Access Queen Invites You to Dream and Share as we go to WOSonOS Kiev.
- - - - - - - - - - - - In this message: Ways to help yourself gather the funds you need to get to this year's annual World Open Space on Open Space gathering -- Ways to help others who wish to get there by sharing any extra resources you may have - - - - - - - - - - - - Access Queen was dreamed up at the 9th International OSonOS in Vancouver (2001) as a way to share news of who has and who needs resources to get to our annual global gatherings so that people of lower financial abilities and from faraway countries may attend. I volunteered to take this role which the late, great, and magical Laurel Doersam later named Access Queen. Our sharing of dreams and resources has brought Access Queen "Askers" to our gatherings in Melbourne, "Swenmark", Goa, Halifax and Moscow, and participants attending these annual gatherings also raise some additional money for the following year's Access Queen Fund. For more information about the story of Access Queen, visit: http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceInstituteUSA/Acces sQueenKing - - - - - - - - - - - - DREAM of joining your colleagues at the 15th Annual World Open Space on Open Space in Kiev, Ukraine May 24-26 -- as Open Space facilitators and enthusiasts from around the world join together in-person to share opportunities and issues reflecting our methods, approaches, experiences and passions. ACT on making that dream come true. REGISTER for the gathering -- see the full announcement, registration and other information at http://www.demenko.info READ the information on that web page -- you will also see on that page the contact people to communicate with if you have questions regarding price for registration, information about and pricing for accommodation and the other local costs for things -- and see what you need to put together as a rough picture of what it will cost you. REMEMBER to add up the amount of money you will need for air or rail ticket, accommodation and registration, pocket money, ground transport (such as bus, shuttle or taxi from airport). Check example flights - you may have to stay overnight somewhere to make a flight connection, and / or you may need to arrive a day ahead of the WOSonOS just to accommodate to a time zone different from your own and rest before the event so you have your full energy - and / or to attend an informal social gathering perhaps before the meeting begins. Add a little bit more money for breakfasts, dinners and unforeseen expenses (note which WOSonOS days may include lunch or snacks). * * You may wish to use a Currency Converter at <http://www.xe.com/ucc/> http://www.xe.com/ucc/ As I write this, 100 Euro = about 132 US dollars = about 665 Ukrainian Hryvnias. - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * Do not have the financial ability to attend but would like to? * * * - - - - - - - - - - - - BECOME an Access Queen "Asker". BELIEVE in yourself as I believe in you. Have the courage to ask for support - to jump into the unknown and find that your community will catch you. Put together a picture of what you will need to actualize your dream. See the next paragraph about how to write a proposal of your needs and your situation and ASK your potential funders, *including* our colleagues on the OSLIST who may have resources to share. Ask others to help with feedback as you construct your written proposals and feel free to ask your colleagues on the OSLIST if you need any ideas or assistance. Each 'Asker' is encouraged to *generate funding from multiple sources* rather than asking one source to cover all your expenses. Think of funding in clusters, in a way: travel money / assistance, accommodation assistance, registration assistance, home stay assistance, pocket money - and perhaps ask each different source to contribute the funds for a different part. It helps to write up a proposal which you can give to the organizations and individuals you from which you are requesting funding assistance. You can find an example of a request for funding at: <http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?AccessQueenKing> http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceInstituteUSA/Acces sQueenKing - and remember to first research the actual costs of registration, accommodation and ground transport via the WOSonOS 2007 website. And if you need to ask the Kiev host team for some help looking for registered folks who would like to room share or other things they may know that may help reduce your costs, be sure to contact them as well. SEND your Request for Funding to every organization or community coalition or group of friends you can think of to raise the funds. Realize that Access Queen is not in itself a funding organization - it is more of an awareness raising for sharing news of who needs and who can help. Before and during each year's WOSonOS there is great sharing of resources - there is even a Global Village Marketplace table (see below) to donate to the next year's Askers. And after each WOSonOS, that year's host team donates the money raised after expenses back to the Access Queen for supporting more Askers. So while I have a little money in the AQ fund each year, I use it in quiet little ways 'behind the scenes'. The AQ money is for distributing very small amounts to as many Askers as possible - so do not count on it to fund your big expenses, but know that in little ways the host team, Access Queen and this sharing of news of who has and who needs may be helpful to you. If you cannot afford (for example) the full registration, tell the host team (or whomever you are asking for support) how much you can afford. Every little bit that you can contribute can help us have more resources to share with everyone who asks. So do think about and express what you can contribute when you ask anyone for support -- the more you can pay, the more other Askers can share in the resources, and you will meet them all when you come to Kiev! You may wish to also ask for some assistance with travel moneys from the Open Space Institute of the USA -- you can use an adapted version of the proposal I mention above -- include a bit also on how your request fits within the guidelines of OSI(US) funding activities: Add to your proposal some writing about the following 3 things: tell them how your experience coming to the WOSonOS will help support underserved areas; tell them how you will utilize your experience to reach multiple people upon your return home; and tell them that you will make a commitment to post on our OSLIST the story of your OS experience. For proposals sent to OSI(US) (at [email protected] ) please be sure to send in your request for support by *before* March 12; it is first-come-first-serve so the sooner you get this in the greater chance you have -- in the words of the OSI-US Board of Directors, "The early bird gets the worm when it comes to financial aid". Which means - send your proposal in to them as soon as you can and *you* will be the bird that gets the (financial) worm ! Another funding site that may offer travel funds for women, specifically, who are self-initiating projects in womens' rights and inclusion is Mama Cash: http://www.mamacash.nl/english/ - this funding cycle may take months so contact them NOW. When you do join your colleagues in Kiev this May, BRING your art work / writing / folk art from your country/culture to sell at the WOSonOS Global Village Marketplace to help raise additional money for your expenses or to donate to next year's Access Queen fund. - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * Do you feel like you CAN afford it and are thinking of coming? Or even thinking of *not* coming? * * * SHARE your resources with an Access Queen Asker. - - - - - - - - - - - - RENEW or BEGIN your membership in your local Open Space Institute. OSI(US) -- whose members include colleagues from Switzerland, Haiti, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Scotland, Japan, Australia, Estonia, France, Mexico, England, Republic of China (Taiwan), the US and elsewhere -- can offer some grants for travel moneys. Other OSIs such as the Institutes of Canada, Australia and Taiwan have generously donated to the Access Queen fund in the past as well to help with final expenses. With your membership, all of our Institutes will then have more funds to share with Askers who send in proposals. Including you, as well? http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceInstitutes SHARE your Frequent Flyer miles with an Asker - perhaps you can contact the Kiev team to see if there are any Askers you can help. When you register for WOSonOS, PAY FOR 2 * 2 * accommodations and / or * 2 * registrations and let the WOSonOS Kiev host team know that you have done so - they will give it to an Asker and you can either remain anonymous or be introduced to your Asker. BRING an envelope which has in it POCKET MONEY for an Asker. Put a little card with it wishing them well and signing your name if you do not want to remain anonymous. Let the Kiev host team know you will be bringing this and when you arrive, check with that team - they will make sure it gets to an Asker. SEND or BRING your art work / writing / folk art from your country to sell at WOSonOS Global Village Marketplace to help raise money for next year's Access Queen fund. DONATE You can always contact the host team to donate any amount of money directly to them for their use for Access Queen Askers. See who to contact (depending on your language) at http://www.demenko.info. And you can always donate money to the Access Queen fund by sending US or Canada checks or PayPal funds to me ([email protected]) or -- for those in the US who may need a tax write-off and official receipt -- through the Open Space Institute of the US (please put 'Access Queen' in the notes during your payment - see http://www.openspaceworld.org/osi-usa/pmts.html ). In the past, creative folks have raised money from the sale of participants' artwork-covered Books of Proceedings, poetry, house parties and more. Any amount large or small is welcome - it all adds up. - - - - - - - - - - - - Let us see what happens when we each put a potato, a carrot or a bit of onion into the rich and nutritious broth we can co-create to bring the flavors of diversity and access to this year's WOSonOS. Lisa Heft (also known as Access Queen) [email protected] ___________________________ L i s a H e f t Consultant, Facilitator, Educator O p e n i n g S p a c e Berkeley, California, USA <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.openingspace.net> www.openingspace.net * * ========================================================== [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
