Open Space in Oral Cultures

[Bernd Weber]

Judy,

yes it helps-a lot!

S1) "to people the topics" YEAHH
S2) symbols or pictures for other topics.
Brings me back to the old idea to ask the people who already know a
topic to bring an object or symbold for it with them when they
gather.
S3) Documentalists/Scribes for each group?
Possible, but since we try to develop a "model" (in my understanding:
a social simulation including the simulation category 'resource
level') which should be broadly appliable also when there is no more
external project with extra resources, (this sustainability criteria
makes the solution space even scarcer) there are no scribes. In the
traditional communities of the interior usually only the chief (of
several communities) has 1 scribe (for communication with the
external world based on written language). But there have to be
compromises if externalized documentation is necessary: either paper
and markers/finger colours? for drawing, or throw-away-or digital
camera to take pictures of the (traditional) sand-drawings.

Q4: But is externalized documentation in an oral culture necessary?
In alphabetic cultures the documents is/or can be an indicator for
committment and guarantee, that the x-process output can be
transformed in an x+1process-input. But oral tradition seems to build
up a complex system of documentalist-stories.

-----
weberb at gmx.at, on 16.09.2002 at 17:33:37 (GMT/UT + 02:00)


On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 11:59:12 -0300, J. Richardson wrote:
>Hi Bernd,
>
>Wow - thank you for sharing such deep inquiry.  During one OST I
>facilitated, many among the participants could not read and write.
>We chose to have people speak their topic and line up along the side
>of the group.
>Once all the topics were "posted or peopled", those standing in line
>spoke their topic one more time and moved to wherever they wanted to
>meet to discuss.  A few wanted to post more than one topic and drew
>a symbol or picture for their other topic.  The sponsoring group
>wanted the proceedings captured -- someone from each discussion
>group artistically drew the proceedings and we had scribes for each
>group to also capture the information.
>
>Hope this helps, Bernd.  Congratulations on developing your vision.
>
>Judi Judith Richardson judith at ponoconsultants.com Pono Consultants
>International Facilitating the Flow of Inspired Collaboration (902)
>435-0308 www.ponoconsultants.com
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: WB-TrainConsult <wb-trainconsult at GMX.NET> To:
><OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002
>11:18 AM Subject: Open Space in Oral Cultures
>
>
>>Dear os-list
>>
>>my client asked me to write this email to the os-list.
>>
>>I have meanwhile facilitated  several small OST events here in
>>central Mozambique and started some os-sensibilization and ost-
>>training (by doing) for community development facilitators of the
>>Rural Development Program and a national ONG collaborating with
>>them in land-right issues and I have roughly presented various
>>other "organization transformative large group facilitation
>>techniques" (that is my way to speak about the 18++methods) to this
>>group.
>>
>>They decided, that OST (and Future Search) could play an important
>>role in a Sofala-Community-Development-Model, which we are about to
>>construct together at the basis-level of an SIAD-approach (Systemic
>>Integrated Area Development), which is networking at three levels
>>I. Community Development (fighting poverty, producing the social
>>energy) II. District Development (bundeling and coordinating it)
>>III. Provincial Level (supporting it)
>>
>>After having paired the Community Development Facilitators (who are
>>part of the Rural Area Development Programme) with the Community
>>Development Animators (who are part of the communities) the next
>>step would be to realize do help prepare these tandems to open
>>space again and again in the communties of the focal districts as
>>part of the community animation/development process.
>>
>>So there arise several questions related to the one basic question:
>>"How to realize OST-events in very poor rural communities, where
>>people have a purely oral tradition?" that is: they do not write,
>>do not read, have no access to money (well: less than 0,2
>>USD/family and day) and technology (well, I saw portable radios
>>around some necks)?
>>
>>I discussed it this morning with the internal consultant (JPV). We
>>are an internal/external OD-consultancy-tandem which is the nucleus
>>of the OD-consultancy system within the Rural Development Programm.
>>The next circle of the Development System around us (at
>>implementation level) are already the Community Facilitators and
>>their District Coordinators).
>>
>>JPV said: "It is impossible! How should they write and post the
>>"temas de paixao"? They can not even write their name! These people
>>from the 'interior' can not interprete x/y-grids like the
>>time/space slots of the bulletin board! How can they organize their
>>working groups without the bulletin board? They can not documentate
>>their working results! They have no watches! They can not start
>>another group in one and a half hour! Forget it!"
>>
>>I said: "Calma! Wait! Describing people as illiterates focuses on
>>deficits from our point of view. But what is the function of fixing
>>the themes of the working groups? What is the function of written
>>or visual documentation? It substitutes mental operations which we,
>>the non-oral people can not any longer realize. We lost a lot of
>>complexity of our memories. And the people in the communities would
>>not be stranger groups. They know each other. So if one of them
>>goes to the center of the circle and tells them, what he/she wants
>>to do in the group, there is already a mental framework of
>>reference in place, they will easily remind which problem this and
>>that guy wanted to resolve together with others. They are able to
>>manage 20 or 30 person-related items! (I gave examples of
>>tremendous memory acts I had experienced with illiterate people
>>here)...WE are not! And with the breakout-room organization it is
>>somehow the same. They all know their territory, so they will be
>>able to memorize the triples person-item-space (who-what-where).
>>And since it will start at the right time and be over when it is
>>over, we have just to install the basic breathing rhytm of the
>>community. Coming together and breaking out, coming together and
>>breaking out."
>>
>>After breathing a little for my-self, I continued: "You know,
>>Harrison insists that he did not invent but discover OST. And he
>>speaks of its African roots. And in my interpretation Harrison's
>>OST with its postings on the bulletin board and its report-system
>>is an adaptation of a stone-age-time social innovation of feasable
>>face2face self-organization of communities for people of an
>>industrialized culture, reminding them of their often forgotten
>>capacities to self-organize. So why not try to go back to the
>>roots?
>>I believe, it is possible"
>>
>>Well, I was in vision-mood and -energy, there and when I said that.
>>But up to now it is only a deep conviction. So perhaps it is not
>>true. And perhaps we will not be able to materialize such a vision.
>>
>>So I am at the point where
>>
>>I REALLY NEED HELP FROM YOU OUT THERE!
>>
>>My questions (for now):
>>
>>1) Should I take the responsibility to invite my client to go for
>>such a journey?
>>In other words: is it possible to realize open space with people
>>who are completely illiterate?
>>
>>2) Are there practical experiences I can rely on?
>>
>>3) Wouldn't it be necessary (and great) to make OST even simpler?
>>(Putting a part of the external instrumentation back into the
>>heads)
>>
>>
>>Bernd
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>-----
>>wb-trainconsult at gmx.net 16.09.2002 at 14:59:39 (GMT/UT + 02:00) 1)
>>attached to this e-mail : No file 2) All attached files are
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>>3) Please send text documents in RichTextFormat/*.rtf, if possible.
>>This also facilitates communication between the mac- and ms-world.
>>
>>----
>>Bernd Weber Organization Development Consultant
>>
>>"DEVELOP YOUR CAPACITIES - MATERIALIZE YOUR VISION"
>>
>>
>>C.P. 1462, Beira, Sofala, MOZAMBIQUE fone: +258-3-32 98 59,
>>cellfone:+258-82-43 79 77
>>
>>-----
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