[OSList] a fresh look at the meeting "agenda"

[paul levy]

This also brings to mind one aspect of Open Space that might be worth
reflecting on.

Open Space Events begin with a marketplace - a wonderful rush of
self-organising energy that results in a "programme" - often a packed one,
set up for the whole day ahead (if it is a one-dayer). Often this programme
remains fairly fixed and little if any new sessions are added to it over
the day(even when there is a coming back together, say after lunch to
re-open the market place).

Yet what happens over the day is that the sessions evolve. The day emerges.
The process develops. The content morphs.

So, why not keep the market place open all day? (It often kind of is at
some of the OS events I have participated in though often there is a
feeling in the room that the programme bit was done at the start and there
it is ). Why not allow that flow to flow wherever it does? Why Open and
Close the marketplace at all? One less thing to do? - keep it open! I'm
sure the self-organising spirit will find good ways to announce new and
emerging sessions throughout the day without too much tinkering from the
facilitator. Many of these new sessions will evolve out of earlier ones,
many may start to focus on action, and some may be magically tangential.

I've seen it done well and facilitated it a few times.

Then we get to this magical place called END where we find out what the
agenda WAS! That agenda then tends to feel more alive, still living, and
can often have a "what next" feel about it.

That, for me, is the perfect Open Space agenda - the one that only reveals
itself at the end - as the thing that happened out of opening the space for
self-organisation.

warm wishes

Paul Levy

On 21 February 2013 05:12, Raffi Aftandelian <raffi_1970 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dearest Open Space and Genuine Contact friends-
>
> I wanted to share a blog post written by Rosa Zubizarreta. It is a fresh
> take- to me, at least- at the idea of a meeting agenda. I believe the post
> has interesting implications and sparks new questions whatever our practice
> is as a facilitator.
>
> I really enjoy Rosa's take on process arts. As a longtime practitioner of
> Focusing and Dynamic Facilitation (along with being a psychotherapist), she
> has brought together both theory and practice in her writing on group
> dynamics. I also admire that she explores the intersections- the space
> between- the different process arts communities of practice.
>
>  (interestingly her last name means "House on a Bridge")
>
> here is the post:
>
>
> http://rosaz.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/easing-shifts-in-group-dynamics-with-a-new-twist-on-the-conventional-agenda
>
> much warmth,
> raffi
>
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