Hello, dear friends and colleagues -- At the OSonOS in Vancouver this August, several of us hosted sessions on how to make it easier for those of you with less financial ability to attend the next OSonOS.
As a result of our conversations, I volunteered to become the point-person for one year (until the next OSonOS) for information exchange regarding who needs what and who can help whom so we all have a chance to experience the annual global OS meetings in-person -- a rich experience, indeed. Laurel Doersam has now named me Access Queen. I wave a royal hello. Call me what you will (and you will). I will appear periodically on this listserv to let you know of opportunities for helping yourselves and helping each other get to Melbourne for OSonOS in OZ in Melbourne, Australia next November 9 through 12. Just to give you a general idea of airfares, for example, here is an estimate as of mid-October, thanks to Brian's travel goddess, Joy: These are to Sydney, and we imagine that getting to Melbourne will be a relatively similar price. Airfares may change radically over time, of course And you each know best what your comfort level is regarding air travel these days. But here is an idea: - - - - - Return excursion air fares i.e. not full economy but with restrictions and subject to seasonal surcharges as a starting point are at present Moscow/Sydney USD 1140.00 to 2494.00 (in rubles: 33,915.00 to 74,196.50) San Francisco/Sydney USD1298.00 to 2318.00 Toronto/Sydney USD1398.00 to 2905.00 (in Canadian dollars: 2,226.31 to 4,626.20) Budapest/Sydney USD 2180.00 to 5817.00 (in forints: 611,216.70 to 1,630,875.69) Taipei/Sydney USD 1134.00 to 1474.00 (in Taiwan New Dollars: 39,137.73 to 50,871.86) No through fares quoted from Costa Rica -- so sorry, Laura...and I don't yet know what they are for Cape Town, Germany, Haiti, or Israel, either. But you get the idea, and you can see where we all come from (more places than that, you can be sure!) - - - - - Wow: this all looks like a lot of money, no matter how you count it! And for those of you who feel you either aren't experienced enough in Open Space to come to the global meeting (you are and if you don't come we won't be able to learn from you and share with you) ...or for those of you who feel you are blessed with living in a rich country (and are therefore thinking of not asking for help -- but have not the finances to get yourself there): You are important. We need to learn from each other, weave the world together, understand the world through your eyes, and see you in person. Please take a deep breath and ask for help from your colleagues. This Spring we will have more information on the costs for registration and other items. Next Access Queen message: I'll tell you how some of us raised money for our trip to Vancouver this year... Let's make a pact to get more of us to the next OS and all future ones. We all have ways to help each other. A royal buh-bye to all, Lisa -- L i s a H e f t Consultant, facilitator, educator Experiential learning and Open Space Technology 2325 Oregon Berkeley, California 94705-1106 USA (+01) 510 548-8449 www.openspaceworld.com * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
