Raising the Open Space flag in Mongolia - longish

Sun Sep 17 13:09:14 PDT 2006

Thank you Nigel for your beautifull and inspiring telling, I can see and feel the event, the childeren and Jingens Han`s Mongolia in its softness

Avner Haramati
Jerusalem
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NigelSeys-Phillips 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2006 9:08 AM
  Subject: Raising the Open Space flag in Mongolia - longish

  With due thanks again to Peggy Holman and her Columbian adventure (2000 children.how DID you do that??) the World Bank initiative in South East Asia has taken a couple of further steps - and as so many people asked me for an update I am delighted to provide one.

  I have been hugely privileged to "Open Space" in the past month for street children in Laos and Mongolia - in both countries focusing on the questions of vital importance to them from their perspective. I am sure somebody has done work in Laos before (if not, please let's add this also to the countries where we have raised a flag and that counts as two in a month!!) but not too sure about Mongolia so maybe I have managed to plant another flag for the world of Open Space??

  We held the meeting at a Children's Centre some thirty kilometers outside Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. For those geographically challenged among us, I suggest a large scale atlas where you will find Mongolia nestled totally landlocked between Russia and China - and if you wanted two larger neighbours I have no idea where you would look, when you have a total population of a mere 2.5 million. With it's Soviet past (although now independent and with an elected Parliament) the Centre has a wonderful "soviet" look - solid, old fashioned, lots of crumbling concrete, stone cold corridors and a splendid statue of the founder in bronze at the entrance. Strangely (well, to me at least) the countryside was beautiful around the Centre with fir trees and many others slowly changing from green to brown, clear blue skies and a vast area with the most unusual collection of guest houses - each clustered together in a "style" that apparently resembled Mongolian / Japanese / Swiss..well so they told me!

  The meeting was held in the sports hall - probably the only one with a yellow, blue and green painted floor with the NBA logo in Mongolia I suspect - with fantastic steel radiators lining the walls installed when radiators were meant to give off heat not act as interior design accessories and when pipes were just that.stuck all over the place.

  In Laos and Cambodia signs came off the wall because it was too hot and humid - here because, despite the weather being at least clement, the walls were too cold, and just a little crumbly in places!!

  Open Space produced its magic - even if I have no clue what was said for the entire two days! We had well over 100 topics raised, some 70 with written notes which went into the Proceedings Book and ten which we prioritized for action points.

  This helps the World Bank, Unicef, National Association of Children, Save the Children, World Vision and others focus their efforts, both for themselves and for the demands they can make of the host government who will be clearly shown the priorities from the mouths of those they expect, and we hope want, to help

  BUT it also produced two days of wonderful magic for the children themselves, released for that time from their daily grind to achieve something in their lives, which for many means actually surviving for another day - and when winter comes here it hits Minus 40c which means survival is a darned tough ask. The stories you may have read about street children living in manholes is totally true - because the heating pipes need to be buried underground to withstand the cold this is often the only warm place they can find.

  They worked with all the sessions of a two day Open Space (sitting on chairs in meetings for a couple of hours could not have been further from their daily life if we had tried) although given the age range of 6 to 22 we did have a few drop outs.oh and one small dog who contributed beautifully, but unknowingly, as a "butterfly".but then reveled in the outside. Meetings disappeared under trees on the edge of the forest, they sat by an empty swimming pool, they climbed the tower of the Japanese village, they ran everywhere. They were fed great meals, scoffed cake and sweets in their farewell party, and after dinner the staff of the Centre and the children ran, played games, sang songs, and soaked in the freedom, the safety, the clean air and the warmth of the countryside.

  To add to the magic we had our own brass band.battered though the instruments were (and in several cases bigger than the children themselves) and a little dubious the notes, the stirring sound of martial music welcomed us all back after lunch and enlivened a few tired spirits at the end of the day - contrasted splendidly with the disco synchronized arm waving that followed seconds later! 

  Oh yes - we were on Mongolian Television as well last night..I didn't watch it but then how would I have known which was the news anyway?

  And a final touch of Open Space magic to end a memorable event. Before leaving Ulaanbaatar I had a chance to walk around the town and heard my adopted name called out - "Scotch"..not the drink but the tape we struggled to fix, and refix, to the wall !!!!  - and two of "my" children came running up to say hello, still dressed in the orange t-shirts we had all worn for the previous two days and still smiling from ear to ear. It's a great feeling to make 197 new young friends in just two days, and they all know your name in a foreign country.."Scotch"

  Thank you Peggy - thank you Open Space - and welcome to Mongolia!

  Nigel Seys-Phillips

  Fulcrum Business Management Solutions

  30 Mount Elizabeth

  #04-34 Highpoint

  Singapore 228519

  Tel: +65 9639 2510

  E-mail: nigel at fulcrum.com.sg

  CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

  This communication contains information which is confidential and may also be priveleged. It is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s) please note that any distribution, copying or use of this communication or the information in it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error please notify us by return e-mail and then delete the e-mail and any copies of it.

  Warning - Although Fulcrum has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail, we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or its attachments.

  __________ NOD32 1.1759 (20060916) Information __________

  This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
  http://www.eset.com
  * * ========================================================== 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/20060917/59702be8/attachment-0016.htm>