Open Space and World Cafe

[Alan Stewart]

G'day Open Space and World Café Friends

 

This is being posted to World Café, OST and genuinecontact listservs with the thought that you may find it of interest and potentially useful. It comes to you from a lovely spring morning in Australia.

 

There are periodic indications that some of us are using both OST and Café processes, sometimes independently and sometimes in combination. In my experience this can be very effective in contexts in which each is appropriate. 

 

A story of how they were used together in a series of community consultations can be seen at:

 

In Conversing Cafes people come out on top downunder. http://www.theworldcafe.com/storyconversing.html

 

Many people have commented on how useful they found the observed correspondence between purpose and process and outcome in this now well known 'Marion Story'.  Reportedly it played a role in bringing about a cultural shift to 'all voices being heard' in the Financial Planning Association in the US. http://www.theworldcafe.com/storyfpa.html



I wonder if you see that we could all benefit if the power and potential of these two processes was widely recognised by leaders through their having personal experience of them?

 

A remarkable opportunity to do this with both has come my way recently. In each state in Australia there are leadership programs offered annually in which young 'high fliers' (people who have proven work experience and capability, vision and commitment) are given a comprehensive set of experiences to prepare them to assume leadership positions beyond their workplace. Participants are recruited from a wide range of backgrounds, industries and sectors - including business, government, social, community and the arts. 



The (new) director of this program in South Australia contacted me mid year to express her concern that the current group were not communicating at anything beyond superficial levels and that she had heard on the wind that I might be able to assist. 

 

One emerging is that, in the two day final retreat in November, the whole of the first day is to be allocated to:  

  

Conversation Cafe (morning) 'Reflection on the year' 

Open Space Technology (afternoon)  'Where to from here ..' 

 

in order to address the theme:

 

               How may we make the most of the experience of being participants in this program?  

 

My intuition is that the intimacy and inclusivity of sitting at small tables in the Café while reflecting on their shared experience will promote the listening and questioning through which participants may reach deeper levels of awareness, understanding and of relating. 

 

And then in the Open Space session the conditions will be right for all to announce what they feel 'bold and wild' about, and for like passioned people to link with each other. 

 

Whether it happens like this remains to be seen! 

 

(In next year's course, these processes will be introduced at the outset).

 

I would add that, whichever process I use when facilitating/hosting, I invariably invoke the principles of OST. And I do not name an event Open Space unless it is the whole 'box and dice.' 

 

Also I use capitalized 'Café' when alluding to the process and when using diverse descriptors such as 'Conversation', 'Passion', 'Collective Wisdom', 'Knowledge' Café.  

 

With love 

 

Alan

Adelaide 

 

 

 



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