John Paul: I hate to say it, but there are no measurable results, at least not in the class of results you are looking for. Open Space is a challenging approach that often operates in the face of deeply entrenched power structures. In Canada, for example, Aboriginal communities have been almost completely absorbed into the mainstream colonial governing system. In fact, it is seen as the pinnacle of achievement to obtain a self-governing First Nations government using the structures and process of the colonial legislation known as the Indian Act, a law which has been in place since 1870 and which basically tells First Nations how they will be governed. To think that control of this instrument represents freedom is simply to change the nature of the slave-master relationship that John writes so eloquently about. It does nothing for freedom.
My experience in using Open Space in our communities is that it turns on a few lights. Some people begin to see how deeply we have been colonized and what it means to our communities that we have simply bought the model that has been foisted upon us. In the most beautiful conversations I have had, people have shared with me a realization that Open Space offers the possibility of relating to oneself and others in a new way based on traditional patterns and yet still retaining an understanding and the tools of the governing and leadership systems that allow First Nations to talk the language of the federal and provincial governments. This invites traditional governments and perspectives back into the mix and has resulted in some amazing hybrids, such as the Sijitus process, which you can read about here: http://www.openspaceworld.org/network/wiki.cgi?DeeperOpenSpaceWeblog/Sij itusNotes These new blends and openings represent something of the beginning of a tipping point, but they are not due to Open Space per se. Certainly there are only a handful of us using the process in our communities, and only a few people truly get what we are doing, but our work is supported by some Elders who are beginning to find new ways to tell old stories about who we are and how we need to be in this world. I'll give you an example: At a recent Open Space in which my partner Chris Robertson and I invited 70 "emerging Aboriginal leaders" to an Open Space to talk about and begin working on the challenges that face them in the next 20 years, the opening and closing was given by a young man from the Squamish Nation, the Nation in whose territory we were meeting. He spoke about the Squamish flood story, when the Creator warned the Squamish people to be prepared by choosing the most resourceful people among them to get into canoes in order to survive the flood. The rest of the Nation died, and while the flood was happening, the survivors asked themselves what it was about them that was special. They discovered that when the waters receded that the land was scraped clean and there was nothing left with which to build their nation up again. It was then that they discovered why the Creator had chosen them: because of their deep inner resources that would help the Nation regain its strength. Those who were dependant on the external world would have died because the external world disappeared. A whole new way of life had to be imagined and then lived. Our storyteller, a young man who has been in this world several times over, compared the 70 people in our gathering to those people in the canoes. He remarked that colonization has washed our cultures almost clean and what is now required is people that are internally resourceful who can bring our Nations back to life. He remarked that Open Space was amazing, but more important was the fact that we are engaged in some kind of work that was supporting this movement. We took the long view that in supporting one another and understanding the challenges of 20 years and more, we could continue to find new ways to make both mainstream society and First Nations reality grow together in a way that was TRANSCENDANT. And that is the key. Open Space invites our internal truth and our inherently resourceful leadership to come forward, and although it does a good job of moving through difficult situations quickly, it also has a profound effect on people over time. Harrison warns about this in the User's Guide, which is one reason I have continued to explore this process.my life continues to change and deepen as a result of my engagement with the process. At what point could one measure the beginnings of modernity? When did the industrial revolution begin? Was it a moment in time, or was it indeed a tipping point, whereby people woke up one morning and remembered something of life 20 years ago and said "it's different?" Thomas Kuhn has said that old paradigms die with the generation that had them, so maybe that's why we chose 20 years. In 20 years time, all of our leadership will be drawn from people who DID NOT go to residential school, the mandatory schools that the Canadian government used to "civilize" First nations people until the 1970s. In 20 years there will be a palpable change, and it is my hope that it will show up in the external world, but just as significantly, it will have changed people's internal worlds as well. Cheers, Chris --- CHRIS CORRIGAN Bowen Island, BC, Canada (604) 947-9236 Consultation - Facilitation Open Space Technology Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot Homepage: http://www.chriscorrigan.com [email protected] (604) 947-9236 -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 6:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Open Space in conflict zones In a message dated 3/2/04 9:31:02 AM, [email protected] writes: This fine gentleman of faith and skill and humility reported at our workshop that the Open Space worked marvelously. Lisa, This is probably not a popular question but what does it mean for OS to "work marvelously"? My Senex Self is growling along the lines of--working marvelously?? What are the criteria? What are the real results on the ground? Are there any changes in the decisions and the decision-makers, the one's who decide who lives or dies in many areas of the world? Is the surrounding region more prosperous, peaceful or what? Do people have truly better lives or is the OS just an oasis in an otherwise bleak landscape, a temporary refuge from the desperate scenes of their lives? I'm wondering about Haiti where John Engle has labored mightily to bring some sanity and hope to one of the most intractable, poverty-stricken regions of the world. I presume there were many OS's there. Now, he has had to leave in the face of the complete collapse of any sort of order other than that which grows out of the barrel of a gun. I guess what I am wondering about is can OS make lasting change in un-free societies? Is that a reasonable expectation or are we fooling ourselves and our clients? Or, equally valuable, does it open the door for change but often nobody really ends up walking through because they value their lives, health, etc., in the face of anti-freedom violence. I'm struggling with the whole concept of making or enabling change in the world. Is force the only way for un-free people to become free? It would seem like it because I can't think of a transition from dictatorship or other non-democratic government, especially a repressive one, that hasn't been preceded by violence and force. (I guess the collapse of the Soviet Empire was relatively non-violent, although not entirely so). Or, in which the people didn't slip into abject poverty and degradation first (there was a lot of violence in South Africa before it emerged in a negotiated way from white rule). And is OS really most useful for already-open societies to find out how to work together better to resolve the inevitable collisions of interests and that is its real claim to effectiveness? Is that where we should be focusing our efforts (and it probably already is where most of the OS work is occurring.) Man without answers. Paul Everett * * ========================================================== [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
