strength based, large scale grief work

[Michael Herman]

christine,

i did a world cafe program about a year ago where a group of 100 or 120
students met in a world cafe way heavily informed by open space principles
-- where they got to create their own questions in the first round and then
address them in the four later rounds.

one of the points of this model was that these students were being
considered for scholarships at a couple of major universities.  but some of
them would be cut.  the moment of being together was short and then the
decisions came out.  regardless of who won and who lost, we wanted to create
an agenda that worked for the day, but also could travel easily back to all
the high schools these folks came from and then on to college with them.  or
we wanted to create an agenda that at least had that potential for
travelling.

so the first question we asked was something like "what questions do young
people who aspire to be leaders need to be asking and answering for
themselves?"  in that first round, each table made lists of questions.  one
person stayed to explain, and the others moved on at the end of that round.


then in later rounds, those gathered at each table chose a question.  or the
person who stayed could pick the question, allowing folks to select a table
based on the question to be discussed.  hints of os.  just barely.  there
was also the option to cluster questions or have sequel conversations or add
new questions to the list.

this is how i remember it anyway.  but a blog post at the time has more and
better details.
http://www.michaelherman.com/wordpress/archives/2009/04/02/leadership-cafe/

to me, the main benefit is that we were able to identify and validate (in a
sense) piles of questions that could then be raised in all kinds of
downstream/elsewhere conversations.  this part of it seems like it might be
helpful in arizona now.  hope so.  and good luck!

m




--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.ronanparktrail.com
http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org
http://www.openspaceworld.org

312-280-7838 (mobile)


On Sun, May 2, 2010 at 5:47 PM, Christine Whitney Sanchez <
cwhitneysanchez at gmail.com> wrote:

> Cross-posted on the AI & NCDD lists...
>
> Dear Open Space Friends,
>
> There are many opportunities for generative, strength-based citizen
> conversations popping up in Arizona due to the law that was signed last week
> by our governor, making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona and
> mandating police to stop anyone they suspect of being "illegal".  One third
> of our population in Arizona is Hispanic.  You can imagine the tensions and
> the grief.
>
> I'm working with a local group that would like to host a large-scale
> conversation on May 26, working title:  Transformation Talks: Our Voices -
> Arizona's Future.  We are designing a 2 hour event in Phoenix that can
> accommodate up to 1,000  The reason for the large number is that the
> governor and many others constantly refer to a (poorly designed) poll with a
> sample of 500 that claims that 70% of Arizonans favor such a law.
>
> We will likely use a World Cafe format, use appreciative questions and
> create the conditions so that people can self-organize for collaborative
> action.  The team I'm working with feels strongly that people in Arizona
> need a chance to talk about their pain, fear and anger first before they
> will be able to move into thinking about the future.  I agree.
>
> When my twenty year old son first heard the concept, he said, "Who will
> pick the questions?"  Not long ago, someone (was it you, Chris Corrigan?)
> mentioned a process where the questions emerged at tables.
>
> I would be grateful for any stories about working with grief on a large
> scale and your thoughts/suggestions on event design and questions that will
> encourage deep conversations and move into action.
>
> Warm wishes on a windy Phoenix day,
>
> Christine
>
> Christine Whitney Sanchez
> *Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy*
> +1.480.759.0262
> www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
> www.promiseusa.com
> Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
> http://www.facebook.com/ChristineWhitneySanchez
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/christinewhitneysanchez
>
>
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