Open Space in Oral Cultures

Wed Sep 18 11:49:07 PDT 2002

Yes Chris,

good idea
Thanks

More tips from your side
Or interesting experiences
Or something for me to reflext about?

Bernd

-----
weberb at gmx.at, on 18.09.2002 at 20:46:46 (GMT/UT + 02:00)

On Wed, 18 Sep 2002 10:18:38 -0700, Chris Corrigan wrote:
>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":
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>>>>
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