A story from the field: talking stick

[Chris Corrigan]

Yay!

Chris

On 5/24/05, Gerard Muller <gm at openspace.dk> wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> Earlier on I wrote I always ask the sponsor to choose and introduce a
> talking stick.
> 
> While most do not find this an easy thing to do, most select something
> which I could not have thought of,
> and more often than not the words they introduce the talking stick with
> are something which, well, you
> would like to have in writing....................
> 
> No-one ever did, until last Saturday, and it is a beautiful example I
> would like to share with you.
> 
> The background: we have some 15.000 Somalians in Denmark, fugitives
> from the war a decade ago.
> Ninety percent are unemployed. Being foreigners, muslim and black does
> not make it easier in
> Danish society to get a job.
> 
> The question of the Open Space was:
> "Many thousands Somalians would like to have a job soon - how do we
> create that success ?"
> 
> Participants: some hundred people. Somalians, employers, and others
> somehow connected to the issue.
> 
> And now for the talking stick, introduced by a Somali woman - here are
> her words:
> 
> 
> 
> I have chosen to bring along a key to our closing round.
> 
> Every single Somalian who was on his way to Denmark, had a dream
> We all knew it would require hard work to realise that dream
> 
> The dream was about getting a life with physical and social safety
> 
> Among other things that means having a job to enable us to pay for a
> place to live,
> to have control over our lives, and have a sense of pride in ourselves
> and thereby
> be respected in society.
> 
> This key represents our dream.
> 
> But it is as if this key does not fit to the keyhole we found here in
> Denmark ...........
> 
> However, Today we have created a new key.
> The key to our dream, to our future.
> 
> From Today onwards we will use this key to turn into the right
> direction.
> 
> We will turn it from left to right and will work hard to realise the
> dream
> 
> 
> 
> Greetings from Denmark,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gerard Muller
> Open Space Institute Denmark
> Phone: (+45) 21269621
> Mail: gm at openspace.dk
> 
> 
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-- 

CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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