one more africa story... i opened a space for 150 or so here in chicago a few years ago for an international group, with some from south africa. one guy came to me afterward to say, "we have been doing open space for a long long time in south africa, though we do it outside and we call it 'meeting under the trees.' but we do not run our gov't that way. coming here and seeing this conference, the biggest learning for me is that we could be running our gov't under the trees!"
good luck, mayke! michaelh Harrison Owen wrote:
Mayke – One way to handle the problem with “senior people” is to make sure that you have had a conversation with them BEFORE the OS starts. In most cases if you explain how it is all going to work and how essential it is for everybody to have a chance to speak, I find there is usually no problem. Also, as you may remember, Open Space was “born” in Africa. I spent some long time in West Africa working with a variety of people, mostly the Kpelle in Liberia. My inspiration for the circle in Open Space came from my time with them. And I think there is a real point here – for most people in Africa (certainly tribal people) Open Space will seem very natural. In fact they have names for it. In Liberia it was called Palaver, and I think in Southern Africa it is called Indaba – but Valerie can tell you about that (also say hi to her). In Liberia when there was some major issue to be dealt with, everybody would sit in a circle, sometimes the whole village – and EVERYBODY talked, and usually one at a time. The people would say, “Never let the Sun set on a Palaver” – which meant we don’t stop talking until it is over. When it was over, the chief elder would say the final word, usually some parable or saying that captured what the consensus was. Up to that point it was not uncommon for that elder to sit in silence for hours. Just holding the space. I don’t know where you are, or what groups you are working with, but I would be willing to bet that they already know a lot more about Open Space than you think. If so, all you have to do is to open the space and let them, get on with what they would do naturally. I have also had a very similar experience here in the US when doing OS with First Nation People. At first they thought it was some strange new white magic. I guess the name threw them – or the fact that I am white made them sure that whatever I might do was going to be strange. But it usually only took about 20 min and they forgot all the strangeness and felt right at home. I remember one Navajo Chief coming up to me after the 1st day saying “What took you so long, White Man?” He said it with a smile. This strange, new, wonderful thing called Open Space had actually been in native tradition from the beginning. We (white people) were only just catching on. Have fun! Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20845 Phone 301-365-2093 Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mayke Wagner, essence Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 3:23 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: AW: Open Space experience with African countries Hi Holger, thanks for getting me in touch with Valerie and also for sharing your experience with OST with African participants. The first aspect you mentioned ("To my experience so far, you should not fall into the African ³trap² that everything needs to be discussed at length. So, after you have introduced the rules, do not accept any discussions but open the market place immediately.") makes perfectly sense to me. For the second aspect ("You might also run into slight problems if there are some senior people who want their status to be honored.") I am wondering how you deal with that. In terms of space invasion I can imagine possible ways to deal with this. Do you have any other recommendations for this specific situation? What did you do? And what did other people do who found themselves in this specific situation? Thanks for your support and your willingness to share. I am very impressed by the openness and the readiness to invite newcomers to the OST community! Happy trails, Mayke ___________________________________________ essence - Beratung, Training, Coaching Mayke Wagner Hanser 3 88279 Amtzell GERMANY [email protected] Tel (+49) 07520 / 9232 02 visit us: <http://www.t-e-a-m.org> Von: Change Management Toolbook <[email protected]> Antworten an: OSLIST <[email protected]> Datum: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 10:06:09 +0100 An: [email protected] Betreff: [OSLIST] AW: Open Space experience with African countries Hello Mayke, I will have a short training session on Open Space in South Africa next week. I will give you feed back once I am back. To my knowledge one of the leading OST specialists in Africa is Valerie Morris from Cape Town. I am copying your message to her and you might contact her if you wish. To my experience so far, you should not fall into the African ³trap² that everything needs to be discussed at length. So, after you have introduced the rules, do not accept any discussions but open the market place immediately. You might also run into slight problems if there are some senior people who want their status to be honoured. Michael P Pannwitz, can we send her Theo¹s dissertation? Regards, Holger Dr. Holger Nauheimer BeraterKompetenz Rosenheimer Str. 5 10781 Berlin Tel. +49-30-219 684 49 http://www.beraterkompetenz.de/ http://www.change-management-toolbook.com/ -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]Im Auftrag von Mayke Wagner, essence Gesendet: Dienstag, 16. März 2004 08:19 An: [email protected] Betreff: Open Space experience with African countries Hello from springtime Germany, I have my first Open Space Conference coming up in April and Lisa encouraged me to make use of the expertise and experience of all of you! The Open Space will take place in Nairobi, Kenya and we will have participants from Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sounth Africa. The topic will be "Towards Sustainability of Healthcare Technology Systems" with participants being stakeholders, decision makers, and maintenance staff from all levels (national, regional, district, facility) of the healthcare technology system. My question is whether - from your experience - there are certain cultural aspects I need to consider. Do you have any experience with / recommendations for this group of participants? Looking forward to your ideas and stories, Mayke ___________________________________________ essence - Beratung, Training, Coaching Mayke Wagner Hanser 3 88279 Amtzell GERMANY [email protected] Tel (+49) 07520 / 9232 02 visit us: <http://www.t-e-a-m.org> * * ========================================================== [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
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