sharing my first OS experience

[Mayke Wagner, essence]

Hello to all of you,
about a month ago, I facilitated my first Open Space in Nairobi, Kenya. I
worked with 40 engineers, medical doctors, technicians and administrators
from the field of technical health for 1,5 days and it went really well. The
feedback from the participants was very positive. We had 6 sessions and
ended up with 32 topics. The first day of the conference was "traditional"
with one expert in front and everyone else listening. So the people really
experienced a change when the Open Space started and you could tell they
were struggling with those 2 concepts. My impression was that in the field
of developmental aid - certainly in the area I was working in - the people
felt comfortable with the idea of an expert from the North (Europe) having
the answer (and consequently the responsibility - ability to respond) for
the problems in East Africa. Open Space questioned this assumption and
invited them to acknowledge their own expertise and ability to find their
own answers for their problems. After the first 4 sessions we had the
evening news and in the discussion it became clear that the participants
were torn between the "traditional" way and the Open Space way. I addressed
this struggle on a meta-level with the participants the next day which was
helpful to create some more discussion and insight...
>From a systemic point of view it was quite startling to see how this
"imperialism" of the European expert having the answers for the problems of
East Africa was supported by the behavior of the European participants as
well as of the African participants. Both sides contribute their share to
keep this pattern stable which in the long run does not support sustainable
independence... From that perspective the experience was rather sobering for
me...
Anyway, I am convinced that the Open Space conference was thought provoking
not only on the level of healthcare technology...

Happy trails,

Mayke
___________________________________________
essence - Beratung, Training, Coaching
Mayke Wagner
Hanser 3
88279 Amtzell
GERMANY

mayke.wagner at t-e-a-m.org
Tel (+49) 07520 / 9232 02
visit us:  <http://www.t-e-a-m.org>

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