Open Space - Green Building in Ithaca, New York

Chris Weaver chris at springbranch.net
Sat Feb 17 21:35:34 PST 2001 

Dear Todd,

This sounds like a VERY exciting event.  Congratulations on pulling it
together.

I find your invitation to be quite clear, and well-balanced in the amount
that it explains vis-a-vis the amount that is left to be discovered.

If I were planning such an event, I would do everything I could to block out
a longer chunk of time.  My sense is that a whole day would be just
sufficient, and that a day-and-a-half with a good convergence would leave
the participants much more satisfied and certainly more galvanized for
action in the community.  My experience tells me that a half-day would only
allow for some networking and the exploration of some emerging seeds of
ideas.  If the parameters are already set, this would of course be a useful
beginning.

I also suggest that you reflect on your role.  If you are the sponsor, and
you are invested in the content of the event and would like to be in an
active leadership role in the work that emerges, you might want to consider
being sponsor and participant and having someone else facilitate, if this is
feasible.  If you feel called to this opportunity to facilitate your first
OST, I am sure that it would go well.  If you plan to facilitate and are
able to extend the time to include a convergence, I am sure that the list
could provide you with good advice as to the convergence design.

Best of luck on this event, and please keep us posted about how it unfolds!

Chris


--
S   P   R   I   N   G   B   R   A   N   C   H

Opening the Space for Inspired Collaboration
P.O. Box 8234 / Asheville, NC 28814 / USA
Phone: 828 225-0007 / Fax: 828 225-0303
http://www.springbranch.net / chris at springbranch.net

F   A   C   I   L   I   T   A   T   I   O   N

----------
>From: Todd Saddler <Laurietodd at aol.com>
>To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>Subject: [OSLIST] Open Space - Green Building in Ithaca, New York
>Date: Sat, Feb 17, 2001, 1:03 PM
>

> Posted by Todd Saddler
> Laurietodd at aol.com
>
> Greetings!
>
> My good friend, John Engle, suggested that I subscribe to the OS listserve.
> John exposed me to Open Space Technology as he as promoted its use for our
> work with Beyond Borders in Haiti.  I participated in 3 or 4 of our annual
> meetings that used Open Space, and was pleased with the results.
>
> Now I am living in Ithaca, New York, and am called to practice and promote
> sustainable living here in the USA. Based on my experience in Haiti, I am
> convinced that the typical American lifestyle is a part of the burden on the
> backs of the poor throughout the world, and is harmful to the environment.  I
> am trying to stimulate the creation of a business or organization which will
> provide green design and building services in this area.  It think that an
> Open Space conference would be a great  way to bring together people who
> would be interested in collaborating with me on this project.
>
> While I have participated in Open Space meetings before, I have not yet
> facilitated one.  I have a general feel for the principals and procedures,
> and have downloaded a few documents from the internet.  I have also ordered a
> copy of Harrison Owen's book on "Spirit" from my local bookstore.
>
> If anyone on the list serve has advice or suggestions, I would appreciate
> your help!
>
> Below is a copy of the latest version of the invitation.
>
>
>
>
> You are invited to an Open Space conference on the theme:
>
> Building for Sustainable Living:  Making it Available
>
> Our society defines us as consumers and makes it relatively easy to live
> comfortably in ways that degrade the environment and exploit other people.  A
> few committed nonconformists are able, with difficulty, to create
> alternatives to the status quo, and thus provide a good example. But what
> about the rest?
>
> A growing number of people aspire to live sustainably, but are unable to
> strike out on their own and do it.  The time is ripe for those who have the
> skills, experience, vision, and commitment to come together and create ways
> to make sustainable built environments a real, available, affordable option
> for everyone whose conscience causes them to want it.
>
> Open Space
>
> Open Space Technology, developed by Harrison Owen, is a method for organising
> a self-managed meeting or conference where participants create their own
> programme of work sessions. In these simultaneous sessions people discuss
> their concerns, explore issues and opportunities and find new ways forward.
>
> An Open Space event brings people together, often in large numbers and
> representing great diversity, to contribute their views, share their ideas
> and develop plans for creative and collaborative action. The output of an
> Open Space conference is a set of written reports, one for each session,
> usually with action points.
>
> This text is from http://www.openspaceworld.org, where you can find much more
> information about this exciting new organizational tool.  If you haven't
> participated an Open Space yet, it will be worth your while to come for this
> reason alone!
>
> Where: The Common House at Ecovillage Ithaca.  Please park in the visitor
> parking area or
> along the road, but not in spaces near houses.
> When: Saturday, March 10th, 2001, 1PM to 5PM, Potluck supper to follow.
>
> Cost: Free to the people - there will be a dish to pass supper.   If you are
> able to bring a laptop computer, that would help us get the report out more
> quickly.
>
> If interested, please contact  Todd Saddler 269-0587, LaurieTodd at aol.com.  We
> need to  have an aproximate idea of how many people are likely to come.
>
> *
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