Harrison: Sounds like a great project.
There is some nice stuff in "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson about the metaphors that are used (unconsciously) to structure debates. Lakoff and Johnson observe that our approach to arguments tends to be influenced by the metahpor "ARGUMENT IS WAR". This is revealed when we say things like "Your claims are indefensible", "He attacked every weak point in my argument", "I've never won an argument with him", etc. They suggest that, by contrast, we imagine "a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the particpants seen as performers, and the goal is to perform in a balanced and aesthetically pleasing way." They also make the same point about the way we conceive of relationships. We often use the (or are used by) metaphor "LOVE IS WAR" ... evidenced in such terms as "conquest", "overpowering", "overwhelmed", etc. They suggest we consider what would happen if we changed this metaphor to "LOVE AS A COLLABORATIVE WORK OF ART". From my experience of collaborative works of art, I'm not sure that's a good idea, but it's worth a try. :) Salaam/Shalom, Marty www.spiritualmiddle.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harrison Owen" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 5:29 PM Subject: Re: Open Space in the European Community Very good point! I have just been invited to facilitate a gathering of 200 Rabbis and Imams from around the world -- on the question "Issues and Opportunities for enabling peace between Jews and Muslims" (At least I think that is the question). And that nasty word "debate" came up in our discussions of how to write the invitation. I can certainly understand how it jumps up -- given everybody's history. But it really is a bummer. We do need to think of some alternatives. "Engaged Conversation" might head in a more fruitful direction. And other possibilities would be wonderful. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20845 Phone 301-365-2093 Open Space Training 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 Alan Stewart Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 1:13 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Open Space in the European Community Michael and All This is very inspiring! These developments hold great promise for the use of OST in both Europe and elsewhere. I wonder if items such as press releases and invitations could be strengthened even more by deliberately choosing not to introduce the notion of 'debate' when this is inappropriate? For it may be argued <grin> that whenever this word is used readers/listeners 'automatically' perceive connotations of adversarial processes. Is there an alternative approach which could help people to recognise that different ways of engaging with each other are now on centre stage? And that these new processes really do promote the collaboration within and between organisations which leads to constructive action. Here are thoughts on this which you may find useful in this regard: http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-converse1.html http://www.theworldcafe.com/asconversationppr.pdf Mit freundlichen Gruessen >From overcast yet sunny spirited Hong Kong Alan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael M Pannwitz" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 1:57 AM Subject: Open Space in the European Community Dear colleagues, the press release below is the second of its kind mentioning the use of Open Space Technology in the work of the European Community. In the last 5 years open space has also spread in the Youth Programs of the Community, the German Agency Youth employs it regularly for its own planning process and for conferences they organize. If any of you are involved in this work, lets hear about it. It might also be a sign of open space becoming fairly common in civil society approaches on this continent. Greetings from Berlin Hope to see a lot of you here when The Practice of Peace Program is held by you know who in Berlin November 30, December 1 and 2. Have a peek www.practicepeaceberlin.org and sign up! mmp European Economic and Social Committee PRESS RELEASE N° 102/2005 22 September 2005 September plenary to hold extraordinary debate on Bridging the Gap: how to bring Europe and its citizens closer together? 28 September, 15h European Parliament, Paul-Henri SPAAK, Salle P3C050 On 28 September the EESC will once again be holding an extraordinary plenary session debate on the theme of 'Bridging the Gap: how to bring Europe and its citizens closer together.' This debate follows on from a similar debate held in the July plenary session (see press release n° 89/2005) and is intended to serve as input to the dual processes of the Committee's preparations for its innovatory 7-8 November Stakeholders' Forum on the same theme and the opinion it is preparing, at the request of the European Parliament, on the so-called 'reflection period' (the opinion will be debated and adopted in the Committee's 26-27 October 2005 plenary session). The Committee, as a bridge between Europe and civil society, has from the very start been particularly active in the "Communicating Europe" initiative, arguing strongly for more dialogue with and involvement of civil society in such major policy processes as, for example, the Lisbon Strategy. The Stakeholders' Forum on the theme of "Bridging the Gap" is being organised by the Committee in close cooperation with the European Commission and will bring together receptors, multipliers and stakeholders in a novel format designed to facilitate genuine dialogue and debate. In particular, the Forum will use an innovatory 'Open Space' approach, whereby there is no pre-ordained agenda and the participants themselves decide what they wish to discuss and recommend. The Committee used this method very successfully in its April 2005 Stakeholders' Forum on Sustainable Development (see press releases n° 40 and 47/2005). European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström has confirmed her participation in the Forum and it is expected that the recommendations arising out of the Forum's work will be fed into the reflection process on the Commission's White Paper on an EU Communication Strategy, expected before the end of the year. For more details, please contact: Christian Weger at the EESC Press Office 99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels Tel.: 02 546 9396/9586; Mobile: 0475 753 202 e-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.esc.eu.int/press/index_en.asp The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process. The Committee has 317 members. Its members are appointed by the Council. -- Practice of Peace Program with Harrison Owen in Berlin, Germany November 30 through December 2, 2005 Info and Registration at www.practicepeaceberlin.org Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany ++49-30-772 8000 www.boscop.de www.michaelmpannwitz.de * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
