[OSList] A Short Open Space for Happiness in Chile

[Hege Steinsland]

Thank you for shearing this documentary. I learnt al lot, and it gives courage and inspiration :-)

I have one question : Do we really need chairs in a situation like this. Would it work to let people stand in a circle through the introduction and closing circle? Its so much more fleksible in a situation with little time, and you dot know how many will join in? Any experience?

Love from Norway
Hege
Den 21. juni 2012 kl. 01:09 skrev JL Walker:

> Hi friends,
>  
> Inspired by the interesting discussion sustained in this list about “Any experience with short open space” (thanks Catherine Corbaz!), I have decided to write apart this recent and synchronous story that I think puts a two cents on it.
>  
> Within the framework of the 1st Meeting of Healthy Relationships and Happiness(www.encuentrofelicidad.cl), which was held in Santiago of Chile on 26 and 27 May last, which mainly included national and foreign expert speakers and investigators on these topics for a total of 2000 attendees, we in the CDIC(www.cdic.cl) had the great honor to facilitate a mini open space of an hour and a half (90 minutes).
>  
> We were invited there to share our accumulated experience in the citizen ambit, from September 2011 to May 2012, with the facilitation of five open space (up to the date of the event), that we have called Creative Dialogues about Happiness (a beautiful project which I hope I’ll also be able to speak you in details at a later time).
>  
> The organizers have scheduled us in one of the last modules of more than 40 presentations and conferences that have had been make in the two days of the event. And if it from the outset we plan to do so in a form of experiential workshop that could allow participants to have the real experience of an open space, with also an certain pedagogical desire of grant them a global understanding of the benefits of the method, this was especially enhanced by changing conditions at the last moment.
>  
> Few hours before our little open space workshop begins, they informed to us that for reasons of force majeure, we should have to move to a much smaller room that the one that they had originally assigned to us.
>  
> One more reason to say “whatever happens is the only thing that could have” and to remember also the fifth new principle pointed out recently by HO, in the sense that “wherever it happens is the right place”. And because for that moment there was a complete uncertainty of how many people would attend, we then decided to put all the chairs stacked on both sides of the classroom and give welcome to all participants standing on their two feet, inviting to all to greet hand (often converted to hugs) and then, only then, they begin to co-create together the circle with the chairs.
>  
> After that, when we begin to open the space in the usual way, the first thing that we pointed out was about the importance of the circle and how is it that a previous phase of opening of the physical space it was always necessary for to facilitate this dialogue method.
>  
> The question of this mini open space was the same that we had been working in the five previous dialogues: What can we do today to be happier in Chile?
>  
> Then a burst of participation, positive energy and creativity occurred, in which around 80 people lifted something like 60 topics that quickly were merged into four working groups of 20 minutes each, for finally give way to a memorable and inspiring closing circle that ended with the presentation of a 5 minutes video which intent to summarize our five previous dialogues.
>  
> At the end, the received samples of gratitude encourage us and excited to take forward our next big meeting (7th Dialogue), when we hope to convene a larger number of people representing the diversity that we are looking for: experts, authorities, opinion leaders and common citizens, recognizing the importance of dialogue to increase happiness in the life of people in Chile.
>  
> In the following link you can see a photo sequence of all the moments that I have talked you above:http://tinyurl.com/6ljuuco
>  
> And here the link of the video that summarizes our five previous dialogues: http://youtu.be/8xsNukuU5Fc
>  
> Love & peace,
>  
> Juan Luis Walker
> PS: And as always, hope that my English goes well ;)
>  
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