FSC & OS "Women-Leaders of Siberia: the strategies for collaboration"

[john engle]

elana,

thank you for sharing your story. it is powerful.  i wish you courage and
strength.  somehow, using open space and these methods which give us more
experience in democratic practices, in countries which have only recently
become governed by democratic govts, is particularly compelling.

i'm typing this message in petion-ville haiti.  we are three days before the
presidential election and things are fragile.  yesterday, homemade bombs
were exploded in three different areas of port au prince and petion-ville
killing several and injuring dozens.  today, a grenade was discovered which
didn't explode, on the road between the cyber cafe where i am now and my
home.  people are scared.  its hard to predict what the next days will hold,
especially sunday, the election day.

... we who are practitioners of open space often talk about the difficulties
of convincing leaders to let go of control in their organizations.  when it
comes to letting go, and pushing people to do so, the stakes can be very
very high.

two weeks ago i opened the space for a group of rotarians and educators on
the subject of promoting literacy in haiti. we were about 50.  the man who
gave the opening welcome for the meeting, the president of the petion-ville
rotary club and a very successful business man, is pushing for change.  he's
pushing for others among his colleagues in the elite sector to commit
themselves to transforming haiti and to invest in social structures and
programs for the poor masses.

he is soft-spoken man but has a clear message.  and he has earned the right
to be listened to.  his two younger brothers were both assisinated in 1992.
like him, they were pushing the elite sector to "open the space."  they also
were wealthy businessmen.

stakes can be high when we're pushing to open space.

john
petion-ville
haiti
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