STORIES, the Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

Joelle Lyons Everett JLEShelton at aol.com
Sun Mar 31 17:23:14 PST 2002


STORIES, the Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

Issue 5,  March 2002



Purpose of the Newsletter

The purpose of the newsletter is to make our stories available to each other
so that we continue to learn and
grow.  We hope they will serve you for education, examples, connection and
pleasure.



This newsletter is intended for the use of friends and members of the Open
Space Institute (US).  It may be
reproduced in any useful way with acknowledgement.  When copying, please
include the author/contact/
publication at the end of each story.



In This Issue:



1--Notes from the Editor

2--Open Space Technology for Peace and Prosperity

3--Journalism that Matters

4--Spirited Work at Whidbey Institute

5--Strategic Planning in Open Space

6--Trust the People

7--Using New Technology for Convergence

8--Update on Open Space in Organizations

9--Coming Events



*********************************************************



NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

Joelle Lyons Everett, USA



Spring arrived on March 20 in Washington State with a storm that swirled
snowflakes through the air most
of the day and night, left nine inches of new snow on the ground in some
urban areas, and closed
mountain passes with avalanches.   Not quite what we expected!



“Be prepared to be surprised” has been a useful mantra in the past year, as
world events have often swirled
out of our control.  In calling for stories for this issue, I asked the
questions,  “Is the world changing?

Am I?”  I think you’ll enjoy reading the many responses from your
colleagues, stories of OST working
toward peace in India and conscious journalism in the US, an exciting
learning community, space opened
for strategic planning with some surprising outcomes, testing new technology
for convergence and,
especially heartening, OST becoming business-as-usual!



May our eyes be open to the springtime around us, may our hearts have enough
open space for what life
brings.



Joelle Everett   jleshelton at aol.com





*********************************************************



OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY

Arun Wakhlu, Pragati Foundation, Pune, India



At the outset, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Harrison Owen

for bringing  the beautiful process of Opening  Space to so many of us.

Also, I am personally indebted to Anne Stadler for being my Initiator, Guru,
Mentor and Fellow traveller
on the beautiful journey.  I am also grateful to Fr. Brian Bainbridge, Anil
Sachdev, Dinesh Chandra,
Peggy Holman and many beloved friends who are working as instruments of love
and light on Earth.



This brief note describes the use of Open Space Technology for two related
conferences held at Asia
Plateau, Panchgani (120 KMs from Pune in Western India) in August 2001 and
February 2002.  Both
these conferences addressed the issue of people working together to make a
difference towards restoring
Peace and Prosperity in areas, which have seen a lot of violence and
explosive conflict. Both conferences
were between people harbouring a lot of mistrust.



The two conferences were:



1.      Indo - Pakistan People to People Dialogue for Peace and Prosperity,

8th - 11th August 2001, 54 participants.



A growing mass of well-meaning people, in India and Pakistan, believe that
the time has come to positively
& consciously bring about a shift in mind-sets, which alone can lead to outer
changes and long-term
friendship between the two countries.



A group of such people, led by the Pragati Foundation in Pune, India, and

the Foundation for Human and Economic Development, USA, had a very inspiring
and energizing
Indo-Pak dialogue at Panchgani in the summer of 2001 (8th -11th August 2001
). It was probably for the
first time since 1947, that Pakistanis and Indians, including Kashmiris, sat
together at one table, in a spirit
of Friendship, Amity and Dialogue and came up with a shared understanding of
what we need to do, to
bring about permanent Peace.



One of the resolutions adopted at Panchgani was that another dialogue should
be held, in which the people
of undivided J & K could share their authentic heritage and voice their true
collective aspirations. It was
agreed that the true voice of the people of J & K needs to be heard and their
deepest aspirations need to
guide actions on the future of the state.



The next conference was aimed at the above objective.



2.  All J&K People to People Dialogue for Peace and Prosperity,

12th - 15th February 2002, 62 participants.



This dialogue was aimed at bringing together seriously committed people, from
the whole of Jammu and
Kashmir state, in a very inspiring setting. We sought the guidance of Love in
silence, besides dialoguing,
to come up with practical solutions and proposals for lasting Peace and
Prosperity for the people of J & K
as a whole.



In this dialogue, the purpose was to get together, listen to each other and

re-connect back with the rich and glorious Spiritual, Aesthetic,

Intellectual and Universal heritage (including Kashmiriyat) of J&K. one that
has a tremendous relevance in
today's times. We intended to work together for Peace and Prosperity for all,
inspired by the Universal
Spirit, which has guided us all through the ages. This dialogue and
reconnection, gave the participants a
chance to reconnect with the Underlying Values that forge the Kashmiri
Spirit, and realize how deeply they
draw from the Human Principles of Love, Brotherhood and the Universal Oneness
of all humankind. It
was also felt that a solution to the problem of poor Indo-Pak relations, and
to the Kashmir issue, can be
found within these values.



Both conferences were very successful.  Open Space Technology was used in
both cases. Here's why I
think OST helped so much:



1.      One of the needs in the Indian Sub Continent, and Jammu & Kashmir in
particular is for people to
take responsibility for co-creating a future, which is deeply desired by all.
Open Space Technology (OST)
gave people an experiential feel of the process of co-creation.  It was a
direct way of experiencing the
power of Freedom / Responsibility.



2.      The process of opening space opened peoples' hearts.  In situations
of conflict and misunderstanding
this is most important for building trust and courage.  In both the
conferences participants commented on
how the open, loving atmosphere created in the conference was helpful in
healing and re-conciliation.



3.      The process of OST and the focus on listening to each other with
respect, and honouring all voices
gave many an opportunity to voice their feelings freely.  For many people who
had never found such a
forum, this brought immense relief and deep satisfaction. It was also an
affirmation of the basic human
right of free expression. It also was an eye opener for people to hear about
others problems.



4.      There were many moments when people paused in silence to listen to
Heart / Spirit / Inner guidance.
This brought in a sacred dimension in the proceeding.  Since silence is
neither Hindu nor Muslim nor
Buddhist, it was whole-heartedly accepted by all. In an atmosphere charged
with religious mistrust, it gave
people a feel of the Peace that transcends religion.



5.      In both the conferences, there was a lot of sharing of the practical
house work at the conference
centre (Dish washing, serving food, cleaning up, laying the tables etc).
When you do such things with
"the enemy", one strongly realize the basic commonality of life and human
needs.  This was a powerful
means of connecting us back to our intrinsic humanness.



6.      Because of the unbounded field of human expression that OST provides
for, many creative
expressions like skits, songs, dances, celebrations, humour and meditation
emerged.  These helped to
bring people into the space of feelings / heart and thereby helped
integration.  This was further helped by
the cultural programmes that were part of both conferences in the evenings.



7.      The beauty of the physical environment (Asia Plateau, Panchagani,

Western India), and the proximity to a lush green forest, and the view of
mountains, a lake and open sky,
connected people to the elements. This further created a sense of wholeness
and integration.



8.      The Law of Two Feet, paying attention, being present, and showing up
all brought people into
integrity. This is the same as reconnection with

spirit.  Ultimately, it is spirit that heals, reunites, inspires and gives

faith and courage for creative action.



9.      Many initiatives have rippled out of these two conferences.

With further conversations and invitations, the ripples of loving action and
responsibility will reach out still
further.



Arun Wakhlu   pragatifoundation at vsnl.net

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org

For more details about these conferences, visit www.pragatifoundation.org



*********************************************************



JOURNALISM THAT MATTERS

Peggy Holman and Stephen Silha, USA



PRE-SET:  September 21, 10 days after the tragedy of September 11, we are on
the phone with the
president of the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME), a North American
association of newspaper
editors.  After talking with many people he has made the decision to proceed
with the APME annual
conference in 3 weeks.  What tipped the balance in this difficult decision?
A new concept: whoever comes
is the right people.  The entire agenda is recast in these three weeks,
including the theme of the Newsroom
Summit and Open Space scheduled to end the conference.  9/11 sharpened our
focus, had us asking what
was really important?  Our theme changed from "Saving Journalism" to
"Journalism that Matters."



THE CONFERENCE SCENE:  In addition to the horrors of September 11, the
anthrax scare is now in the
air.  Newspaper editors from all over North America are here.  As outsiders,
we watched, fascinated by the
roller coaster ride these folks are experiencing.  They are covering a deeply
horrific story, one in which
many are directly affected.  At the same time, they are celebrating.
Circulation, which has been dropping
for the last twenty years, is skyrocketing.  Stories of teenagers reading
newspapers - unheard of - are
rampant.  There is a feeling that what they do is an important public service
and that they are rising to the
occasion: newsrooms and business offices, traditionally at odds, come
together making decisions based on
what's best for informing the public.  Unselfish acts abound.  For example,
the AP makes its photo
service, normally cost prohibitive for smaller papers, available for whoever
wishes access.  The
participants are caught in an emotional tidal wave, buffeted by grief, loss,
and disbelief, exhilarated by
increased circulation and readership.  The question on every mind: how do we
keep this new audience?



THE SUMMIT:  It is the last event of the conference.  We open Friday evening
with the format that was
the norm for every session.  There is a panel of experts discussing
journalism that matters.  In 45 minutes,
we invite everyone next door, into a room with low lighting, soft music, and
small round tables set for
groups of four.  We invite them into a World Café conversation.  This is the
first time that people are
invited to do something other than listen to experts.  The good news: they
have a great time (no surprises
here).  The bad news (from our colleague on the inside): they're having the
same conversation they've
been having for the last twenty years.  Good insight for the open space!



Saturday morning, the room is set, chairs in a circle.  Early arrivers stare
at the room, deeply distrustful of
this strange set up.  (We learned during a previous session that research
found newsroom cultures to be
almost uniformly defensive.  In fact, their defensiveness surpassed even the
military and health care.)  We
open the space, raising the bar by challenging editors to take their conversat
ions to new places.  We
encourage them to move beyond the same old gripes and explore new
possibilities.   As always, topics are
posted.  And something we've never seen before - two topics are posted AFTER
people leave for their
sessions.  Turns out the conveners are uncomfortable announcing them in
public.  The conversations are
INTENSE.  There is little use of two feet as people huddle in tight-knit
circles of chairs.  The voices of
participating high school and college journalists help take the conversations
to new places. Closing remarks
are filled with the usual accolades.  One person summed it up: "I got more
ideas out of this morning than
out of the rest of the conference."



WHAT'S NEXT:  Sunday morning, we meet with the board.  It is unanimous.  They
want more.  Two
people volunteer their states for the next "Journalism that Matters" summit.
We've accomplished our
purpose, the conversations will continue.  You see, this open space was
conceived as a step in an
ambitious project.  We wish to invite journalists into revisiting the
essential purpose and practice of their
profession by convening conversations in every state and province, using a
network of OS practitioners
from around North America.  For us, the desire to do this comes through
learnings from Appreciative
Inquiry: the stories we tell ourselves shape the way we see and behave in the
world; the questions we ask
are fateful, directing attention to what we notice and what remains unseen.
In addition, our work in
organizations has led us to conclude that the communication system is a
powerful "strange attractor" in
social systems, accelerating and sustaining change.  Journalists are our
collective storytellers, asking
questions on our behalf.  At the heart of our communications system,
journalists are uniquely positioned to
contribute to the greater good through the stories they tell.



We believe Open Space is the ideal ground for journalists to re-invent their
craft.  If you have something to
contribute (funding, ideas, good wishes), let us know!



P.S.  Journalists take great notes!  They did the best job of capturing the
conversations that we've ever
seen.  Take a peek at www.opencirclecompany.com/0110NewsroomSummitReport.htm



Peggy Holman   peggy at opencirclecompany.com

Stephen Silha     ssilha at aol.com

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org



*********************************************************



SPIRITED WORK AT THE WHIDBEY INSTITUTE

Anne Stadler, USA



Spirited Work is a Whidbey Institute program which began the winter of

1999, and is now preparing to enter its fourth cycle (2002).  It meets
seasonally face to face and is linked
in an on-line learning community supported by BigMindMedia.  Spirited Work
has involved more than 90
people.  About twenty-five are repeating participants.



 It has evolved from a program offering of the Whidbey Institute into a
learning community of practice
serving as a laboratory for co-creative collective leadership.  Our practice
has been grounded in the
fundamentals of Open Space Technology, and Angeles Arrien’s work: The Four
Fold Way. Each of us
takes responsibility for what has heart and meaning: for evolving our selves,
the collective, and our service
in the world.  We are learning to live open space principles and the Four
Fold Way in our daily lives.  We
are also opening space for organizational forms based on our practice.



A diverse group of people has been attracted--from the arts, from corporate
life, educators, service
providers, non-profit directors, old, young and in-between.  Our community
includes a native American,
Vietnamese, Chinese, African American, African, Bahamian, Indian,
Caucasian--so we experience a
multiplicity of life experiences and cultures. Our commitment to openness and
inclusion has welcomed
whoever is attracted.  This has resulted in participation of people from
overseas as well as visitors to the
Whidbey Institute who happen to be there during one of our seasonal
gatherings. People bring their
children and there are two young girls who have attended regularly with their
parents.



Self-organizing using Open Space methodology has led to people expressing
themselves creatively in all
modalities: art, poetry, music, dance, theater, clearing trails, tending the
land, making new additions to the
material well-being of the Whidbey Institute.  We express spirit in practical
action for the benefit of our
community life as well as in our work in the world. So we "chop wood, carry
water", e.g., do our dishes,
cleanup after ourselves, and help set up and put away whatever we use, and we
take responsibility for the
exchange of money and material level of our group life as well.



Spirited Work emphasizes linking spirit to practical action on behalf of the
collective as well as in the
world.  Thus, the Stewards, a circle leadership model, has evolved for
convening and managing Spirited
Work.  Organizational initiatives such as Watershed Legacy, Bountiful Table,
Peacetrees Vietnam, and
Heartspeak: A Gathering of Grandmothers have benefited from the practice
ground provided by Spirited
Work.  Participants have applied their learnings in corporate life and higher
education, too.



In Spirited Work, the Whidbey Institute has a maturing and alchemic community
of practice, grounded in
principle, animated by spirit, connected both face to face and on-line.
Appreciative inquiry is a method
used for tracking the emergence of spirit.  Methods, such as Process Work,
which honor and bring
forward all voices, facilitate deep democracy group processes.
Story-telling and poetry are habits of
communication.  All ages and people from many different backgrounds express
multiple patterns of
making meaning.



Open Space has provided the framework for the evolution of a conscious

collective.  Collective wisdom arises from reflection on experience.  The

Four Fold Way provides a frame and focus for personal growth and
leadership‹as well as for collective
growth and maturity.



 We feel we are a unique resource for the study of collective intelligence
and spiritual wisdom.  As I read
the Fetzer Report, "Centered on the Edge,” I noticed over and over I was
saying:  "Yes, we experience that
in Spirited Work.  Yes, we have/are exploring that."  We have a three year
history of crafting a field of
practice and study.  Our history is archived in our Spirited Work web site
and available for study and
reflection.



We want to engage with the others for conversation and mutual learning.  We
are eager to offer our
experience of evolving an open space community of practice in service to our
mission: cultivating creative
leadership for earth, spirit and the human future--and hope to learn from
others.



Anne Stadler    annestad at nwlink.com

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org

For more information about Spirited Work, see   www.spiritedwork.org



*********************************************************



STRATEGIC PLANNING IN OPEN SPACE

Jay W. Vogt, USA



“Our founder wants to convene the first national gathering of his family
foundation’s staff and project
staff in Open Space,” said a senior staff member of the foundation, “so our
coming together will be as
innovative as the work we do.  Can you create a strategic plan for a new
organization in Open Space?”



“I don’t know,” I thought frankly.  I’d never done it before.  Harrison
Owen says, “It always works.”
But strategic planning is a process I had always done in a very structured,
linear way, quite unlike Open
Space.  It typically starts with assessment, moves on to mission, and ends
with goals and strategies.  One
builds on the other.  But if this client was game, I certainly was.  “I think
it just might work,” I replied.
“But how?” I wondered...



First, we decided to give the participants information.  I asked the staff to
prepare a briefing book
summarizing everything they knew about the environment in which they did
business.  This document
went out to all participants in advance.



Second, we clarified the givens.  I learned that everything about the
foundation’s future was on the table.
“Everything except the mission,” clarified the founder.



Third, we discussed the absolutely essential elements of a strategic plan,
and picked three:

1) Guiding ideas (mission, vision, and values);

2) Program goals (all goals serving customers);

3) Operational goals (all goals building infrastructure).

These would head each of three walls in the retreat space.  Conveners would
post their group’s
proceedings on one of the three, wherever they fit best.



Finally, we discussed what, specifically, successful work groups would
contribute to the plan.  We
developed a template for each group to complete:

1) Proposed goal;

2) Indicators and measures of success;

3) Strategies to achieve the goal;

4) Resources needed to achieve the strategies.



Thirty five foundation staff and project staff gathered for two days in the
fall at a beautiful Vermont inn,
briefing books in hand.  The founder welcomed them, and I explained the
rules.  “You can talk about
whatever you want, but if you wish to be part of the strategic plan, you have
to complete a template
(goal, indicators, strategies, resources) and post it in one of the three
areas (guiding ideas, program goals,
operational goals).”  With that we were off.



One of the first groups to form was about mission - yes, mission.  It met
continuously for over four
hours, involving just about everybody at one point or another.  Even the
founder agreed that the new
mission that emerged was better than the old.  It went to the trustees for
their review and approval.



Meanwhile, posters popped up proposing goals, some grand, some small in
scope.  At day’s end, in the
Evening News, everyone asked for a quick review of the day’s guiding ideas
and goals.  Despite
determined effort, the group’s output seemed slight.  The mission
conversation had taken a great deal of
energy.  The director was nervous.  Everyone adjourned to the bar.



The next day folks returned afire and pumped out goals at a feverish pace.
By early afternoon they were
done.   Guiding ideas and goals draped the walls everywhere.  People left
early, surprised, tired and
happy.  The director knew something great had happened, but still wasn’t sure
what.



Did we achieve what we set out to do?  Well, yes and no.  We absolutely did
some great strategic
thinking, and even some solid strategic planning.  But despite our gentle
framing of the task, we got
results all over the map.  The staff still needed weeks of work to turn those
uneven sparks of inspiration
into a coherent plan that met their high standards.  The director was even
heard to mutter at times, when
eyeing the proceedings, about “that damn pile of paper.”



Still, they got a great result that served them well, but many organizations
would have ducked out or
given up along the way.  Strategic planning in Open Space: exciting,
productive, unpredictable, and not
for the faint of heart.



Jay W. Vogt  jay at peoplesworth.com,  www.peoplesworth.com

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org



*********************************************************



TRUST THE PEOPLE

Christopher Schoch, MDLS Associates, France and USA



Last January three hundred and fifty members of a major construction firm
gathered in Normandy for two
days to enter a vision building process begun some 4 months earlier. All
levels of management were
present and some 260 workers responded to the invitation--aside from the
annual Christmas show it was
the first time that everyone had come together.



Construction is tough work. Site workers pride themselves for being able to
withstand extreme physical
conditions including fatigue, cold, and the pressures of meeting deadlines.
It's the kind of business where,
outside of one's immediate work group, there is not much sense of loyalty or
trust. On the contrary, a
tradition of mistrust is the foundation of management-employee relations.



So it was a pleasant surprise to see that more than 70 % of workers made the
trip for the first day, a
Friday. The organisers expected attendance to drop off sharply on Saturday.



 Even though in opening space we are told to expect surprises, this seasoned
convener had never seen
anything quite like the developments that unfolded. The opening session was
scheduled for 8;30 am . At
7:30 most of the workers were meeting in small groups outside the chosen
venue--the local fairgrounds,
that in fact they themselves had built several years before. It looked like
the open space meeting had begun
well before the facilitator arrived. Conversation was brisk in the darkness
and cold of morning. They were
on familiar ground.



So what happened when everyone else came and we opened the space in the more
or less formal manner
that we have learned so attentively? Well, twenty ideas got posted on the
marketplace wall--not exactly a
tidal wave, n'est ce pas!



When it was time for the first meetings to take place, a scattering of people
went into the breakout area to
attend them. The vast majority--say 280-- took quite literally the
description of os as a semi-organized
coffee break.



The coffee area was bulging at the seams, as the earlier spontaneous dynamics
took over once again. In
less than an hour, the coffee that had been brewed for the entire day was
gone: the caterer sent out an
emergency team to bring on more from another site.



When it was time for lunch everyone gathered at long tables and the intensity
of conversation increased as
the decibels rose. As the afternoon theme groups convened, the mega-group
began to disaggregate, as
people started to get curious about what was going on in the small group
discussions. Most just stood and
watched, many expressed surprise and interest at the openness of the
discussions.



At evening news one block of about 30 expressed their reaction by
silence--most others used the usual
words such as communication-dialogue-sincere-change etc. One very intense
discussion had taken place
around the poor image and mismanagement of a particular agency. Most of the
people in the agency took
part in a very hard and frank exchange of views that seriously challenged the
manager of that unit. He may
not have liked what he heard but by the end of the day he had heard what no
one had dared to say openly.
A catharsis had taken place and gone full cycle.



The next morning not only did everyone return, but a fresh energy surged
forward--twenty new themes
were added to the marketplace wall, and this time the coffee break area
remained entirely empty the whole
morning--to the consternation of the caterers who had doubled the number of
canisters filled with hot
brew. Even the most skeptical participants were now engaged in the process of
moving ahead, sharing the
feeling of transformation in the making.



My colleagues had been very distressed by the way things had begun, seeing
signs of resistance in the fact
that the large group of people in the coffee area were not living up to our
best hopes for them--namely that
they would be working in small groups on proper subjects germane to the
vision process.



To be honest I was bewildered myself, but intuitively knew that when you open
space you also respect the
folks who show up on their own volition --they will know what best use to
make of it.  That first
morning’s huge coffee break was important and meaningful to people who have
their own special value for
time.



Each time we open space, let us not forget to honor the uniqueness of the
people and the experience.



If it becomes predictable, it’s probably time to pass on the baton: Open
Space is really not a proven method
for getting results as much as a revelator of a group's true and potential
needs. Be prepared!!!



Christopher Schoch    Mdlschoch at aol.com

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org



*********************************************************



USING NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR CONVERGENCE

Charles "Buzz" Blick, Strategic Listening Institute, USA



I’m writing to report on on using technology-supported OST with the 300
member International Board of
Directors of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD), in Boston, March
2001.

The theme of the 1/2 day session was "What Issues Should ASCD Support to
Benefit Young People
Around the World."



In addition to the fairly standard use of computers to record the results of
individual sessions, we used a
response-pad technology to help the group create a prioritized list of issues
that the association should
work on in the future.  During the last hour, session convenors were able to
advocate in front of the whole
group for each of the 17 topics and then, through the use of the response-pad
technology, have the whole
group of 150 participants designate first the "importance" of that issue (on
a 1-6 scale) for the future of
young people, then rank the "difficulty" of each issue to implement.  The
software (Group Interactive
Feedback Technology - GIFT) used their responses to immediately create a XY
chart comparing all 17
items and projecting the results on a large screen.  The results show those
courses of action that people
thought were most likely to produce the best results with the least
difficulty - and vice-versa.



This type of convergence process is a vast improvement over the more common
use of sticky dots to
prioritize items or create action plans.



The Board evaluated the OST session as the most useful and engaging part of
their 2-day meeting last year.



I hope that this sounds useful for other OST practitioners.  Thanks for the
opportunity to share this exciting
process with others.



Charles "Buzz" Blick    buzz at strategiclistening.org
www.strategiclistening.org

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org



*********************************************************



UPDATE ON OPEN SPACE IN ORGANIZATIONS

Christine Roess, SDI Communications, USA



I feel that I should pass on the reports that I have been getting from the IT
organizations of two large
corporations where I introduced Open Space and they now use nothing else.
One organization has been
using it consistently for the past three years.  I was talking to some of the
managers there and they were
saying they "don't think people would tolerate ever having a meeting in any
other format now because they
are so used to the freedom and power of Open Space."



In the second company, a major pharmaceuticals corporation, they just got
back from their second Open
Space (we did the first one about 6 months ago) and the CIO and his senior
staff were just chortling with
glee--they had gone to Vermont skiing and they were all marveling that they
had had 63 separate sessions
in the 3 days and apparently all of them produced "real commitments and
action" and, as the CIO said, "We
did it in just 5 hours a day with the rest of the time left for skiing".



Christine Roess    CRoess at SDICommunications.com

for STORIES, Newsletter of the Open Space Institute (US)

usa at openspaceworld.org



*********************************************************



COMING EVENTS



OPEN SPACE on OPEN SPACE, Nov. 9-12, just outside Melbourne, Australia.
TheTenth International
OPEN SPACE on OPEN SPACE in OZ will be held at Marysville, about 100 minutes
drive into the
mountains from Melbourne Airport, Victoria, Australia.  It will begin on
November 9  (with evening BBQ)
and finish with lunch on November 12, 2002.  It will be Spring, with
temperatures anywhere between 10
and 25 degrees C, maybe bright sunlight, maybe some rain --Wonderful!  For
all the particulars, visit
http://www.openspaceworld.org/osonos.html





7th OPEN SPACE SYMPOSIUM ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND

TRANSFORMATION, April 21-24, Hamburg, Germany.

Visit www.institut-ebus.de for information (in German) or contact Ingrid
Ebeling: ie at institut-ebus.de





VIRTUAL OPEN PSACE ON VIRTUAL OPEN SPACE, tentative: May 13 - June 19, online
everywhere.

This online event is an exploration of what it means to conduct Open Space
online because the best way to
learn about opening space online is to DO IT.  For more information, visit
http://bigmindmedia.com/vosonvos or contact Gabriel Shirley at
vosonvos at bigmindmedia.com.





MIDWEST (USA) OPEN SPACE PRACTITIONER'S CONFERENCE, June 7, Peoria, Illinois

Complete details on our first midwest regional open space on open space, to
be held in peoria illinois on
june 7th, 2002... at http://www.globalchicago.net/midwestos. Please join us
if you can... all practitioners,
from everywhere, are welcome if you've any reason to be in our neighborhood.





HAITIAN OPEN SPACE on OPEN SPACE, June  21-24, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

The theme is Using Open Space to Create and Nurture Communities of

Learners.  Go to this link to find the invitation and to learn more:

http://beyondborders.net/OSONOS%20invite.htm





ORGANIZATION TRANSFORMATION 20, July 1-5, Two Harbors, MN

This year's theme is Dancing beyond Duality.  For information, visit

www.openspaceworld.org/ot. We are returning to the site of OT16, on the shore
of Lake Superior.   For
those not familiar with this conference, OT 3 was where Harrison Owen first
ran an Open Space
conference, in 1985 in Monterey, CA. As always, the conference fee is $30 and
rooms are available at the
hotel from $59 a night. There are also two camp grounds nearby.  If you have
specific questions about OT
20, contact  johndadams at att.net





OPEN SPACE TRAINING WORKSHOPS

For information on trainings, check www.openspaceworld.com or
www.openspacetechnology.com for
details.   Here are the 2002 workshops currently scheduled:



April 17-20, Ottawa, Canada, facilitated by Harrison Owen, Larry Peterson,
lpasoc at inforamp.net and Diane Gibeault, dgp at cyberus.ca

April 22-25, Calgary, Canada, facilitated by Birgitt Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

May 12-16 Germany, facilitated by Harrison Owen, and Katrina Petri,
katrina.petri at t-online.de

May 21-24, Toronto, Canada, facilitated by Birgitt Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

June 13-15, Frankfurt, Germany, facilitated by Birgitt Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

June 19-21, San Francisco, California, USA, facilitated by Lisa Heft,
lisaheft at pacbell.net

September 11-13, San Francisco, California, USA, facilitated by Lisa Heft,
lisaheft at pacbell.net

September 11-14, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, facilitated by Birgitt
Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

September 24-27, San Francisco, California, facilitated by Harrison Owen and
Lisa Heft,
lisaheft at pacbell.net

October 9-12, New Zealand, facilitated by Harrison Owen and Anne Pattillo,
pattillo at actrix.gen.nz

October 28-31, Raleigh, USA, facilitated by Birgitt Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

November 13-15, Brisbane, Australia, facilitated by Harrison Owen and Juliane
Bell,
julianne at exceptional-events.net

November 26-29, Frankfurt, Germany, facilitated by Birgitt Williams,
birgitt at mindspring.com

December 11-13 San Francisco, California, facilitated by Lisa Heft,
lisaheft at pacbell.net

Fall 2002 Taiwan, facilitated by Harrison Owen and Gail West,
icataiw at ficnet.net



*********************************************************



STORIES is published online occasionally by the Open Space Institute (US).



To subscribe, or to find out more about the Open Space Institute (US), visit
http://www.openspaceworld.org/wwbb/Forum6/HTML/000004.html or contact Peggy
Holman
usa at openspaceworld.org.





To submit your story, contact Joelle Everett, editor    jleshelton at aol.com



(us1)

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html



More information about the OSList mailing list