For recording oral proceedings, why not just set up a tape recorder in a room or any other quiet place, and have conveners come in there and talk about their sessions. Then instead of carrying a disk around, you carry a cassette. Of course, these comments can always be transcribed later for readers, or copies of the cassette made for those that would rather listen to the proceedings.
Chris --- CHRIS CORRIGAN Consultation - Facilitation Open Space Technology Bowen Island, BC, Canada http://www.chriscorrigan.com [email protected] > -----Original Message----- > From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bernd > Weber > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 8:52 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Open Space in Oral Cultures > > Judy, > > yes it helps-a lot! > > S1) "to people the topics" YEAHH > S2) symbols or pictures for other topics. > Brings me back to the old idea to ask the people who already know a > topic to bring an object or symbold for it with them when they > gather. > S3) Documentalists/Scribes for each group? > Possible, but since we try to develop a "model" (in my understanding: > a social simulation including the simulation category 'resource > level') which should be broadly appliable also when there is no more > external project with extra resources, (this sustainability criteria > makes the solution space even scarcer) there are no scribes. In the > traditional communities of the interior usually only the chief (of > several communities) has 1 scribe (for communication with the > external world based on written language). But there have to be > compromises if externalized documentation is necessary: either paper > and markers/finger colours? for drawing, or throw-away-or digital > camera to take pictures of the (traditional) sand-drawings. > > Q4: But is externalized documentation in an oral culture necessary? > In alphabetic cultures the documents is/or can be an indicator for > committment and guarantee, that the x-process output can be > transformed in an x+1process-input. But oral tradition seems to build > up a complex system of documentalist-stories. > > ----- > [email protected], on 16.09.2002 at 17:33:37 (GMT/UT + 02:00) > > > On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 11:59:12 -0300, J. Richardson wrote: > >Hi Bernd, > > > >Wow - thank you for sharing such deep inquiry. During one OST I > >facilitated, many among the participants could not read and write. > >We chose to have people speak their topic and line up along the side > >of the group. > >Once all the topics were "posted or peopled", those standing in line > >spoke their topic one more time and moved to wherever they wanted to > >meet to discuss. A few wanted to post more than one topic and drew > >a symbol or picture for their other topic. The sponsoring group > >wanted the proceedings captured -- someone from each discussion > >group artistically drew the proceedings and we had scribes for each > >group to also capture the information. > > > >Hope this helps, Bernd. Congratulations on developing your vision. > > > >Judi Judith Richardson [email protected] Pono Consultants > >International Facilitating the Flow of Inspired Collaboration (902) > >435-0308 www.ponoconsultants.com > > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: WB-TrainConsult <[email protected]> To: > ><[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 > >11:18 AM Subject: Open Space in Oral Cultures > > > > > >>Dear os-list > >> > >>my client asked me to write this email to the os-list. > >> > >>I have meanwhile facilitated several small OST events here in > >>central Mozambique and started some os-sensibilization and ost- > >>training (by doing) for community development facilitators of the > >>Rural Development Program and a national ONG collaborating with > >>them in land-right issues and I have roughly presented various > >>other "organization transformative large group facilitation > >>techniques" (that is my way to speak about the 18++methods) to this > >>group. > >> > >>They decided, that OST (and Future Search) could play an important > >>role in a Sofala-Community-Development-Model, which we are about to > >>construct together at the basis-level of an SIAD-approach (Systemic > >>Integrated Area Development), which is networking at three levels > >>I. Community Development (fighting poverty, producing the social > >>energy) II. District Development (bundeling and coordinating it) > >>III. Provincial Level (supporting it) > >> > >>After having paired the Community Development Facilitators (who are > >>part of the Rural Area Development Programme) with the Community > >>Development Animators (who are part of the communities) the next > >>step would be to realize do help prepare these tandems to open > >>space again and again in the communties of the focal districts as > >>part of the community animation/development process. > >> > >>So there arise several questions related to the one basic question: > >>"How to realize OST-events in very poor rural communities, where > >>people have a purely oral tradition?" that is: they do not write, > >>do not read, have no access to money (well: less than 0,2 > >>USD/family and day) and technology (well, I saw portable radios > >>around some necks)? > >> > >>I discussed it this morning with the internal consultant (JPV). We > >>are an internal/external OD-consultancy-tandem which is the nucleus > >>of the OD-consultancy system within the Rural Development Programm. > >>The next circle of the Development System around us (at > >>implementation level) are already the Community Facilitators and > >>their District Coordinators). > >> > >>JPV said: "It is impossible! How should they write and post the > >>"temas de paixao"? They can not even write their name! These people > >>from the 'interior' can not interprete x/y-grids like the > >>time/space slots of the bulletin board! How can they organize their > >>working groups without the bulletin board? They can not documentate > >>their working results! They have no watches! They can not start > >>another group in one and a half hour! Forget it!" > >> > >>I said: "Calma! Wait! Describing people as illiterates focuses on > >>deficits from our point of view. But what is the function of fixing > >>the themes of the working groups? What is the function of written > >>or visual documentation? It substitutes mental operations which we, > >>the non-oral people can not any longer realize. We lost a lot of > >>complexity of our memories. And the people in the communities would > >>not be stranger groups. They know each other. So if one of them > >>goes to the center of the circle and tells them, what he/she wants > >>to do in the group, there is already a mental framework of > >>reference in place, they will easily remind which problem this and > >>that guy wanted to resolve together with others. They are able to > >>manage 20 or 30 person-related items! (I gave examples of > >>tremendous memory acts I had experienced with illiterate people > >>here)...WE are not! And with the breakout-room organization it is > >>somehow the same. They all know their territory, so they will be > >>able to memorize the triples person-item-space (who-what-where). > >>And since it will start at the right time and be over when it is > >>over, we have just to install the basic breathing rhytm of the > >>community. Coming together and breaking out, coming together and > >>breaking out." > >> > >>After breathing a little for my-self, I continued: "You know, > >>Harrison insists that he did not invent but discover OST. And he > >>speaks of its African roots. And in my interpretation Harrison's > >>OST with its postings on the bulletin board and its report-system > >>is an adaptation of a stone-age-time social innovation of feasable > >>face2face self-organization of communities for people of an > >>industrialized culture, reminding them of their often forgotten > >>capacities to self-organize. So why not try to go back to the > >>roots? > >>I believe, it is possible" > >> > >>Well, I was in vision-mood and -energy, there and when I said that. > >>But up to now it is only a deep conviction. So perhaps it is not > >>true. And perhaps we will not be able to materialize such a vision. > >> > >>So I am at the point where > >> > >>I REALLY NEED HELP FROM YOU OUT THERE! > >> > >>My questions (for now): > >> > >>1) Should I take the responsibility to invite my client to go for > >>such a journey? > >>In other words: is it possible to realize open space with people > >>who are completely illiterate? > >> > >>2) Are there practical experiences I can rely on? > >> > >>3) Wouldn't it be necessary (and great) to make OST even simpler? > >>(Putting a part of the external instrumentation back into the > >>heads) > >> > >> > >>Bernd > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>----- > >>[email protected] 16.09.2002 at 14:59:39 (GMT/UT + 02:00) 1) > >>attached to this e-mail : No file 2) All attached files are > >>mentioned by name in the lines above.Please do not open any other > >>attachment! > >>3) Please send text documents in RichTextFormat/*.rtf, if possible. > >>This also facilitates communication between the mac- and ms-world. > >> > >>---- > >>Bernd Weber Organization Development Consultant > >> > >>"DEVELOP YOUR CAPACITIES - MATERIALIZE YOUR VISION" > >> > >> > >>C.P. 1462, Beira, Sofala, MOZAMBIQUE fone: +258-3-32 98 59, > >>cellfone:+258-82-43 79 77 > >> > >>----- > >>WB-TrainConsult management- & human resources training, consulting > >>& development ----- > >>Gumpendorfer Straße 88b/18, AT-1060 Wien, AUSTRIA fone & fax: +431 > >>596 86 57, cellfone: +43 0662 7667872 ----- > >>Inscricao no grupo de discussao "Sistemas organizacionais": > >>Escrever um email para o endereco <[email protected]> > >> > >>* * ========================================================== > >>[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, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > >[email protected], Visit: > > > >http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > * > * > ========================================================== > [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, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
