Open Space in the European Community

Harrison Owen hhowen at comcast.net
Thu Sep 29 09:29:00 PDT 2005


Very good point! I have just been invited to facilitate a gathering of 200
Rabbis and Imams from around the world -- on the question "Issues and
Opportunities for enabling peace between Jews and Muslims" (At least I think
that is the question). And that nasty word "debate" came up in our
discussions of how to write the invitation. I can certainly understand how
it jumps up -- given everybody's history. But it really is a bummer. We do
need to think of some alternatives. "Engaged Conversation" might head in a
more fruitful direction. And other possibilities would be wonderful.

Harrison 

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
Phone 301-365-2093

Open Space Training 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 Alan
Stewart
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 1:13 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Open Space in the European Community

Michael and All

This is very inspiring! These developments hold great promise for the use of
OST in both Europe and elsewhere.

I wonder if items such as press releases and invitations could be 
strengthened
even more by deliberately choosing not to introduce the notion of  'debate' 
when this is inappropriate?
For it may be argued <grin> that whenever this word is used 
readers/listeners 'automatically' perceive
connotations of adversarial processes.

Is there an alternative approach which could help people to recognise that 
different ways of engaging
with each other are now on centre stage? And that these new processes really

do promote the collaboration
within and between organisations which leads to constructive action.

Here are thoughts on this which you may find useful in this regard:
http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-converse1.html
http://www.theworldcafe.com/asconversationppr.pdf

Mit freundlichen Gruessen

>From overcast yet sunny spirited Hong Kong

Alan




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael M Pannwitz" <mmpanne at boscop.de>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 1:57 AM
Subject: Open Space in the European Community


Dear colleagues,
the press release below is the second of its kind mentioning the use of
Open Space Technology in the work of the European Community.
In the last 5 years open space has also spread in the Youth Programs of
the Community, the German Agency Youth employs it regularly for its own
planning process and for conferences they organize.
If any of you are involved in this work, lets hear about it.
It might also be a sign of open space becoming fairly common in civil
society approaches on this continent.
Greetings from Berlin
Hope to see a lot of you here when The Practice of Peace Program is held
by you know who in Berlin November 30, December 1 and 2.
Have a peek
www.practicepeaceberlin.org
and sign up!
mmp


European Economic and Social Committee

PRESS RELEASE N° 102/2005 22 September 2005

September plenary to hold extraordinary debate on

Bridging the Gap: how to bring Europe and its citizens closer together?

28 September, 15h
European Parliament, Paul-Henri SPAAK, Salle P3C050

On 28 September the EESC will once again be holding an extraordinary
plenary session debate on the theme of 'Bridging the Gap: how to bring
Europe and its citizens closer together.'

This debate follows on from a similar debate held in the July plenary
session (see press release n° 89/2005) and is intended to serve as input
to the dual processes of the Committee's preparations for its innovatory
7-8 November Stakeholders' Forum on the same theme and the opinion it is
preparing, at the request of the European Parliament, on the so-called
'reflection period' (the opinion will be debated and adopted in the
Committee’s 26-27 October 2005 plenary session).

The Committee, as a bridge between Europe and civil society, has from
the very start been particularly active in the “Communicating Europe”
initiative, arguing strongly for more dialogue with and involvement of
civil society in such major policy processes as, for example, the Lisbon
Strategy.

The Stakeholders’ Forum on the theme of “Bridging the Gap” is being
organised by the Committee in close cooperation with the European
Commission and will bring together receptors, multipliers and
stakeholders in a novel format designed to facilitate genuine dialogue
and debate.

In particular, the Forum will use an innovatory ‘Open Space’ approach,
whereby there is no pre-ordained agenda and the participants themselves
decide what they wish to discuss and recommend. The Committee used this
method very successfully in its April 2005 Stakeholders’ Forum on
Sustainable Development (see press releases n° 40 and 47/2005).

European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström has confirmed her
participation in the Forum and it is expected that the recommendations
arising out of the Forum’s work will be fed into the reflection process
on the Commission’s White Paper on an EU Communication Strategy,
expected before the end of the year.


For more details, please contact:
Christian Weger at the EESC Press Office
99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels
Tel.: 02 546 9396/9586; Mobile: 0475 753 202
e-mail: press at esc.eu.int
Website: http://www.esc.eu.int/press/index_en.asp

The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various
economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an
institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome.
Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations
they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process.
The Committee has 317 members. Its members are appointed by the Council.
--


Practice of Peace Program with Harrison Owen in Berlin, Germany
November 30 through December 2, 2005
Info and Registration at www.practicepeaceberlin.org


Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
www.boscop.de   www.michaelmpannwitz.de

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