it works!

[Raffi Aftandelian]

Hi folks!
no matter that friday night it took place in a grungy old private school
under repairs, that the chairs were dusty, that one break out room two
hours before curtains smelled like cat pee, that sat. we started an hour
late. The bottom line is that my first OS: Developing a training program
for Moscow Public Schools: issues and opportunities was successful. This
I did as a volunteer for friends and colleagues who have started this
initiative in light of the extreme xenophobia and racism that is rampant
in Russia today-- especially towards Chechens.

17 people participated day one. half of those didn't come the second day
and new people came an hour or so late on the second day (1.5 day
event). But hey, I tried really sitting with the principles.

Participants after initial hesitation jumped with both feet.

Some questions:

1. When preparing for an OS, what expectations do you have/communicate
to the sponsor re: people's participation. Can people come for just a
part? If you leave, can you come back? To a certain degree there was a
fair amount of coming and going?

2. What are people's criteria for "space grabbing"-- the point at which,
as I understand, the facilitator should intervene, albeit in a pretty
inobtusive way (on the surface)? I saw quasi-space grabbing behavior at
the meeting. But my gut told me to hang back and things indeed worked
out. (thank you, Birgitt, for really getting us to think about what the
essence of OS in Novosibirsk, bc i go back to the two words for me--
profound nonintervention)

3. I noticed there was a fair amount of confusion when it came to action
planning. people wondered what to do with all the ideas. I said several
times I will explain, but people were very nervous. I wonder if my
mistake was when it came to asking people to read all the reports if I
should've given an overview of the remainder of the meeting so that
people would know what was happening. the energy for a while went low,
people checked out, flew away (butterflies). I just hung in there.
Finally I was able to explain to most folks (after only less than half
the folks participated in the voting! yep I didn't comment outloud on
this.) the future planning. some people got it.

I felt that it would be best to leave the circle, left, and slowly
convergence energy developed in the group (we ended up with one big
working group)-- and a full-on power struggle to boot which they
resolved. The quasi-space grabber was deposed. I noticed these things
quite by accident. I wasn't watching this the whole time, but rather
picking up bits while doing the picking-up-coffee-cups number.

and by the closing circle, there was indeed a sense of closure,
satisfaction, that the group had gone to some real deep places together,
had a sense of accomplishment, that they from the get go were highly
democratic with each other. in a word what you often hear at this point.

so thanks for your support, prayers, and I'm off to organizing my next
OS!

your comments would much be appreciated!
raffi

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