[OSList] Can Conversations on Crises Change Civilization?

[Ben Roberts via OSList]

Dear colleague (with apologies for cross-posting),

 

As we move into 2015, are you profoundly concerned about climate change,
serious resource depletion, and other major threats to civilization?  Do you
believe that we face an urgent and challenging opportunity to transform our
social systems and cultures that are generating those crises?  Are you
interested in what conversational professionals - mediators, conveners,
facilitators and your other fellow advocates and practitioners of dialogue,
deliberation, and process - could do to catalyze powerful collective shifts
that address these disturbing and exciting transformational possibilities?

If so, know that you are not alone.  We and many others feel as you do,
passionately.  So many people responded to a post about this by Tom Atlee on
the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation discussion list that
three of us called for further conversation and more than 50 signed on, half
of whom participated in an initial conference call on December 15.  With
this invitation, we're reaching out to thousands more in our field to see
who else feels called to this vital adventure.

So now we ask you to join us in pioneering a dialogue and deliberation (D&D)
"community of inquiry and action" during January 2015, online using the
"hackpad" platform and live virtually (using phone and video conferencing),
to more deeply pursue this urgent question that a few dozen of us have
<http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans> already begun exploring:

What do we, as members of the dialogue and deliberation community of
practice, have to be and do to enable our most positive transformational
impact, in the face of emerging global crises which fundamentally challenge
our business-as-usual habits and systems?


We know there are a number of ways to come at this question, so we are using
January to explore different possibilities, while building relationships
among those of us who have passion about this topic. You'll see below that
we've scheduled a number of virtual meetings, using different methods, all
in this one month-both in direct audio/video dialogues and in online written
conversations-in an effort to meet all our different needs as D&D agents of
social transformation.

You are welcome to participate in as many or as few of the "synchronous"
events listed below as you like-and you are encouraged to participate any
time in  <http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans> the online dialogues underway in the
hackpad forums we've provided. Each virtual event can stand on its own, and
each may have different outcomes-some perhaps quite unexpected-but we
suspect that insights and energies emerging in each one will reverberate in
all the rest. 

January 6, 2-3:30 ET - a virtual World Cafe for continuing whole-group
exploration of our convening question (above), and other related ones, in
stimulating small groups.  The optional "harvest" at the end will continue
until 4:30 pm ET.  Later in January we'll have another virtual World Cafe,
at an evening or weekend time to be announced.  Before, during, and after
these events, you can also  <http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans> share ideas on
hackpad (starting now).

January 9, 20, 30 (various times-- <http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans> see
hackpad) - three virtual Bohm Dialogues, providing space for deeper
reflection and relationship building, available on a reservation basis.

January 13, 2-3:30 ET - a virtual Open Space event to enable anyone to
convene a group to pursue an inquiry or activity about which they have
passion.  If you have such a passion, you can introduce it on hackpad
<http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans>  before, during, or after the audio-video
event (starting now).  Later in January we'll have another virtual Open
Space event, at an evening or weekend time to be announced. Immediately
following each virtual Open Space event there will be an additional hour of
virtual group sharing and group reports.


As we go through the above activities together, we'll be gaining first hand
understanding about how processes we have usually experienced in person
translate into virtual environments, and about the pros and cons of the
on-line tools we will be using -topics about which we expect to reflect more
later in January.  Bearing in mind that this environment and these online
tools may be new to many of us, we will go out of our way to provide as much
technical support as we can in this process. And, we also beg in advance
your forbearance and honest feedback as we explore this new territory
together.

More information about these offerings, as well as ways to get started in
the community of inquiry right now, can be found here on the Welcome
hackpad. <http://www.bit.ly/DandDTrans> 


What happens beyond January-with all of us together and/or in various
subgroups-is up to each of us. As hosts, we are designing the January
experience to encourage various follow-up opportunities to emerge according
to their own energy.  This particular cycle of engagements will end at the
end of the month, having provided value to all who have been part of this
community during that time.  But what happens next will depend totally on
the passion felt by you and the other participants, and the responsibility
and creativity you bring to your conversations with the other passionate
folks you meet in the process.  

So we welcome your participation and look forward to what will emerge here.
The more of us pursue this, the more we will learn and the more action will
result, moving us all forward.  Let us know if you have questions or
comments.

And make sure to
<http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/SJQ6VBHESBQ8OD>
register here if you think you may participate in any of it, so we can plan
for how many of us may join the adventure.

Ben Roberts and Linda Ellinor
(for the  <https://hackpad.com/About-the-DandDTrans-Inquiry-oG0LLT20JlU>
"convening team")


PS:  Alongside this collective inquiry and our associated community-building
efforts, we are offering a self-organized daily opportunity to explore the
deeper meaning of randomly selected cards from the Group Works deck set of
life-enhancing conversational design principles.  Our
<https://hackpad.com/Group-Works-Card-of-the-Evening-DandDTrans-Inquiry-Wzwx
QeIX8WY> recent experiments with this have been delightfully engaging.  If
you wish to be on the email list for notices about this, please let Ben
Roberts know via a reply to this email.

 

 

Ben Roberts

The Conversation Collaborative

www. ConversationCollaborative.com
<http://www.conversationcollaborative.com/>    

(203) 426-1039

Skype: benjamin_j_roberts

G+: benroberts.ipn at gmail.com

 

tagxedo 1

 

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