felt it would be interesting to experiment with some different formats: to try out some workshops and to include discussion. We did feel it would be good to be exposed to alternative points of view, but if there are strongly held views on several sides, we should be sure that discussion is on Socratic lines (no criticism of people only of ideas) and follow Chatham House Rules (not attributing ideas to people outside the discussion).

We are happy with keeping the session completely free, except in the odd case. An example of this would be a craft workshop, where some payment may be needed. Otherwise, we will continue to fund the fees for use of the library by asking for a donation for tea and biscuits. Where the session needs some payment, those attending will be asked to contribute. There were many, many ideas about topics for session and we will be looking into these in the coming months. It was agreed that we will prioritise space for issues that matter to women.

There was a fundamental point made that WISE was something we all participate in and not just something we turn up to.

We talked about various ways of giving people the chance to meet others. For now, we will continue to serve tea as people arrive (a break in the middle of a session was thought to be difficult). However, we will delay the start of the formal part of the session (talk or discussion) to 4:15. Also, and especially while COVID continues to be a risk, we will lay out seating in what is called café style; chairs arranged around tables. Then people can take their tea and sit down to chat, since we still need to wear masks in the library while moving about. This gives us time for general chat and discussion and hopefully makes for a good mix of people.