AW: Fear of abuse of the space (long)
Catherine Corbaz
c.corbaz at hispeed.ch
Sun Mar 18 07:16:12 PDT 2007
dear Catherine and friends,
reading your mail, i've the feeling there are different topics and
subjects to be addressed with your questions and in the background
this conflict.
As far as I know of conflict resolution, this isguarantee a long long
process, where people are going to leave and other to join and no
guarantee of success. Nevertheless, you should clear first of all
what the aim of the OST is going to be and what will be the ...
"conditions cadres" (i dont find the word in English).
you wonder about location, i think this is an important question. The
walls, the space, the garden are , I'm convince of it, having
influence one what 's going on. A neutral location might help, as
well as eventually as an external facilitator.
Anyhow, I'm ready to discuss this with you, off the list and maybe to
help.
yours friendly,
Catherine Corbaz
Roseaux 20
CH-2503 Bienne
+41 32 323 38 43
+41 79 794 38 55
www.c2f2.net
Le 18 mars 07 à 14:32, Catherine Pfaehler a écrit :
> Dear friends, Avner, Michael - I was not clear enough in my mail to
> OSLIST.
> Sorry.
>
> The sponsor is indeed myself and the Network Renaissance Thielle
> NRT, and we
> are clearly one side of the conflict. The OS is part of the
> cultural summer
> program of the naturist camp. The president of the board of the
> foundation
> has so far never attended, but entitles our activities as a sect
> and would
> like to stop us. This is not possible - 170 participants the first
> time, 100
> the second time, likely 200 this summer because of a better date (no
> conflict with sports tournaments any more). The first time, in
> 2005, the now
> president presented the board of the foundation with a blackmail,
> on the day
> before the OS: either myself and the other 2 members of the core
> team of NRT
> are kicked out from the camp right away, or the manager will quit
> (I guess
> he was very afraid of a riot). The rest of the board preferred the
> manager's
> quitting, to the great relief of everybody on site, because he is
> everything
> but a host for his guests (rather a terrifying dictator who yells
> at people
> - especially weak ones, ill or handicapped persons, women -
> whenever he
> feels like it, and who has installed a system of "observers" who
> denounce
> people who sing a song at night after 10 or do other such things
> which are
> not conform to the rules). Unfortunately, the now president
> succeeded in
> re-employing this same manager later, which made the conflict
> public and
> dramatized the situation. As a consequence of this impertinence, 2
> members
> of the board resigned, thus leaving the field entirely to the now
> president,
> who had finally reached his goal - total power! (It is somehow like a
> parable directly from Macchiavelli's "Il principe"...)
>
> The main purpose of the OS still is to strengthen the community in
> the camp
> (which is greatly suffering from this conflict of values), to keep
> us there
> and to gain strength and clarity about who we are as naturists,
> despite the
> difficulties. Participants greatly enjoy getting to know each other
> even
> better and learning from each other. They keep asking for a next OS
> every
> time. So the purpose of the OS, at least up to now, clearly has not
> been to
> deal with the conflict. In this sense, I have no desires of the
> outcome
> except keeping us all in Thielle.
>
> (The NRT has presented a lot of excellent ideas on how to resolve the
> conflict to the board of the foundation, but none of them had even the
> slightest chance with the board up to now (neither with our country's
> department for the control of foundations, where we turned to in our
> despair!). No mediation, no step by step concept, no participation
> (which is
> one of the main ingredients of this community, they have built this
> paradise
> all together over the last 65 years, with their own hands and a
> wonderful
> sense of contributing to the whole!) - just maximal power, in a way
> which
> couldn't be more contradictory to the foundation's by-laws. It's
> very sad,
> and to me unbelievable, that such a thing can happen in our "clean",
> "democratic" country. It looks that once a foundation's board has been
> successfully undermined, there is nothing which can stop the
> foundation from
> being changed into something absolutely different than originally
> intended.
> We can only stop or slow down this process if we become more
> visible as
> naturists and stronger, clearer in our values - fully ignoring the now
> president's tendencies to spoil our holidays and make us leave. The
> leader
> of the children's and youth dance performance last year chose
> "Joseph's
> brothers" as their topic, which was presented in great dances and
> texts, and
> pointed out to all the spectators at a certain point that "as pressure
> rises, the people multiplies"... so we welcome new holiday guests
> with open
> arms... :))
>
> The first time, 2005, I managed to keep the conflict out of the OS in
> refusing a statement about it by one of my team members. We simply
> wanted to
> explore what naturism means today, as a basis of a possible vision
> statement
> (for which we later never got officially asked by the board after the
> escalation of the conflict, and which therefore has not yet been
> written -
> but our offer stands!). The second time, 2006, as described in my
> first mail
> to you, a woman brought the conflict in as a topic of her workshop.
> What
> will happen this time? - I had this inner voice asking for more
> preparation
> for the OS this year because of what I have described to you. I
> would hate
> to naively fall into a trap the president might have set up for us,
> and
> somehow feel responsible that this can't happen. In theory, you are
> right,
> the facilitator would probably need to be an external person.
> However, the
> more than 500 members of NRT might need to see us holding space as
> a proof
> that we don't give up and keep catering to the needs of the
> community. They
> have offered more than 80'000 CHF to help finance the legal battle
> up to
> now... (German or French speaking volunteers willing to work naked,
> welcome!! Because naked we are, every day, in Thielle... - I could
> translate
> if needed!)
>
> One result of the OS 2006 on naturism and health was that this
> year's summer
> program is richer than ever. Many participants of the OS are offering
> seminars and speeches on interesting topics, every day for 6 full
> weeks
> (they are all for free, by the way!). This is the only way how we
> can take
> action (up to now) - and we do! (Speaking about good and bad which
> are not
> always so clear - this is definitely the good side of the conflict!)
>
> One thing we could do 2007 (in good weather) would be to hold the
> event
> outside the camp, on the nearby grounds of the founder's widow. But
> this
> somehow feels like a pity, a missed opportunity. Another thing
> might be that
> I really decide to invite somebody else to hold space and become the
> sponsor. In either way, in my welcome speech, I would probably have to
> acknowledge the situation as it is, talk openly about the conflict
> and our
> limited possibilities to do something about it. Then invite
> participation
> within these limits and within the limits imposed on us by the
> board of the
> foundation (who might perhaps have a look at results of the day,
> but decides
> at will which ones would be accepted to go further with, if any,
> also in the
> field of culture and sports, not just about the conflict - or which
> might
> decide to use the results to stop us from making the summer
> program...). And
> then see what happens, be open to surprises, and above all, leave the
> responsibility entirely to the participants.
>
> Suggestions & help welcome... Thank you - Catherine
>
> Catherine Pfaehler Senn
> Open Space Begleitung & Coaching
> Kellersriedweg 8
> CH - 2503 Biel
> +41-(0)32 - 365 68 41
> c.pfaehler at bluewin.ch
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: Michael M Pannwitz [mailto:mmpanne at boscop.de]
> Gesendet: Sonntag, 18. März 2007 12:47
> An: c.pfaehler at bluewin.ch
> Cc: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Betreff: Re: Fear of abuse of the space
>
> Dear Catherine,
> very interesting stuff.
> To your question:
> "How can I hold space in this conflict in a way which prevents abuse?"
> My first thought was: Just as usual. But if I assume that your
> agenda as
> facilitator appears to be to "prevent abuse" I ask: Why do you want to
> prevent abuse? And further: What happens to the concept of being
> unattached to outcome. What happens to the concept of being fully
> present and at the same time invisible?
> If you were to hire me as a facilitator I might experience a bunch of
> bumps in the road with you as sponsor.
> To your question:
> "What do I say in the givens in regards to this?"
> Givens, I think, are the concern of the sponsor. It is very helpful if
> the sponsor can state them. As facilitator I would feel abused if I
> had
> to explain givens to the participants.
> To your question:
> "What does the one board member on our side say in his welcome
> speech?"
> My first response was: 1. Welcome 2. State the theme and say two or
> three sentences re the theme 3. Formulate his expectations, hopes,
> visions as to the outcome of the gathering and 4. Announce the
> facilitator who introduces the process (the night before the
> facilitator
> could coach him a bit on his opening of the space).
> Second response: What does it mean "on our side"? What happens to a
> facilitator not being partial to "holding time and space" but being
> party to a particular fraction of the system?
>
> My hunch is that your role might be participant or sponsor and that
> you
> and the entire system might profit if the sponsor engages an external
> facilitator...who might also contribute to clarify whether open space
> technology is the best approach in this affair.
>
> Greetings from Berlin
> mmp boscop eg
>
>
> Catherine Pfaehler wrote:
>> Dear Listers
>>
>>
>>
>> As I am planning our 3^rd OS in Thielle (a naturist’s paradise in
>> Switzerland, which is in its 70^th year now), the conflict is still
>> going on. Mistrust is still strong on both sides. I offer this OS
>> being
>> a member of the Network Renaissance Thielle, which is working to save
>> the original idealistic intents of this wonderful community and to
>> strengthen the community of naturists in this difficult time full of
>> stress. The other side are a few people who have seized power and are
>> doing everything to make the idealists leave. Their intentions to
>> change
>> the focus of the place into a normal camp ground for nudists (and
>> probably also for sex tourists) were only realized when it was almost
>> too late - they have already taken control of the board of the
>> foundation in a very concealed way and have employed a manager for
>> the
>> camp who has no understanding whatsoever of naturism, a hunter.
>> (Naturists are naked, like nudists, but their focus lies on spiritual
>> and consciousness development. They don’t eat meat – that’s why
>> choosing
>> a hunter as a manager shows a lot about the current president’s
>> values
>> -, don’t use drugs or alcohol, don’t smoke – if not 100 % in everyday
>> life, then certainly on the camp site. Many families are in
>> Thielle in
>> their 3^rd and 4^th generation, every summer.)
>>
>>
>>
>> My question to you is: How can I hold space in this conflict in a way
>> which prevents abuse? What do I say in the givens in regards to this?
>> What does the one board member on our side say in his welcome speech?
>>
>>
>>
>> We have experienced time after time that our good intentions were
>> turned
>> around and made into something which was then presented publicly as
>> horrible. Somebody from the other side last year even came into the
>> plenary to have a look and then called us a sect. This is how the
>> current president of the board works to eliminate those who do not
>> support his actions. He spreads some lies about us and then
>> continuously
>> uses people who mean well for his bad intentions. In paradise, one
>> doesn’t think this way, and therefore only realizes this when it’s
>> too
>> late. So this fear of abuse of the space is more than realistic.
>>
>>
>>
>> Grateful for your ideas and experiences - Catherine
>>
>>
>>
>> Catherine Pfaehler Senn
>>
>> Open Space Begleitung & Coaching
>>
>> Kellersriedweg 8
>>
>> CH - 2503 Biel
>>
>> +41-(0)32 - 365 68 41
>>
>> c.pfaehler at bluewin.ch
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
> ++49-30-772 8000
> www.boscop.de www.michaelmpannwitz.de
>
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