Unconferences
Lisa Heft
lisaheft at openingspace.net
Tue Sep 7 17:40:55 PDT 2010
Hi, Annamarie -
Harold, I think Kaliya describes it so beautifully.
From what I am hearing, the word 'unconference' - when used by most
people - seems to be a generic term for 'not the usual PowerPoint type
of meeting/conference' - started perhaps in the tech communities but
is now a term used by others.
It does not mean Open Space. To everyone.
And just as we often hear of groups using 'Open Space' and then when
we ask them to describe it, it's something completely un-Open Space
(but just uses a circle, or just uses topic signs on a wall, or
something), I hear that in the tech / hybrid / mashup world what often
is referred to as Open Space or Unconference is not anything we would
call Open Space.
So often what I hear is it is not the complete form:
- Opening Circle - invitation and explanation of process, principles
and law
- participant-driven co-created agenda (without clustering, without
facilitator's 'helping', without voting or elimination of topics, and
done at a time-for-everyone speed rather than whoever-thinks-the-
fastest speed)
- multiple participant-led discussions around the room (that folks can
wander amongst) for multiple session times (without facilitators
'helping', with time enough for not-just-the-quickest-responders to
participate, ideally with some sort of participant-generated
documentation of the discussions)
- as mentioned above - ideally some sort of participant-documentation
component that ultimately becomes a co-created Book of Proceedings (to
share more than the moment of talking / to provide data to all, to
share knowledge with everyone about what you discovered and learned in
the certain sessions you hosted or attended)
- facilitator becoming totally present and completely invisible and
holding space - not directive or intervening or traffic controlling -
after welcoming/inviting/explaining/opening
- Closing Circle for comment and reflection
Not squished into too short a time frame, not hybridized or morphed
(for this results in different deliverables than the compete OS tool
delivers), not cut into pieces, no pressure to present, and ideally
welcoming of all kinds of people (quick responders, slow responders,
topic convenors, witnesses, established leaders, emergent leaders,
folks of lower power or rich difference, and so on).
So. I hear there are some wonderful facilitators who use true Open
Space for tech-based Unconferences / camps. Certainly most
'agilistas' (Agile community) seem to help each other learn Open Space
well.
I know some of you folks who specialize in using OS in tech
communities / camps / unconferences personally. You are amazing. You
do it so well.
I also hear there are things that sound sort of like it, that are not
it, that I wish were not called Open Space. I would love it if the
term 'Open Space' were only used for the complete form. I welcome
people to do any parts of interactive / dialogic work that work for
them - I just like participants and other users to know which tools
deliver what - proper naming for understanding proper use of tools.
Just like knowing a hammer is best for some things and when you say
hammer you have thought about what it's most useful for and what it's
design can deliver. Rather than using it for everything or pulling it
apart into components and expecting the same results.
I welcome all experimentation, all stretching, all sharing of
different experiences, too.
What do others think?
Lisa
Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net
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