Haiti OS stories

Mon Apr 20 07:19:49 PDT 2009

Hello My Friends! I wish I could have been with you just to see all the
wonderful things you have seen and done. It is always a joy to hear what you
are doing in Haiti. Thank You!

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, Maryland   20854

Phone 301-365-2093

Skype hhowen

Open Space Training  <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com

Open Space Institute  <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website  <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com 

OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
Visit:  <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>
www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of fremy
cesar
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 5:10 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Haiti OS stories

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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20090420/a6d594fe/attachment-0016.htm>