Viv: I feel very strongly that people who just drop in and haven't been there for much of OS, especially the beginning, can, even inadvertently, close the space a little.
I did an OS with a church over a weekend and what we told people was that if you couldn't be there for the opening (Friday evening), you couldn't come to the rest but if you came on Friday evening but had to miss some of the rest, that was okay. We also asked that people who were going to post topics who could only be there that evening to pick times that evening, since there were fewer sessions that evening. Similarly we asked people who expected to be there for the whole time, to first choose Saturday times if possible. People respected that. So if you could contact the local politicians to ask them if at all possible to come to the opening or at least to coach them about how OS works and how they might best contribute if they drop in later during the event, it might help. Just some thoughts, Esther Esther Ewing The Change Alliance 133 Fairlawn Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5M 1S9 (416)489-5229 Assisting Individuals and Organizations to Build Capability
