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

[Lisa Heft]

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:
> 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?
> 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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20120729/b3827462/attachment-0008.htm>