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

[Harrison Owen]

Allison wrote: "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."

No problem. Use the final day as an opportunity to synthesize the learnings
from the previous two -- and even better -- to push beyond. It has been done
before and works quite well. 

But you might want to warn your colleagues that they should be prepared for
some criticism about "wasting" all that time with the talking heads. Such
criticism is pretty common when all the presented papers could just as
easily been sent out in advance and/or made available online during the
conference. But if you do manage to get your colleagues' attention you could
suggest that they hedge their bet by having one day of talking heads and two
days of "real stuff." However, if the participants are total dunderheads
with little experience and no capacity for creative thought, the only
recourse is to force feed them pre-digested material. Should this be the
correct assessment, opening space would be an irresponsible, criminal act.
For as we all know, Open Space is only for the highly evolved, creative
types. (smile -- and thanks to Lisa)

Harrison

 

Harrison Owen
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Potomac, Maryland   20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Allison
Hewlitt
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 10:11 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: 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

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