Looking for advice: Is this a time where OS should not be used?

[Erich Kolenaty]

Allison,

I cannot see any risk. I organized many times conferences in about your size 
in a mix of keynote speaking + wishering groups for digesting, conventional 
group work with presentations and discussions and for the glorious final a 
day or more of open space.

Doing that way you meet many different needs which is obvioulsly satisfying 
and - I don't need to say that open space uses to be  t h e  highlight. Even 
more because people feel unleashed after consuming allt the programmed 
stuff, hehe

So put it all in your bag, don't worry too much and make yourself a nice 
time

Erich from lovely Vienna

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Allison Hewlitt
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 4:11 PM
  Subject: [OSLIST] Looking for advice: Is this a time where OS should not 
be used?


  Dear All

  I am writing with a request for advice. I must also admit that I am
  feeling somewhat guilty this as it is the 2nd (or 3rd) time that I have
  written to this amazing group of people and I am asking for help,
  rather than offering it.

  My organisation has partnered with 2 others to organise a conference
  in Thailand which will bring together 150-200 people who are interested
  in exploring the impact of copyright on access to knowledge and
  culture in Asia, in learning about models which support collaborative
  knowledge and culture creation and in looking forward in making Asia
  Commons a reality. We have a planning team of 7 - each of us with a
  lead role in organising the event. I am the lead for developing the
  conference methodology.

  Since the beginning of the planning stages, the organising team hasn't
  quite seen eye-to-eye on the conference methodology. Truth be told, it
  is just me that hasn't quite seen eye to eye with them. We have a
  conference sponsor who is funding the event, but they are hands-off
  and happy, for the most part, to let us do the work that we want to
  do. Early on, I proposed the idea that we organise the conference in
  OS. My co-organisers and sponsor know and like OS but they don't want
  the entire event in OS as they would like to bring in a few keynotes
  and showcase the research papers being commissioned. I think that some
  of the resistance stems from their belief that OS doesn't work well in
  Asian cultures which I know is not true (and have shown them proof to
  the contrary).

  So, they are willing to do one of the sessions in OS (possibly up to a
  day and a half) but not the entire conference. I am trying to figure
  out if it is worth it. I know that there are things that I can do to
  minimise the impact of bringing in the so called experts for the first
  2 days. I have thought of a few things like the enquiry circle
  (which I think would work), informal community conversations, the chat
  show methodology (making the session lighter by inviting the experts
  as guests in a chat show rather than asking them to do a ppt) etc.
  BUT, I am wondering if I should continue to push for OS if it can only
  be slotted in for a day especially if it follows 2 days which are more
  keynote/presenter oriented. I think that it is taking a risk that I am
  not sure is worth taking as I am not convinced that it will work.

  I would really appreciate hearing your views/opinions especially if you
  have done something similar which actually worked.

  Thanks in advance.

  Best,
  Allison





  -- 
  Allison Hewlitt
  Bellanet International Secretariat <www.bellanet.org>
  Tel: +1 613.236.6163 x2393

  *
  *
  ==========================================================
  OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  ------------------------------
  To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
  view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
  http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

  To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
  http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20060209/7d7555c7/attachment-0016.htm>