Cris, I just sent my letter and recieved yours so it should be some more questions to your thoughts in it.
good luck Elena -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Chris Corrigan Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 8:05 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Client Curveball No. 321 -- how would you do it? Thanks for your advice Birgitt, and to all those who responded on this one. I know right now that the sponsor is thinking carefully about whether we should use OST for this meeting, and I'll be meeting with them next week to discuss the approach. I don't know how you can ever tell anyone that they might be blown apart and never put back together. I just don't know. That raises for me issues about when my role as a facilitator ends in terms of my interaction in people's lives. It's the question of where to draw a line I think...at what point does the contact I have made with people end? As an Open Space facilitator, I am opening space for the rest of people's lives? I know some people are forever changed by their experiences in OST meetings -- I was for example, and fortunately for the better -- but at what point do I let go? No question that this is an ethics question. Most meetings that I run with First Nations participants, no matter what process I use, usually has someone at some point break down and cry. What I have noticed is that this happens less in OST but it still happens. It happened last weekend, for example. OST opens people, and who knows where people are in their own greiving cycles? I work with people who have been victimized all the time. Sometimes it's recent, sometimes not. Sometimes it's related to the theme and sometimes not. Just how much responsibility *I* am supposed to take for their healing is an open question in my mind. Obviously with the meeting under consideration, these issues become magnified because I KNOW we are working with victims of violence. And I appreciate what you have to say about this. I guess I am pushing the ethical question a little further into the light with these comments. Further thoughts? Chris. Birgitt Williams wrote: > Hi Chris, > my inclination would be not to do this in Open Space Technology. For me, > the ethical issues are huge, in capital letters, and simply advising people > clearly about the theme and advising of the law of two feet just doesn't do > it. In one sense, advising of theme and law of two feet is like getting > their permission for "whatever happens" if they show up, feeling that they > are informed. I do not believe that by doing this, true informed consent is > given. > > In my experience in working with victims of violence for a long time in my > life, there are layers below layers below layers of pain. The human spirit > and psyche are very protective and go through the layers at their own pace. > I know many people in their 40's and 50's who are just now strong enough to > deal with something that happened in their youth. > > OST is powerful. And we know it. And we have a huge ethical responsibility. > We also know that it is difficult to communicate ahead of time how powerful > the meeting is. One does not know the power until one is in it. Negative > fall out of creating a situation for people to face deeper layers before > they are naturally ready may not occur during the meeting. Nor even in the > closing circle. It might all look like a stunning success. In my work with > youth in our street youth program in the 80's there were a number of group > meetings trying to get at the deeper layers of what was up with the > youth --we saw the youth 3 months later and 6 months later due to drug > overdoses, slashed wrists and other suicide attempts. It wasn't pretty. The > common denominator was the meetings that one of the agencies was holding. > Well intended. They thought they were successful. We raised a public outcry > and got them shut down.It wasn't open space technology. Your question > stirred all of this up. How will you tell them in the invitation that they > might be blown wide open and that they might not get put back together? > > I again state the perception that I have of safe space--we cannot guarantee > that the space we create with OST is safe space. What is safe for one is not > safe for another. > > I wish you well, whatever your choices. If you go ahead with this OST, I > would encourage you to work carefully with your sponsor group prior to and > after the event. The meeting might be a success in the short term. To assist > success in the long term takes skillful means in honouring the precious > humans involved with all of the pain that they brought into the meeting and > all of the grief that the meeting might stir up. > > Birgitt -- CHRIS CORRIGAN Consultation - Facilitation Open Space Technology 108-1035 Pacific Street Vancouver BC V6E 4G7 Phone: 604.683.3080 Fax: 604.683.3036 [email protected] http://www.geocities.com/chris_corrigan * * ========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected] Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html =========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign up -- provide an email address, and choose a login ID and password 3. Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions To unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign in and Proceed * * ========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected] Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html =========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign up -- provide an email address, and choose a login ID and password 3. Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions To unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign in and Proceed
