recent changes camp

[Michael Herman]

hi all,

i did something at the www.recentchangescamp.org openspace over the
weekend that a fellow practitioner suggested i report here.

at the close of this 2.5-day event, we did a news/re-opening circle in
the morning of the third day.  we busted up into some half-dozen or so
working groups, mostly focused on project/initiative sorts of actions.
 at the end of that time, i started tearing the original session
topics off the wall, a clear sign to the breakout groups, all in the
same room, that we were coming to the closing.  i rolled those up in a
tight tube and taped them so they'd stay rolled.  then i offered that
as a final talking stick offering everyone the chance to hold "all of
what we worked on here" as preparation for "taking it with us when we
leave."  it's a nice, simple, multi-effectiveness move.

this particular event is descended from the giving conference some of
us did 1.5 years ago, and the omidyar network conference we did last
july.  there is a core of folks from the giving conference, joined by
some of the o.net folks, and now connected to the wiki programmers and
various community activists who came together for this conference. 
each time we do this in what seems like a totally different venue and
context, but the core group of people expands, as does the broader
group.  it's like a river with a deep center flowing along with lots
of places to eddy out along the way.

some of the proceedings are posted at www.recentchangescamp.org.

the oregonian newspaper ran a nice story with pictures.  my favorite
quote went somehting like this...

"Even wiki enthusiasts weren't sure the unstructured format would work
Friday, and some wondered aloud whether it would descend into chaos --
or into some kind of hippie technology fest. "I really had no idea
what to expect. I didn't know whether there would be people with no
shoes on and caftans or what," said Mike Cannon-Brookes, chief
executive of a Sydney-based company called Atlassian Software Systems,
which designs wiki software.

A couple of people did come in sandals, and many wore jeans, but no
one was burning incense. And once the meeting broke up into a dozen
discussion groups, it suddenly seemed focused and orderly. "

michael


--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Ave #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA
Phone: 312-280-7838
michael at michaelherman.com

skype: globalchicago

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.globalchicago.net
http://www.openspaceworld.org

Executive Facilitation ...getting
the most important things done in
the easiest possible ways.

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