[OSList] two questions about OST nested in a larger conference

Wed Aug 1 05:43:38 PDT 2012

Hi Lisa!  Thank you for the warm welcome back!  And thanks for sharing your
experience.  I will contact you off-list to see if you can mentor me
through the design of this event.  When I get it together I will summarize
the design and its reasoning back to the list for those interested.  I
think that both youth events and OS-within-a-larger-conference are
important applications that have some special puzzles to work out (without *
adding* anything unnecessary, of course [?]).
Cheers,
Chris

On Sun, Jul 29, 2012 at 6:46 PM, Lisa Heft <lisaheft at openingspace.net>wrote:

> Well if it isn't the fabulous Chris Weaver !
> Your presence is felt in much of the work I do -and- I use your invitation
> text (strategic plan for Swannanoa) in both my The Power of Pre-Work
> workshop and my Open Space Learning Workshop.
> Welcome back, you inspiration.
> Although I know you have been here in spirit all along.
>
> I do a lot of OS work in conferences and a lot with youth.
> Here is what I have learned - and of course other colleagues on the list
> may see and do it wonderfully differently.
>
> a) So so hard to have a concurrent OS - running at the same time as a
> larger conference - if the young people also have to give workshops or
> attend the larger conference.
> Hard to hold the space, challenging for folks wandering in and out to feel
> what is happening (in the same collectively-held way as the others who are
> already in the room), hard for the young people (smart as they are) to
> remember when to show back up in the OS room because they are living in the
> now and often lose track of time. Not a catastrophe, because great things
> always happen - just harder for the facilitator. Me, at least.
>
> b) Physical space - if the young people are also participating in the
> larger conference - think about how to keep that 'hidden' space present for
> them. Once I gave everybody pocket cards to share and pass with / to their
> friends that said where and when and gave the energy of the OS event. Plus
> fun signage in the halls etc. Low tech and effective.
>
> c) Inviting others to flow in and out and look at the wall, participate,
> etc. As much as I love engaging the whole system - in the conferences where
> I have done a youth conference-within-a-conference - the youth have
> consistently said that it was so amazing to have a youth-only space.
> Youth-only meaning: they loved having a facilitator who was older than them
> as witness-without-telling-them - so you don't have to be the same culture
> as the participants. But youth-only meaning - the only other adults that
> are allowed into the space are those one or two or four who are
> specifically invited by a youth participant to come into the room. Like one
> time when the young people wanted to talk to an adult who had been in the
> military for something they were working on in OS. Another time they wanted
> to talk about aging and include someone older than them. All by invitation
> at the event and rather spontaneously done as-needed. To me - especially in
> a mixed-age conference it is HUGE to give youth their own self-led space.
> In all ways. And this is true for other countries I have worked in as well.
>
> I guess the question is why. How does it serve the youth. What is the
> objective of this youth conference-within-a-conference session. And the
> conference as a whole. And I would design according to that.
>
> d) Let the adults know of the cool things happening in the room in some
> other way. They'll find that the cutting edge topics happened in the youth
> space rather than the main conference. Posting those topics out can happen
> after the conference or during but of course it does not have to be your
> job to do that because your job is to hold space for what's happening in
> the youth OS room.
>
> c) To me, young people are no different than adults: if documentation is
> not obvious / apparent / seen - it does not get done. Even if a community
> is very high-tech or tech-oriented. There is no felt space. No noticing
> that yes, others are documenting so I guess I should get my notes in too.
> Even in a high-tech environment I always place a physical newsroom with a
> few laptops and signage to remind peoples' minds and bodies of the presence
> of documentation. Even when people say 'oh we all use GoogleDocs' you can
> see how nobody is turning aside to post notes - they are mostly taking
> notes for themselves. And here's the biggest thing - to me: Each time you
> adjust or 'improve' or change something - something else shifts. Which is
> fine. But just know what you are shifting and then make your decision -
> that's what I remind myself when thinking of these things. So in
> eliminating a 'take your notes on paper, then go to the Newsroom and
> transcribe them' - you are eliminating the ability of someone to re-write
> the notes for the 'outside reader' (someone not in their group discussion)
> - not in shorthand but in a way that shows responsibility for
> knowledge-sharing across the groups; you are eliminating the ability of
> someone to think again about their experience as they transcribe - thus
> further integrating their experience; you are eliminating the 'come here
> and sit with me at the Newsroom - let's talk about these notes'; you are
> eliminating your paper back-up system (should computers fry - which they
> have done).  Those are reasons I often prefer going with a laptops Newsroom
> if laptop technology is available. Or graphic templates or some other thing
> that make it more than a flipchart: because I notice that most things folks
> draw on flip-charts have meaning to the group that was there when it was
> created - but others wish for just a little bit of text so they can
> understand, too. So perhaps a graphic template with a little box for some
> descriptive text?
>
> d) Of course documentation design also depends on the group culture and
> capacity, how the information / ideas might be used post-event, how
> participants might be able to access the information, and so many more
> things.
>
> At the risk of sounding like a broken record (hmmm...new
> technology...scratched cd?) - those are the many interconnected elements we
> talk about and explore in my Power of Pre-Work workshop - which is coming
> up next month in San Francisco. I don't know if you have resources for
> travel Chris but housing is very cheap if you need it (a great hostel) and
> registration is pay-the-most-you-can so if you time and resources allow -
> join us and we'll all explore together ! (let me know and I can send you
> more information - dates below).
>
> I look forward to hearing others' experiences that might inform Chris and
> I'm so glad that these young people will have such a great space-holder ...
>
>
> Lisa
>
>
>
> The Power of Pre-Work
>    - August 8-10, 2012 - San Francisco, USA
> The Open Space Learning Workshop / el Taller de Aprendizaje de Espacio
> Abierto
>    - October 9-11, 2012 - London, United Kingdom
>            (before the World Open Space on Open Space in London)
>    - December 12-14, 2012 - San Francisco, USA
>    - In English y en español: 2013 dates and countries to be announced
>
>
>
> On Jul 29, 2012, at 10:25 AM, Chris Weaver wrote:
>
> Hi OSList,
>
> I have been away for many years, but now I am back, seeking advice.
> <330.gif>
>
> I am negotiating a proposal for an OST youth summit, nested within a much
> larger traditional conference.  The youth OST will have 100 to 200
> participants; the larger conference will have 1,000 to 1,200.  (And no,
> there is no prospect of holding the whole thing in OS, as lovely as that
> would be).
> For the moment, two questions:
>
>    1. I am weighing the pros and cons of inviting participants who are
>    part of the larger conference but not the youth summit to even so pop by
>    the agenda wall, and drop into an OS breakout session if they wish.  They
>    won't have been in the opening.  You tell me:  enhancement, or catastrophe?
>    2. The last time I put together newsrooms, I used word documents &
>    memory sticks, or hand-written reports & posters.  Have people had luck
>    with web-based documents like GoogleDocs, allowing participants to type in
>    reports on their personal devices?  I want to catch these high-school and
>    college youth leaders where they are at...but I want it to work!
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
> Warmly,
> Chris Weaver
>
>
>
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