SV: Girl Scouts Open the Space for more than 1,600

Mon Nov 7 14:04:19 PST 2005

Dear Christine
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story - still unfolding - for a long
time!!! I am always amazed at how come it is so unique (in our so called
developed societies) to get the chance to express oneself and be listened
to. I wish this will be natural one day. We´ll continue working on it!
Warmest regards
Thomas Herrmann
  -----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
  Från: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]För Christine Whitney
Sanchez
  Skickat: den 7 november 2005 16:07
  Till: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Ämne: Girl Scouts Open the Space for more than 1,600

  Dear Open Space Friends,

  It has been exactly one month since more than 1,600 Girl Scout National
Delegates met in Open Space.  I feel deeply grateful to each and everyone of
you who helped us to hold the space  at the Girl Scout National Convention.
I haven't written until now because, frankly, I'm still processing what I
experienced and learned and I'm not at all sure I can do justice to telling
the story.  I'm literally still dreaming about what was perhaps the most
powerful experience of my life so far, short of giving birth 3 times.

  My greatest joy in working on this project has been the incredible people
and my personal reflections are filled with gratitude and awe.  Foremost, I
am grateful to my dear friend and business partner, Claudia Haack, who held
the space with me with such grace, resilience and generosity that I was able
to give myself fully to opening the space.  Our partnership grew and our
friendship flourished as we worked on this project together.

  I think that part of why it’s taking me so long to digest what happened at
the Girl Scout National Convention is that after a glorious day of Open
Space, Claudia, our volunteer team and I anchored Strategy Cafes for close
to 2,000 participants and generally worked on the fly for the next 3 days of
the convention, including a final day with the Themefinding Team which
looked across the Open Space and Strategy Café reports.  All the while, we
were working with close to 100 volunteers who had been trained in OS and
World Café and who then self-organized for planning and implementation
before, during and after the convention.  As a member of the “Smooth
Operators” Team said, “It was like you went from a two person operation to a
full staff of one hundred!”

  Claudia and I are still in the process of writing up the whole thing,
including the Open Space on Governance and the Strategy Cafés and I promise
to share that with all of you as soon as it's finished.  For now you can
check out the online version of the Book of Proceedings at
www.girlscouts.org/convention/conversationsummary.asp.

  For a taste of the excitement, here are some of the highlights and quotes
from participants –

  ê           Based on the feedback we’ve gotten the members of the
volunteer crew, from the participants, and the leaders of the organization,
the Open Space and Strategy Cafés have set the stage for an entirely
different kind of convention.

  o       “I think this has forever changed the National Council Session –
no more being staged from beginning to end.  Instead, honest dialogue.”

  o        “I’ve never been to a convention that felt so open and as honest
as this one.”

  o       “I'd like to echo that and there is a difference between input and
influence and we now have a chance to influence the future rather than
simply provide input.”

  ê           While the Open Space was focused on the topic of governance,
it seems that only about half of the 94 sessions posted were really focused
on governance.

  o       “It’s very confusing.  People don’t really understand what
governance actually means and what it means to the organization.”

  o       “Governance and operational issues get blurred.”

  o       “Do we all agree what governance means?”

  o       “Some delegates do not understand governance because they are
operations-based.  Do delegates represent the majority?”

  o       “This organization runs better when it is run from the bottom up
rather than from the top down.”

  ê           Participants were clearly moved by the experience of being in
Open Space, being listened to, feeling supported and how that all relates to
what the Founder, Juliette Low, intended.

  o       “I think that we are getting back to what Juliette Low started -
she started this for the girls and I think we are finally getting back to
that today.”

  o       “I was more of a bee and a butterfly and it was so great to hear
the girls and I am so proud to be a part of this grand organization.”

  o       “I’m hoping our national board will always accept this process and
participate in this with us.”

  o       [I learned that we can] “support one another in the ambiguity and
anxiety as we answer very hard questions for the organization and that we
sustain one another as we try.  We need to include more and more girls and
younger girls. We need to share these conversations with the people back
home and become more girl-centric.”

  o       “We need to listen to one another and remember what works best for
the new girls, for the traditionalists, for everybody.”

  o       “Go back and do the same kinds of things when we get home...talk,
listen, talk, listen and listen more.  We can make this an ongoing process
during the 3-year cycle."

  During the opening of the space, I said that at that very moment, there
were people all over the world who were holding the space with us.  Thank
you, dear Open Space family.  We and the Girl Scouts have been blessed by
your spirit.

  Namaste,

  Christine

  Christine Whitney Sanchez
  KAIROS Alliance Inc.
  2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
  Phoenix, AZ  85048
  480.759.0262
  www.kairosalliance.com

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