silence is golden

[kerry napuk]

Hi

Thanks Juan Luis for breaking the silence, due, no doubt, to the 
occasional technical wobble that sometimes affects our LISTSERVE, 
which, otherwise, is so ably served by BOISE STATE.

As we were preparing another tender for the Scottish government, I 
would like to share the portion that describes Open Space as a 
methodology:

Open Space is a large group process devised in 1985 by Harrison Owen 
and currently used in 122 countries.  It is a bottom-up process 
during which participants organize their own agenda around issues of 
concern to them.   Other people volunteer to work in breakout groups 
on the issues raised.   Actions from each group are presented to 
everyone who then vote on priorities, creating an agreed list of 
priority actions deemed important on the day. 

Open Space provides easy access and total involvement of all 
participants who are invited to work on the sponsor's theme.  During 
the process, participants share experience, hear different views and, 
most importantly, learn quickly from each other.   The process is 
driven by passion (care about an issue) and responsibility (do 
something about it).

Open Space conferences look markedly different from conventional 
workshops.  There are no experts making presentations, no power 
point, no top table and no prearranged workshops.  Nobody knows what 
issues will be raised or actions proposed until they happen in real 
time during Open Space, except they all would be within the framework 
of the sponsor's theme, which is included in the invitation for every 
event. 

As participants create their own agenda and vote in real time within 
an open and transparent marketplace, the process generates commitment 
and ownership of outcomes.  It also provides an opportunity for 
participants to learn from the direct experiences of others in a 
supportive and positive context, demonstrating participatory 
democracy and good citizenship by treating everyone as equals, 
valuing all contributions and providing equal access to raise and 
discuss issues and vote on priorities.  In other words, the process 
itself is an exercise in citizenship and participatory democracy. 
Open Space, therefore, has demonstrated the ability to inculcate 
democratic values.

Kind regards

Kerry
Edinburgh
www.openfutures.com

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