Personal Reflections on WOSonOS 2010 in Berlin

[Artur Silva]

Dear Open Spacers:
 
Following the OSonOS in Berlin 2000, I sent to this
list some mails about my personal reflections on that event (that may be seen in
the Archives, after 22/Oct/2000), that have created some different threads of
conversation, and invited some changes in the OST community, the first one
being the transformation of the "opensapeceword.org site", that was
until then only in English, in a much more international site, in many
languages, the first ones being the Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish: http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/iberia.cgi? ), the Swedish, the French
(with a translation of Michael Herman's Introduction to OST to French, made by
Véronique and myself - http://www.openspaceworld.org/french/index.html), the
German, later followed by many others.  
 
This year again (but with less free time and at a more
spaced rhythm), I will try to do the same kind of reflections. I will
begin with what I said in the closing circle at Berlin 2010. Please note that I
have not taken any notes, before or afterwards, so this will not be the exact
words, bur only a later tentative for reconstruction, that I made in the plains
back home, probably as I had not received the Book of Proceedings that I
would prefer to read in these flights and not the next time I will have some free
time for it - probably not before one month from now. So, taking some time of my normal sleep time, here it follows:
 
First, I would like to say that the most important
things that I will take from WOSonOS 2010, in Berlin, apart from some sessions
I have participated in, is the fact that I met again people that I had not seen
for 10 years; that I finally had the possibility of seeing for the first time
many people that I already knew from the OSLIST but could not put a face to the
name (some of which, btw, I considered already as friends); and some others
who's faces I knew already from the OST NING site but I had never met in person
which I did now - only to conclude that, in many cases, I could not relate the
person to the picture because many photos - including mine - are 5 or 10 years
old... And, of course, I made here new friends... I am sorry that I could not
spend more time with all of you in the evenings and nights but, after 5 o'clock,
I was too tired of trying to speak and understand English, had some 20-40
professional mails that needed immediate attention and, for health reasons of
my wife, was obliged to choose restaurants that allowed for a strict diet to compensate
from the food during the day...
 
Second, some of you heard me say in the closing circle
of Berlin 2000, and later repeat and clarify in many posts to the OSLIST, that
the 8th OSonOS has been kind of magical to me. Unfortunately, I cannot say the
same about Berlin 2010. Many, many reasons contribute to that, that I will not
refer here, as we are already out of time and it is not the correct moment and
place, but I will refer only one that relates only with myself: no one can, in relation
to anything, have twice a "first experience"...
 
Third and last, I have hesitated in referring this,
but I feel compelled to talk about it here and now. I will put this as
questions and not answers but they are questions that I think we must address
in the near future, maybe in Chile or even before that. I wonder if we are
not missing the point of OSonOS and confounding things that are not mixable.
First this meeting is called "Open Space on Open Space" and not "Open Space
on Large Intervention Methods". And, using the words that Peggy Holman
wrote in her contribution to the "Festscgrift" (or something like
that...), that in the original "call for texts" was called "A present for Harrison" and
later renamed "25 years of Open Space", OST has "simplicity of
design" and shall not be confounded, as I saw here too often, with other
methodologies where, in my opinion, the "facilitator" facilitates too
much, disempowering the participants. On the other hand, and using again Peggy's
words, OST comes from "generosity of spirit", as it was declared by
Harrison as "everyone's birthright", that cannot be copyrighted or
trademarked. But I saw here some confusion and even advertisement of other methods
that, as they are trademarked, are not anymore IMHO part of OST. 
 
Please don't get me wrong: I have nothing against those
other methods, that are legitimate and may have their own fields of application
and respective Communities of Practice. I only wonder and question if they must
be contemplated in OSonOS as if they were "OST". I have the questions
- not the answers. Maybe we can take a position about that in the near future. 
 
Best regards 
 
Artur 


      

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