magic can be messy and more...

[Raffi Aftandelian]

[Dear listers, I find myself in the awkward position of continuing a thread
that I began on both this listserv and the Genuine Contact listserv; I don't
know if there is any etiquette around this; because the thread is about 2
weeks old; unfortunately while I'm subscribed to GC, I don't actually get
the messages.]

Dear Birgitt and others,
Thanks for your reply to this list regarding the OS I conducted with a local
Moscow NGO that works with at-risk youth. Unfortunately I only saw it now
because for some reason I am not receiving GC mail even though I am
subscribed.

Storytelling: I recall what other OS'ers on the os-list have said about
storytelling: that they don't usually do it. They let the stories come out
during the OS itself. That storytelling can take the wind out of the sails.
Based on the experience of one full-on storytelling evening, I can say that
while I am not sure I agree that stories come out in OS all by themselves.
But it looked like the storytelling took the wind out of the OS itself. Many
former staff, friends of the organization showed up for the storytelling.
There was a lot of energy. The storytelling brought up lots of intense stuff
for the most active people in the organization. At storytelling there were
some 35-40 people. At the OS, the number hovered between 10-15. This made me
think about whether in the pre-work I should have worked harder with the
planning group to see how they could "secure" full participation of
everyone. Even some of the most active and senior people in the organization
were not always present. How do you work with securing participation of
everyone? Or you don't? On a related note, there were some people they chose
not to invite because they felt too much internal stuff would come to light.
For example, no "clients"-- at risk youth-- actually participated. I
understand the desire to not air all the dirty laundry of an organization
("dysfunctionality") for the whole world to view, but indeed they lose part
of the whole when the people they are serving are not represented. How do
you work with this?

We had a follow-up meeting about a week following the OS. And the sense I
got was that they were satisfied with the OS. It was not what they expected
(now I know to be clear about what Harrison tells the client, to let go of
expectations pre-event), but it was nonetheless very important. They did
recognize that an as-yet not quite describable shift had taken place inside
the organization. Unexpected things had taken place.

And there was sincere interest at least in thinking about using OS on their
own in the future as a general practice. I'll be following up with them in 3
months time. We'll see where they are.

I wanted to pose another question:

As part of my occasional volunteer work, I am a trainer/facilitator in the
Alternatives to Violence Project program (see www.avpusa.org, one of many
world AVP sites). In brief it is a community volunteer conflict resolution
(nonviolencee) training program started almost 30 years ago (by Quaker
volunteers) in US prisons at the initiative of inmates. Since then it has
spread to over 30 countries.

When I came to Moscow in 1997, together with Quaker support and with Russian
facilitators I facilitated the growth of the AVP community so that today we
have facilitators in a number of Russian cities. We have reached Russian
soldiers, prison psychologists, youth, refugees, etc. And these trainings
are conducted by Chechen refugees in Ingushetia and Chechnya. And these
workshops are conducted in Georgia (would you believe that Georgian AVP
trainers conducted a workshop for US soldiers stationed there?!) and
Belarus.

Soon, I will be co-facilitating an AVP training for trainers (the whole
course is made up of an 18 hour basic workshop-- themes are cooperation,
communication, conflict resolution, self-esteem, life value clarification,
an 18 hour "advanced" workshop where thru consensus -- presented as a tool
in nonviolence-- the group chooses a topic they want to learn more about and
then the trainers develop a program on the spot, and the training for
trainers).

I have gotten to thinking: If OS is about magic, about making a wish and
creating a space for infinite creativity, what would an AVP training for
trainers workshop using OS look like? Could OS be used in part/in full so
that a group of 10-15 participants could learn to become facilitators in the
space of three days?

The givens (as I imagine them):
At a typical training for trainers participants do the following:
1. Spend time reflecting as a group as to:

what it means to be a facilitator; what it means to work in a team; what
empowerment is;

what are key training design principles
what are important facilitation principles
what are key principles in giving and receiving feedback

2. practice

presenting the central philosophy of AVP (transforming power)
designing a 2 1/2 hour mini-training together with other facilitators
leading exercises (each team of 3-4 participants presents/leads with the
rest of the group a 2 1/2 hour session)
working in a team of trainers
leading role plays
giving and receiving feedback

3. self and peer assess themselves as trainer/facilitators using a
questionnaire.

This seems like an interesting experiment. But, this is something that
everyone needs to be ready for/open to beforehand. About this I am not sure.
I am not sure people are open to that level of experimentation, but it's
worth asking.

My concern is that in a typical training for trainers the
trainer/facilitators can more or less create a space where we deliver what
we promise. OS opens the learning space for many more possibilities--
incredible, fantastic ones, including the possibility that participants will
not work or won't get what a training for trainers promises.

My idea of this os AVP training for trainers, is that the training "team"
(2-3 people) would be present as participants, working as they see fit. We
would have someone else actually be the space opener. I am recalling what Jo
Toepfer and Michael Pannewitz did in conducting their OS Workshop in Moscow
a few years back (a workshop, most regretfully, I was not present at) and
wonder if this approach can be used in AVP.

Your thoughts? Is this doable? Is such a training doable as a full-on OS? Or
is it only realistic to do part of the training as an OS? Can I or the
facilitator just "dump" the expected results on the participants and say
"swim" and expect that after a few moments of painful drowning, they will
swim...madly for 3 days without looking back?

I appreciate everyone's support and generosity!

>From a pleasantly sunny Moscow,
Raffi Aftandelian

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