Cross Cultural Facilitation

Sat Oct 1 06:09:58 PDT 2005

Brendan - having done a number of Open Spaces in precisely the same
circumstances you describe (or almost) I don't think there is a problem. Or
as you might say - No Worries! For example, I did an OS with 500 folks from
the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) at a point where that
organization was about ready to explode. There were 500 women and me. And
the YWCA is a VERY feminist organization! I have also had the privilege of
opening space with a number of Indigenous groups. Again - no problems, no
worries. I think the critical thing is your authenticity - just fully being
there. And Open Space (as usual) does the rest.

I might take some small issue with Wendy's suggestion that you acknowledge
your maleness and privilege up front. I would not do that for several
reasons. First of all it is really just a redundant statement of the obvious
- you are male and privileged. But most of all, such a statement draws
attention to you. What you want to do (or at least what I would want to do)
is to move as quickly as possible to that moment when the group starts to do
its thing and you leave center stage. Anything that slows that movement or
gets in the way, I try to eliminate. Think of one more thing NOT to do. 

What saves the day in such situations is the "fact" that OS operates
"beneath Culture, Gender, privilege (or lack of same), education, etc. -- I
think. Doubtless awareness and sensitivity to the issues involved is a plus,
and we all have a lot to learn. But when facilitating an Open Space, I am
not sure that such awareness makes that much difference, and indeed it may
be a distraction in that you become so aware of difference that you miss the
commonality. I have always found that people everywhere have more in common
than they do in difference. In any event, I have never found any difficulty
in situations such as you describe PROVIDED I was authentically present (as
much as I could be) AND moved the opening along as quickly as possible to
the point where the folks got to work, and I got out of the way. As we all
know, it really isn't about me/us.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, Maryland   20845

Phone 301-365-2093

Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>

Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Brendan
McKeague
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2005 11:22 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Cross Cultural Facilitation

G'day folks in the OS global community
A new client has asked me about facilitating a one-day OS for a group of
stakeholders and others about the creation of a refuge/hostel for indigenous
women - she has only minor concerns about using Open Space having recently
experienced her first event with me - her major concern is about using a
non-Aboriginal white male as the facilitator - see honest and forthright
comments below - and this event would be in a different part of the country
from where I live and where I'm not known locally in the indigenous
community - any thoughts on this query? Any stories of this sort of
cross-cultural/gender scenario?
Cheers
Brendan 

We have an opportunity with the new site being built in ----- to devote some
of our resources to responding to the plight of indigenous families.  Having
a different focus away from the mainstream site gives our service an
opportunity to explore, with the assistance of indigenous stakeholders, a
different way of responding to women and children from indigenous families
escaping violence.  I don't know what this will look like and it will be
difficult and we won't always get it right.  It will be a process of
learning and experimenting with new ways of responding to families. 

This is like a leap into the unknown for us because it will change our
service.  It has not been undertaken by any other service to my knowledge,
so there is no blue print to how we should proceed.  Having said this, I do
think it is possible and I believe it will have a positive impact on our
service as a whole. 

There would be about 35-40 people invited to this gathering which would
represent all of the key groups that would have an interest in a mainstream
organisation taking on and providing a service to Aboriginal women and
children. 

There has been a positive reaction so far to the proposal from Aboriginal
organisations but I am sure we will face some resistance/perhaps hostility?
(I will probably know this before we enter an open space) - and in a sense
that is one of the reasons why I think an Open Space forum will be good so
that we can hear and respond to people's concerns. 

One of my concerns Brendan is how they will receive you as a facilitator of
this process.  I am confident about you holding the space for us to discuss
these issues but I also don't want to set you up in the process either.  I
am worried that there might be some hostility to a man facilitating the
process and not a woman (you may be the only man there).  I would love your
thoughts around this and whether you have done anything similar before.
Part of me says be courageous and go with what you think will work and
another part of me is scared stiff!  

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