I just spent an interesting weekend with a group of leaders in the "conversations school", who practice "world cafe" (http://www.theworldcafe.com/) as a core part of their work. There are obvious similarities with open space -- particularly conceptual congruences -- though at a process level (and also to some extent at a conceptual level) there are also significant deviations. The focus is on going deeper and building bridges between people where walls may have once stood. There is a strong, voiced "systems" perspective. Re-iterations of conversations in constantly changing configurations serve to integrate what is born and grown in small groups back into the entire system while also providing for lots of cross pollinization. This is structured, while in OST it depends on "Bumblebees". There seems to be more of a focus on process and quality of dialog than on content in this process as compared with OST. I'm wondering if others have had experience with this form. It has been used extensively around the country to convene conversations about 911. It has also been used world wide to bring together specific groups of people who live in polarized realities. It seemed to me that a comparison with Open Space could provide for a rich and stimulating conversation. My interest here is in exploration to expand our understanding and not trying to decide which approach is better. It felt to me like a good additional tool for certain purposes in certain situations. It is also quite adaptable.
--Kenoli -- Kenoli Oleari, Horizons of Change, http://www.horizonsofchange.com 1801 Fairview Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 Voice Phone: 510-601-8217, Fax: 510-595-8369, Email: [email protected] (or click on: mailto://[email protected]) * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
