Haiti OS stories

Sun Apr 19 15:08:01 PDT 2009

Fremy--

Wonderful report! Thank you sincerely!

I especially liked hearing what Mario Merancien did after the Haiti 2008
OSonOS. Do you know what any of the others did with their Open Space
work as a result of the OSonOS? Do you have any more stories to share? 

And what does the future look like for OS in Haiti? What would you like
to do with Open Space in the next year or two?

			:- Doug.

On Sun, 2009-04-19 at 21:09 +0000, fremy cesar wrote:
> Dear Open Space Collegues,
> 
> 
> Below, there are some stories collected after the annual Open Space in
> Haiti in 2008. 
> 
> 
> It is with great pleasure that I’m writing this report on the seventh
> annual Open Space meeting in Haiti.  In Haiti, Open Space has become a
> crucial tool in helping organizations or any other group change their
> practices in order to achieve more participation and shared
> responsibility.
> 
>  
> 
> The seventh annual Open Space meeting in Haiti took place on June
> 26-29, 2008. 79 of the 87 participants stayed at Villa Ormiso, which
> hosted the event, and the remaining participants commuted every day.
> For most of the participants, the fees related to their participation
> in that meeting were covered by the organizations with which they are
> working. The Haiti Open Space Institute sponsored 17 of them.
> 
>  
> 
> Theme:
> 
>  
> 
> The Practice of Open Space: How are we using this approach to increase
> organizational effectiveness?
> 
>  
> 
> Below are several of the topics proposed in the village market:
> 
>  
> 
>       * How can we use OS to help handicapped people, to make them
>         feel they also belong in society?
>       * How can OS be used to raise youth’s awareness about HIV/AIDS?
>       * How can we use OS to get Haitian and Dominican organizations
>         to work together?
>       * How can we help OS become a tool used in schools?
>       * How can OS help us in teaching people their rights and duties?
>       * The advantages and disadvantages of gay and lesbians in
>         society.
> 
>  
> 
> Below are reflections from some of the participants who had their
> lodging and meals covered thanks to the generous gift from OSI, USA.
> All of them are active members in our network.
> 
>  
> 
> “For me, open space is a method, which can play an important role
> within the Haitian society.  Haiti has been in slavery for a great
> number of years; it takes a lot of time for such a nation to become
> educated in the right way and I think the OS method can do much in
> helping to achieve that goal.  I know that a lot of people have
> already been trained in OS and I hope it will continue.  I take
> advantage of the opportunity to give many thanks to the OS Institute,
> which sponsored my participation in the OS this year; I must say I
> benefited a lot from that method.                                  
> 
>  
> 
> In the past, I used to think that what I did was always right and I
> always wanted others to see things the same way I did, which usually
> created a lot of frustration and disappointment in me.  When I started
> participating in OS, I realized that was not realistic; I started
> showing more tolerance toward people and their ideas. Thus, I feel I
> have relieved myself of taking on other people’s responsibilities and
> personal objectives.  I really benefited from that space, which was
> really open in order to share my knowledge with others and to also
> learn from what others were sharing with us.”
> 
> (Marie Kerline Janvier) 
> 
>  
> 
> “I’m Mauricette Jean Lucien ; I’m one of those whose participation in
> the Open Space at Villa Ormiso has been sponsored.  My experience
> there and what I learned will help me practice that method better; it
> will help me do my work of managing my organization better, in an
> effective manner and in a way that respects one another’s opinions”
> 
> (Mauricette Jean Lucien)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> “Open Space is a suitable name for what it means.  I can say it is an
> activity, which can transform society. I see it already in myself,
> Open Space brought a lot of change for me in my organization. Every
> time I participate in the Open Space, I feel like I have moved into a
> higher level.
> 
>  
> 
> Having my participation in the Open Space sponsored is for me the
> greatest gift I could have received in my life.  Open Space has
> brought a lot of change in my life and in the organization of which
> I’m the leader.
> 
>  
> 
> It helps me grow better in life. Every time I participate in the Open
> Space, I learn a lot from the other participants. I used to see things
> differently before.
> 
>  
> 
> In the Open Space, I learned how to reflect and to plan ahead of time
> everything I need to do.  The three biggest things I learned from Open
> Space are:  shared power, building a culture of tolerance in me,
> building a culture of peace.”
> 
> (Delva Marie Eramithe)     
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> “We went to the training, which took place at Villa Ormiso, in June,
> 2008.  It brought a lot of changes through one workshop on education
> in which I participated.  The ideas shared have brought a lot of
> change in me. I always had that thought, which was : why was I making
> all those sacrifices for my children when my parents did not do
> anything for me; I always said that if they had provided me a high
> enough level of education, I would not have gone through certain
> hardships. When I got home, I reflected about everything that has been
> said and I immediately freed myself from that thought.
> 
> 
> 
> Open Space taught me to plan what I need to do today and tomorrow ;
> Open Space made it so that today my children go to school without any
> difficulty, they can eat, they have a home; I plan everything based on
> what comes into my hands. There is not enough time for me to say all
> the things this method has done for me.”
> 
> (Villard Malya)   
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> “I’m Theophile ANTOINE, I had the chance of being introduced to the
> Open Space method since the year 2003.  But, it is the first time that
> I have the opportunity to participate in the Open Space on Open Space
> at Villa Ormiso.
> 
>  
> 
> It was a very enriching experience for me.  Not only did it help me
> meet many other people, but also it helped me build my skills even
> more in order to be tolerant toward others even when I do not agree
> with their ideas, which is something I think many people in our
> country are missing.
> 
>  
> 
> Now, I also feel capable of leading an open space, after having
> participated in a workshop on that.
> 
>  
> 
> With respect to the welcome, it was very good because as soon as you
> enter the yard, there was always someone to help you either with
> registration or to show you to your room.
> 
>  
> 
> With respect to workshop discussions, it went very well.  Because the
> rules of the Reflection Circles method were followed almost 100%.
> (Listen with care to others and don’t cut them off. Speak clearly so
> that others can hear you and in a way that they can understand you.)
> The meals were very good and they were always served on time.
> 
>  
> 
> I would like to thank you very much for your sponsorship this year and
> I hope the next Space will be even nicer and more interesting than
> this year.”
> 
> (Theophile ANTOINE) 
> 
>  
> 
> “I would like to greet the members of the Open Space Institute in
> Haiti and those from the Open Space Institute in USA and I take
> advantage of this opportunity to thank them for working together to
> sponsor my participation in the latest Open Space on Open Space, which
> took place at Villa Ormiso, in June, 2008. It is with great pleasure
> that I will talk about my work after having gone through this meeting
> where I learned a lot in order to go further.
> 
>  
> 
> With respect to the promise we had made to go back and work in order
> to get more people in Haiti to practice open space, I did not lose any
> time ; I led an open space meeting with the organization I usually
> work with, which is the Social and Sports Association of Marie-Therese
> (ASSMATH) and the theme was : how can we start bringing a social and
> economic response within Marie-Therese.  I did the planning for that
> space, which took place on Sunday, July 6, 2008, from 8 am to 1 pm
> (Marie-Therese is a poor neighborhood located on Route de Freres, in
> the commune of Petion-Ville).  Children, youth, and adults
> participated in that open space. As a result, they were all satisfied
> and they expressed how much they appreciated that meeting and asked
> the association to hold another one in a short while; it was a
> successful initiative for the members of the association and
> especially for me who initiated that movement within the association.
> 
>  
> 
> My work did not stop there although it has not become concrete yet,
> but I started sharing and spreading that initiative, which started in
> the neighborhood of Marie-Therese, with other association leaders from
> other neighborhoods of Route de Freres, with the goal to expand the
> Route de Freres network.  And I am considering holding open space in
> many churches and other institutions, which have a need for
> it.  Therefore, I’ve already started working on a project to implement
> everything I’ve just said.
> 
>  
> 
> I support the work that the Haiti Open Space Institute and the USA
> Open Space Institute are doing to promote the practice of open space
> everywhere through sponsoring participants from several sectors of
> activities and taking the initiative to train and have everyone
> participate.”
> 
> (Mario Merancien)
> 
>  
> 
> I would like for all OSI, USA members to know how grateful we are and
> how much respect we have for you.  We’ll always be ready to support
> activities, which will take place in Haiti and we have a lot of
> gratitude for that.
> 
>  
> 
> Great appreciation and respect for all of you.
> 
>  
> 
> Fremy Cesar 
> 
> For the Haiti Open Space Institute
> 
> 
> 2008 OS/OS Report for the OSI, USA
> 
> Submitted November 16, 2008
> 
> Translation by Myriam Narcisse
> 
>  
> 
> 
> _____________________
> Fremy Cesar Co-directeur 
> Fondation Limyè Lavi 
> Haiti: 
> BP.15812 Petion-Ville 
> Tel: 509. 3705.3395 
> 
> 
> Guadeloupe: 
> Rue Charlery Bance 
> 97160 LE MOULE 
> Tel: 0590 818762  
> 0690 862654 
> www.eksperyansla.info 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> * * ==========================================================
> 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