OS Institutes missions

[Dominique Proudhon]

Here you go: one more question:
I know this must already be available somewhere, but I can't help asking
the question (may be because I like you folks' responsiveness and
deepness of thoughts). Plus I like to pick your brains:

What are the purpose and values of Open Space Institutes?

As I am beginning to know you guys, I am kind of expecting a "Whatever
they are, is the only thing they could be", so I guess these may be
quite different from country to country.
Since I'm starting from scratch on this, I only have so far:
-         Promoting OS in all sorts of ways so people can hear about it,
experiment it, and make it their own.
-         Initiate OS events by supporting local initiatives, and giving
people what they need to get going.
-         Gather and share OS experiences.
-         Allow contacts and exchanges between OS practitioners.
-         Allow exchanges between interested folks and practitioners
-         .?
Values:
-         Allow experimentation and debate around OS practice
-         Advocate for (and refine if needed) the OS process
values/principles (free participation, equality between participants, no
censure, group autonomy.)
-         Free access to the technology by all interested
-         No ownership of the technology
-         .?

If these are the values of OST (I may have misinterpreted them as I
jumped in OS world with little reading/preparation), then to be
congruent:
- Access to resources should be free (i.e. no membership conditions)
- Practice needs to be open to anyone (i.e. no certification training)
- Trainings should be "practice exchanges" for all who want to attend
- OSI would operate on donations and volunteering only.
- OSI would not spend energy "protecting" the "integrity" (Isn't that a
Myth!) of the OS approach against those trying to trademark it or
copyright it, but just trust that open availability and advocating of OS
values will make it unprofitable to take OS on the competitive arena and
prepare to be surprised with results.

I am curious what you guys think?

Happy Now to all,
Dominique.


Dominique Proudhon
Group Facilitation
Problem solving
Conflict resolution
Dampierre
38470 Notre Dame de l'Osier
France
(33) 4 76 36 71 34
(33) 6 78 91 48 77

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