shoemaker's children

[Artur F. Silva]

At 12:43 09-01-2001 -0500, Birgitt Williams wrote:

>Dear colleagues on the list,
>I sometimes feel like we on the os-list are like shoemaker's children. In
>this case, consultants/facilitators who work with other organizations to
>develop best practices using OST but in my experience we don't apply what we
>know to ourselves.

I would like two had my two cents on that.

First, I would like to say that this list is really Open Space. A very special
Open Space indeed as we are ALL holding the space. I don't think that we need
to state that the fundamentals of OS apply because they are really applied,
in part because we are an Open Space community, in part because of the
"Open" character of Internet and mailing lists.

I have always appreciated to read ALL the mails I have red, and if sometimes
I don't have the time or am not interested in a particular subject I have not
even to hit the delete bottom; I don't open those mails, as I have not
"signed" for that particular session. And, yes, I appreciate to know the
training
and facilitation that others are doing; and I very much appreciate (even
when I
was only in "read mode") the help and suggestions that everybody gives for
others "requests for help".

I belong to many lists in different languages and subjects and this is the
only list (and community) I always felt I was a member of (even when no
one knew that except me). The reason for that is that in this list there is
"coherence" between content and form, and passion is real and not
simulated. (And the things I don't like, here or elsewhere, is when a
"good" content is expressed with the wrong format - a format that
uses dictatorship, or shows no respect for the feelings of others, for
instance - and if there are any "principles" that may facilitate that, I
would prefer to revise them, and allow for "irresponsibility" to be fully
opened and commented...)

Apart from that, I agree with Birgitt and others that, from time to time,
we shall discuss (or re-discuss) what we want this list to be. What other
things (in this case it is "more" things, not less...) could we use the
list for?

I would suggest that we could use this list to exchange more information,
learning, and clarification and permanent improvements on OS concepts and
techniques. Some points to clarify that:

- I think that OS is greater that OST - I would like to hear experiences
of Spaces being opened out there even if they don't use OST (having said
that, I must clarify that I am not referring mainly to other "Large Scale
Intervention Methods", that I think that in most cases have a "closed
form", but to "life experiences", within families, schools, communities,
etc that are "Open" (by nature or construct).

- Secondly, I think that if we only "exchange experiences" we risk to
never learn new things. I think that all of us try to read subjects that
are being published and can be useful or, on the contrary, are useless.
As no one can read everything, I would like if summaries (and not only
references) are sent to the list and eventually discussed, namely new books
on consultation, or chaos theory, or complex systems theory or, on the
contrary, against system theory. (for example - it is useless for me to now
that some authors are now contradicting systems theory, as I don't have
the time to read everything - I would prefer to read a post explaining What
are they saying, Why are they against, and are they right or not?). So
more exchange of information and debate on "theory" would be welcome.
And I think that a community is much more rich and ALL participants
will profit if more people does research and creation that if only some
people do that.

- Thirdly, I think it is the time to go beyond the type of help we all try
to give to each other and, in this list or in more restricted forums, try
to organise more "organic" ways of collaborating with each other. I think
the training that "Harrison and colleagues" are giving is one step
in this way. But I can imagine other steps. For instance, many of us
have companies or are "doing business as" - why not creating other
partnerships crossing states, or countries, or continents?

- And (the last point, I promise...), I think that Open Space will dye if
it continues to be "American (continent) only"; and I am quite concerned
that other foruns are being created in national languages that don't report
their discussions to this international forum and conduct people to have
less time to this one.

In these global days I don't believe in any movement that is country
centred (or continent centred). I know (if I know...) how difficult it
is for a non-English speaker to participate in discussions in English,
but after Berlin I would expect this list to be by now much less
American-only than it is. "World wide" is the only way I can think
of true Open Space. I have no solution pre-prepared for that - only
the concern...

Best wishes for all

Artur

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