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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