Dear friends, Avner, Michael - I was not clear enough in my mail to
OSLIST.
Sorry.
The sponsor is indeed myself and the Network Renaissance Thielle
NRT, and we
are clearly one side of the conflict. The OS is part of the
cultural summer
program of the naturist camp. The president of the board of the
foundation
has so far never attended, but entitles our activities as a sect
and would
like to stop us. This is not possible - 170 participants the first
time, 100
the second time, likely 200 this summer because of a better date (no
conflict with sports tournaments any more). The first time, in
2005, the now
president presented the board of the foundation with a blackmail,
on the day
before the OS: either myself and the other 2 members of the core
team of NRT
are kicked out from the camp right away, or the manager will quit
(I guess
he was very afraid of a riot). The rest of the board preferred the
manager's
quitting, to the great relief of everybody on site, because he is
everything
but a host for his guests (rather a terrifying dictator who yells
at people
- especially weak ones, ill or handicapped persons, women -
whenever he
feels like it, and who has installed a system of "observers" who
denounce
people who sing a song at night after 10 or do other such things
which are
not conform to the rules). Unfortunately, the now president
succeeded in
re-employing this same manager later, which made the conflict
public and
dramatized the situation. As a consequence of this impertinence, 2
members
of the board resigned, thus leaving the field entirely to the now
president,
who had finally reached his goal - total power! (It is somehow like a
parable directly from Macchiavelli's "Il principe"...)
The main purpose of the OS still is to strengthen the community in
the camp
(which is greatly suffering from this conflict of values), to keep
us there
and to gain strength and clarity about who we are as naturists,
despite the
difficulties. Participants greatly enjoy getting to know each other
even
better and learning from each other. They keep asking for a next OS
every
time. So the purpose of the OS, at least up to now, clearly has not
been to
deal with the conflict. In this sense, I have no desires of the
outcome
except keeping us all in Thielle.
(The NRT has presented a lot of excellent ideas on how to resolve the
conflict to the board of the foundation, but none of them had even the
slightest chance with the board up to now (neither with our country's
department for the control of foundations, where we turned to in our
despair!). No mediation, no step by step concept, no participation
(which is
one of the main ingredients of this community, they have built this
paradise
all together over the last 65 years, with their own hands and a
wonderful
sense of contributing to the whole!) - just maximal power, in a way
which
couldn't be more contradictory to the foundation's by-laws. It's
very sad,
and to me unbelievable, that such a thing can happen in our "clean",
"democratic" country. It looks that once a foundation's board has been
successfully undermined, there is nothing which can stop the
foundation from
being changed into something absolutely different than originally
intended.
We can only stop or slow down this process if we become more
visible as
naturists and stronger, clearer in our values - fully ignoring the now
president's tendencies to spoil our holidays and make us leave. The
leader
of the children's and youth dance performance last year chose
"Joseph's
brothers" as their topic, which was presented in great dances and
texts, and
pointed out to all the spectators at a certain point that "as pressure
rises, the people multiplies"... so we welcome new holiday guests
with open
arms... :))
The first time, 2005, I managed to keep the conflict out of the OS in
refusing a statement about it by one of my team members. We simply
wanted to
explore what naturism means today, as a basis of a possible vision
statement
(for which we later never got officially asked by the board after the
escalation of the conflict, and which therefore has not yet been
written -
but our offer stands!). The second time, 2006, as described in my
first mail
to you, a woman brought the conflict in as a topic of her workshop.
What
will happen this time? - I had this inner voice asking for more
preparation
for the OS this year because of what I have described to you. I
would hate
to naively fall into a trap the president might have set up for us,
and
somehow feel responsible that this can't happen. In theory, you are
right,
the facilitator would probably need to be an external person.
However, the
more than 500 members of NRT might need to see us holding space as
a proof
that we don't give up and keep catering to the needs of the
community. They
have offered more than 80'000 CHF to help finance the legal battle
up to
now... (German or French speaking volunteers willing to work naked,
welcome!! Because naked we are, every day, in Thielle... - I could
translate
if needed!)
One result of the OS 2006 on naturism and health was that this
year's summer
program is richer than ever. Many participants of the OS are offering
seminars and speeches on interesting topics, every day for 6 full
weeks
(they are all for free, by the way!). This is the only way how we
can take
action (up to now) - and we do! (Speaking about good and bad which
are not
always so clear - this is definitely the good side of the conflict!)
One thing we could do 2007 (in good weather) would be to hold the
event
outside the camp, on the nearby grounds of the founder's widow. But
this
somehow feels like a pity, a missed opportunity. Another thing
might be that
I really decide to invite somebody else to hold space and become the
sponsor. In either way, in my welcome speech, I would probably have to
acknowledge the situation as it is, talk openly about the conflict
and our
limited possibilities to do something about it. Then invite
participation
within these limits and within the limits imposed on us by the
board of the
foundation (who might perhaps have a look at results of the day,
but decides
at will which ones would be accepted to go further with, if any,
also in the
field of culture and sports, not just about the conflict - or which
might
decide to use the results to stop us from making the summer
program...). And
then see what happens, be open to surprises, and above all, leave the
responsibility entirely to the participants.
Suggestions & help welcome... Thank you - Catherine
Catherine Pfaehler Senn
Open Space Begleitung & Coaching
Kellersriedweg 8
CH - 2503 Biel
+41-(0)32 - 365 68 41
[email protected]
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Michael M Pannwitz [mailto:[email protected]]
Gesendet: Sonntag, 18. März 2007 12:47
An: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Betreff: Re: Fear of abuse of the space
Dear Catherine,
very interesting stuff.
To your question:
"How can I hold space in this conflict in a way which prevents abuse?"
My first thought was: Just as usual. But if I assume that your
agenda as
facilitator appears to be to "prevent abuse" I ask: Why do you want to
prevent abuse? And further: What happens to the concept of being
unattached to outcome. What happens to the concept of being fully
present and at the same time invisible?
If you were to hire me as a facilitator I might experience a bunch of
bumps in the road with you as sponsor.
To your question:
"What do I say in the givens in regards to this?"
Givens, I think, are the concern of the sponsor. It is very helpful if
the sponsor can state them. As facilitator I would feel abused if I
had
to explain givens to the participants.
To your question:
"What does the one board member on our side say in his welcome
speech?"
My first response was: 1. Welcome 2. State the theme and say two or
three sentences re the theme 3. Formulate his expectations, hopes,
visions as to the outcome of the gathering and 4. Announce the
facilitator who introduces the process (the night before the
facilitator
could coach him a bit on his opening of the space).
Second response: What does it mean "on our side"? What happens to a
facilitator not being partial to "holding time and space" but being
party to a particular fraction of the system?
My hunch is that your role might be participant or sponsor and that
you
and the entire system might profit if the sponsor engages an external
facilitator...who might also contribute to clarify whether open space
technology is the best approach in this affair.
Greetings from Berlin
mmp boscop eg
Catherine Pfaehler wrote:
Dear Listers
As I am planning our 3^rd OS in Thielle (a naturist’s paradise in
Switzerland, which is in its 70^th year now), the conflict is still
going on. Mistrust is still strong on both sides. I offer this OS
being
a member of the Network Renaissance Thielle, which is working to save
the original idealistic intents of this wonderful community and to
strengthen the community of naturists in this difficult time full of
stress. The other side are a few people who have seized power and are
doing everything to make the idealists leave. Their intentions to
change
the focus of the place into a normal camp ground for nudists (and
probably also for sex tourists) were only realized when it was almost
too late - they have already taken control of the board of the
foundation in a very concealed way and have employed a manager for
the
camp who has no understanding whatsoever of naturism, a hunter.
(Naturists are naked, like nudists, but their focus lies on spiritual
and consciousness development. They don’t eat meat – that’s why
choosing
a hunter as a manager shows a lot about the current president’s
values
-, don’t use drugs or alcohol, don’t smoke – if not 100 % in everyday
life, then certainly on the camp site. Many families are in
Thielle in
their 3^rd and 4^th generation, every summer.)
My question to you is: How can I hold space in this conflict in a way
which prevents abuse? What do I say in the givens in regards to this?
What does the one board member on our side say in his welcome speech?
We have experienced time after time that our good intentions were
turned
around and made into something which was then presented publicly as
horrible. Somebody from the other side last year even came into the
plenary to have a look and then called us a sect. This is how the
current president of the board works to eliminate those who do not
support his actions. He spreads some lies about us and then
continuously
uses people who mean well for his bad intentions. In paradise, one
doesn’t think this way, and therefore only realizes this when it’s
too
late. So this fear of abuse of the space is more than realistic.
Grateful for your ideas and experiences - Catherine
Catherine Pfaehler Senn
Open Space Begleitung & Coaching
Kellersriedweg 8
CH - 2503 Biel
+41-(0)32 - 365 68 41
[email protected]
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