FW: The challenge of "luminaries"

[Deborah Hartmann]

Thanks for your input Owen. Notes below

Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> Deborah -- I think your idea of a "facebook" sent out in advance is a 
> great one. And it would avoid doing a "round the circle" at the 
> beginning, which I personally find less than useful for two reasons. 
> First it delays the actual start when people go to work -- and this is 
> the most important consideration for me. Secondly, all those names and 
> needs/wants/desires badly confuses this old mind. After the first two 
> or three I just hit "overload."  For our up coming OSONOS by the Sea I 
> sent out a full participant list and invited people to add whatever 
> information/requests they might want. Some people chose to remain a 
> mystery (great!) and others wrote a whole bunch. How much of this 
> actually gets read I don't know, but a number of folks said it was 
> useful and fun. Since email addresses were also included, the party 
> started early, which was wonderful.
>
I agree. This makes it "pull" - those who want to will go and read. 
Others don't have it "pushed" on them at the event. Not sure yet how to 
use Face book for this, but I'll figure it out when I need it next.
>
>  
>
> I am a little less enthusiastic about special guided tours done by the 
> facilitator -- though it is certainly a nice idea. I find one of the 
> great things about an Open Space is the speed with which new comers 
> are included -- some of this just happens on its own, and in other 
> cases participants will notice a stranger looking a little lost and 
> take them under their wing. I really like that as it serves to build 
> and bond the community. If the lost guest is "important" having some 
> "just plain folk" do the job can be wonderful. And who knows a useful 
> connection could be made. At most I (as the facilitator) might suggest 
> to one of the "older" participants that "so and so" looks a little 
> lost -- maybe you could take them on a tour -- sort of thing. That way 
> I can hold the space and members of the community take active 
> responsibility for the inclusion. Win/Win -- I think.
>
I believe, actually, that it happened organically, as you suggest. We 
had two formal facilitators for the OST... so I was still on the floor 
and completely oblivious. I didn't notice it at all, since, as you note, 
other lost visitors had been similarly befriended and introduced to the 
venue in progress (we had walk-ins off the street, which was thrilling). 
When we discussed it later, we did reflect that it would have been good 
for a member of the community to have done it... I'd still call that 
person a "facilitator", though - just not the one who opened space :-)

This has been a useful conversation for me - I look forward to others' 
ideas on it too.
deb
>
>  
>
> Harrison
>


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