open space series of cafes in London, clarification

chris macrae wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk
Thu Sep 23 02:53:48 PDT 2004


Thanks for your questions. I think that I would like to start in a
different place: my guess of the purpose of the day’s meeting, and then
ask what sorts of elements of open space can help even if its been
ad-libbed with and therefore wouldn’t qualify as a pure open space as
opposed to an inspired application of open space communal spirit
 
Purpose : 4th meeting where 20 europeans meet in one city interested in
how blogs can change the world and the internet ; seen as how can we
make the most of our 20 intelligences during a day’s conversation for
real; how can we continue to compound the social network of bloggers
across Europe comprising thousands of young investigative minds, many of
whom will never have the time to meet for real but mist of whom are know
by at least one of the 20 present or the 4 other 40 groups who have so
far attended this series
 
Elements of open space include:
-let’s give a flavour to each blogwalk’s invitation – this one was can
blogs change business organisations  to be more human?
-start meeting as a circle and have a minute to say why you are here
with couple of prompt questions reminding of context so one doesn’t get
random biographies of a person’s life
-mingle and have a conversation with a few people and as you do start to
write up postits on issues that might be ingredients for a session; put
all postits on a wall; communally play a game of clustering which
postits match which
-clusters of postits now become meeting agendas
-have 1 round of meetings reminding people of law of 2 feet
-go back to the wall and re-arrange some other ways of looking at the
postits adding in a few new bridging postits that may have come from the
first sessions
-use new clusters as second round of sessions
-write up any meeting notes and have lunch
-go for a walk
-have one final circle; if you want more time go and have a drink or
dinner
.
-keep everyone in an email circulation list so that after-day
perspectives and Q&A can be reflected, iterated
-if action teams emerge either towards end of real day or in subsequent
emails, good!
-storytell what the blogwalk meant on each individual’s blog which
itself is a loosely connecting space both between the 20 and the expert
clusters that most read each blogger – try a google of blogwalk4 to see
-try and discuss this with other facilitator and knowledge-city café
networks like this one
 
Note:
This was done in a space that cost 80 dollars to rent , ie with coffee
and biscuits 6 dollars per person for an all day space
 
If blogwalk hadn’t emerged , we would have people who are technically
very competent at networks never having met, nor at leas=t discovering
methods that appear to make the most of the 20 people’s time (at least
at this level of cost and improvisation). In other words, the virtual
community world has been infiltrated by people who now believe in the
spirit of real community meetings too! I would say that alone makes
worth celebrating as ‘open space’ in intent if not in total purity of
form  
 
chris macrae, wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Zelle
Nelson
Sent: 23 September 2004 04:29
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: open space series of cafes in London, clarification
 
Chris,

Thanks for contributing this modified "Open Space".

I'm confused about the format: 
Their one day format consisted of 4 hours indoors and 2 hours walking
and conversing round London. Their 4 hour format was very interesting to
me:
15 minutes circle introduction
20 minutes of postits of what do you most want to discuss
 
20 minutes of rearranging a wall of postits into 4 clusters which then
became one-hours sessions dividing the 22? who came into almost equal
groups

[MY QUESTION] Were there 4 1-hour sessions or 1 hour long session with 4
topics?
 
then another look at the postits where different people took the
opportunity to rearrange how 2 or more concerns connected and to discuss
how they interpreted these new linked meanings
  
I would say the spirit and intent of this equalled several true open
spaces over 1 or 2 days that I have attended , so for those people who
come to an open space café in London who don’t dare produce a 2-day
event for their first big challenge convention, I think we should look
at attempts for mini-open space designs that if not exactly endorsing,
we agree have the same  self-organising spirit. Yes the same rule of the
law of 2 feet was the only rule applied today

Sounds exciting! 

Let me know which version : 
4 1-hour sessions (with multiple topics within each session) 
or 1 hour long session broken into 4 topic groups.

Thanks.

With Grace and Love, 

Zelle 

************ 
Zelle Nelson 
Engaging the Soul at Work/Know Place Like Home/State of Grace Document 

www.stateofgracedocument.com 

zelle at maureenandzelle.com 
office - 828.693.0802 
mobile - 847.951.7030 

Ravenswood - Isle of Skye 
2021 Greenville Hwy 
Flat Rock, NC 28731 



chris macrae wrote:


 
London, Tuesday 21 Sept at 17.30, British Library: we are hosting the
first of a series of one-hour Simpol cafes – www.simpol.org.uk   - on
why practitioners of Open Space love what we try to facilitate for
people who don’t fully understand what Open Space systemises but are
concerned with big challenges
 
Bridget Peake is being our first guide. Amongst other application areas
she has taken open space to are:
 
5 general Create the World we Wants – arguably connecting the largest
network of change concern folk in Britain (which is admittedly is a
sleepy country for change)
2 specific CTWWW3 on education (which has become an idea that other
European countries are considering replicating), and international
policy
CTWWW has also spawned other events like sustainable business exchanges
at Findhorn Scotland – probably the largest permanent change community
in Britain
 
Bridget has also taught young cultural creatives to convene their open
spaces as I reported a few months back. She also does open space in
business

 
However there is something else that I would like these cafes which I
try to co-produce in London to achieve. Today I was at London’s first
convention of bloggers run in what they called an open space format.
Surprisingly? while they were all far more technology literate than me,
as social networkers most had a deeper humanitarian practice issue.
Their one day format consisted of 4 hours indoors and 2 hours walking
and conversing round London. Their 4 hour format was very interesting to
me:
15 minutes circle introduction
20 minutes of postits of what do you most want to discuss
 
20 minutes of rearranging a wall of postits into 4 clusters which then
became one-hours sessions dividing the 22? who came into almost equal
groups
 
then another look at the postits where different people took the
opportunity to rearrange how 2 or more concerns connected and to discuss
how they interpreted these new linked meanings
  
I would say the spirit and intent of this equalled several true open
spaces over 1 or 2 days that I have attended , so for those people who
come to an open space café in London who don’t dare produce a 2-day
event for their first big challenge convention, I think we should look
at attempts for mini-open space designs that if not exactly endorsing,
we agree have the same  self-organising spirit. Yes the same rule of the
law of 2 feet was the only rule applied today
 
Back to Tuesday, we meet in the café behind the main floor of the
British Library near Euston and Kings Cross Station. If you would like
to come or know someone in London who might (please relay the post ) .
The event is free, as are all collaboration and simpol cafes organised
by London, as First Collaboration Knowledge City –an odd phrase I have
to use because the European Union won’t look at any conversation format
unless it has knowledge in it . Please email me at wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk
if you wish to come or need further details. NB we just squat in the
café like any other customers (ie we are not a formal British Library
Event). Anything we think we may learn we will try and share with the
community be this alumni of open space or of collaboration knowledge
cities around the world
 
Makes enough sense?
 
Cheers
Chris Macrae, wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk
Blog of Firsts in the World is at  http://firstsintheworld.blogspot.com/

Water  Angels  http://waterangels.blogspot.com/  
 being the context of most concern for www.simpol.org.uk
<http://www.simpol.org.uk/>  and next months 20000 European Social Forum
activists meeting in London
 
ÐÏ à¡± á
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