Fw: Y2K gets a small taste of Open Space

[Peg Holman]

This story came to the Open Space Institute (US) e-mail address.  Thought
you might enjoy it.


Peg Holman
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Atlee <cii at igc.apc.org>
To: grouplearning at lists.best.com <grouplearning at lists.best.com>;
erynjay at aol.com <erynjay at aol.com>; fnuessle at aol.com
Cc: hsd at igc.org <hsd at igc.org>; bbaumrucker at value.net
<bbaumrucker at value.net>; bdfutures at aol.com <bdfutures at aol.com>
Date: Friday, December 18, 1998 5:13 PM
Subject: Y2K gets a small taste of Open Space


>This thrills me and I want more of it.  It embarrasses me that I wrote off
>the World Future Society Y2K conference as probably too stuffy and too
>tech/business/government oriented for me.  A failure of imagination and
>leadership on my part.  We see here a story of people who didn't get
>stopped by what was, but who took action to evoke what could be.  I'm
>co-heartened! -- Tom  (Does anyone know what GCG is?  I got this forwarded
>from Meg Wheatley.)
>
>PS:  If you wish to respond to me personally, kindly delete the other names
>in the "TO" blank.  Although I'd love to stimulate some dialogue among the
>addressees, I don't want to overload people with unwanted email.
>
>
>From: JaNickrson at aol.com <JaNickrson at aol.com>
>To: GCG at listbox.com <GCG at listbox.com>; Cheryl Kuchler
><ckuchler at denalicg.com>
>Cc: Nance Guilmartin <Essence at shore.net>; mjw at berkana.org
<mjw at berkana.org>;
>AnneRarich at aol.com <AnneRarich at aol.com>
>Date: Friday, December 18, 1998 8:54 AM
>Subject: Awesome Open Space at World Future Society Meeting
>
>
>>GCG:
>>I'm just back from the World Future Society Conference, where GCG was well
>>represented with Gerry, Phyllis and me; Gerry came with Cheryl Kuchler,
his
>>Phily ODN associate who I met at Meg's Cape Cod conference)
>>We'll all report in with the material we learned - which was substantial,
>and
>>which woke me up to an entire new level of understanding of the enormity
of
>>the impact we are facing.  It is daunting.
>>But the purpose of this email is to let you know the coup that Gerry and
>>Cheryl pulled, in taking over the design and facilitation of the last 3
>hours
>>of the conference.  They offered an open space alternative, the outcome of
>>which was vitality, participation, excitement, and breakthroughs, as the
>>participants moved away from the important but drier topics of "National
>>Security", Utilities, Embedded chips, etc etc with which we had been
>immersed
>>for almost two days, and came up with our own passionate themes:
>>Generating Recovery
>>Holistic Leadership
>>Communicating Y2K Simply
>>Moving Towards a More Sustainable and communal future
>>Our Change Community
>>Creating national and global leadership
>>Planning and Preparation
>>Organizing for self, family and community
>>Ways to help organizations prepare for human aspects of Y2K
>>Next Steps
>>
>>One Y2K "expert" publicly acknowledged that he had been to 20 Y2K
>conferences
>>and had never been to one that produced so much.  I never would have
>expected
>>to see such humanity and spirituality at this conference, at which most
>>speakers were government bureaucrats or academics, and most participants
>had
>>been passively participating in their grey suits.  The closing afternoon
>>session was a WOW - Walks on Water!
>>
>>Giving these 100+ Y2K leaders the experience and tool of self-organization
>was
>>truly a gift which could well get replicated now in the hundreds of next
>>generation events that will follow, impacting thousands, no, millions, of
>>people.
>>
>>Gerry and Cheryl, I offer you a standing ovation!  Great work!!!!!!
>>
>>Love
>>Jan
>
>Tom Atlee  *  The Co-Intelligence Institute  *  Oakland, CA
>http://www.co-intelligence.org  *  http://www.co-intelligence.org/Y2K.html
>
>
>