Open Space in Oral Cultures
Chris Corrigan
chris at chriscorrigan.com
Wed Sep 18 10:18:38 PDT 2002
For recording oral proceedings, why not just set up a tape recorder in a
room or any other quiet place, and have conveners come in there and talk
about their sessions. Then instead of carrying a disk around, you carry
a cassette. Of course, these comments can always be transcribed later
for readers, or copies of the cassette made for those that would rather
listen to the proceedings.
Chris
---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Bernd
> Weber
> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 8:52 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: Open Space in Oral Cultures
>
> 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
> >>mentioned by name in the lines above.Please do not open any other
> >>attachment!
> >>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
> >>
> >>-----
> >>WB-TrainConsult management- & human resources training, consulting
> >>& development -----
> >>Gumpendorfer Straße 88b/18, AT-1060 Wien, AUSTRIA fone & fax: +431
> >>596 86 57, cellfone: +43 0662 7667872 -----
> >>Inscricao no grupo de discussao "Sistemas organizacionais":
> >>Escrever um email para o endereco <sis-org-subscribe at eGroups.com>
> >>
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