Girl Scouts Open the Space for more than 1,600

Mon Nov 7 22:43:21 PST 2005

This is just what I need. Tomorrow we do something similar although on a
much smaller scale, here in Victoria. I'll report later, but for now, I just
wanted to say thank you for this, as tonight I'm riding your energy and
momentum.

Chris

On 11/7/05, Thomas Herrmann <thomas at openspaceconsulting.com> wrote:
>
> 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<http://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 <http://www.kairosalliance.com/>
>  * * ==========================================================
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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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