Haiti OS stories

[Michael M Pannwitz]

Dear Fremy,
I will take your report with me to the Learning Workshop (OSonOS) in 
Belfast and post it there for participants to see. The Belfast event 
will take place in a few days from Friday, April 24 through Sunday, 
April 26, following an OST-Training which took place in Belfast last year.
Aside from the grand stories in your report I liked the reference to the 
  support of your exchange from the OSI Haiti and the international 
support through the OSI USA. This, to me, demonstrates how these 
Institutes foster the spread of Open Space worldwide and especially in 
your country.
I invite all of your colleagues in Haiti to include themselves in the 
Open Space World Map...in addition to the 7 open space-workers listed 
there already...so that I (and everybody else)can "see" you...here is 
the link to the colleagues in Haiti
> http://www.openspaceworldmap.org/moreinfo/contactinfo.php?c_id=77


Greetings from Berlin
mmp


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, USASubmitted November 16, 2008Translation 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
mmpanne at boscop.org
www.boscop.org


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