[OSList] HA: Open Space in dictatorship

Fri Feb 14 11:33:14 PST 2014

Dear Marina and Peggy!

Thanks for the beautiful description of the 5 days and the opening
ceremony... As I was reading the names of geogrphical places in Siberia, i
felt really moved to want to be there..esp. the Altai which we, Hungarians
also claim to have had some connections with long long time ago..

Yes, I can imagine the stance and beauty of those 100 women...

I just heard a tinge of something else in between the words of   *Such a
simple idea (ie. lintening to one another) that was apparently not a
cultural norm.*".. which i felt inclined to respond to.
 I know where it comes from actually... In the past 30-55 years of my life,
having traveled to what we used to call the West.. I have come across so
many misconcepts and strange assumtions about us, people living in the ex-
socialist countries that I could write up a whole book about them... I
guess that is what I added to the words in my minds' ears...

Agota

*Agota E.Ruzsa,*
Holistic coach, facilitátor and mentor, kiadó
www.dialogos.hu.

2014-02-12 16:37 GMT+01:00 Peggy Holman <peggy at peggyholman.com>:

> Dear Agota,
>
> Marina described the context better than I could. As to the opening, there
> were no speeches. As Marina said, she and Jan welcomed everyone and waters
> were shared.
>
> Peggy
> Sent from my iPad
>
> 425-746-6274
> www.peggyholman.com
>
> > On Feb 12, 2014, at 7:25 AM, Тясто Марина В. <tyasto at sapa.nsk.su> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Agota,
> >
> > Thank you for your interest to this situation. As I've been there too
> I'd like to share my impression with you. I think you have perseived that
> picture a little bit different. As far as I remember it was an opening
> ceremony of the 5 days conference "From the Ideas to the actions". All
> participants - women-teams from 5 Siberian regions were sitting in a big
> circle. Jan Secor and me as American and Russian co-directors invited
> delegations to bring water from their rivers, lakes. American delegation of
> 4 trainers brought water from Pugent Sound. Irkutsk delegation brought
> water from Lake Baikal and Angara river. Women brought waters from Altai
> mountains and Ob-River.n And of course leaders of delegations spoke with
> great enthusiasm. The ceremony was so exciting, women didn't know everyone
> in the big room. And probably they just wanted to share their excitement
> with women sitting next the them. Of course it all was noisy, but really
> positive and totally different from Normal Russian conferences when some
> important speakers will make speeches to the passively listening
> participants. I believe that the conference we are talking about which
> included 2 days OST was a real Leadership lab changing women-participants
> much more than any other conference or training.
> > Peggy Holman was one of the wonderful american trainers team, who did
> many consultations to women's NGOs in Novosibirsk and Tomsk and travelled
> with us to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude at the Shamanic Tour around Lake Baikal.
> High learning - high play!
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > Marina Tyasto
> > Novosibirsk, Russia
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > От: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] от имени Ágota Éva Ruzsa [
> ruzsa.agota at dialogos.hu]
> > Отправлено: 12 февраля 2014 г. 14:09
> > Кому: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> > Тема: Re: [OSList] Open Space in dictatorship
> >
> > Dear Peggy,
> >
> > I would like to reflect to the sentence..." We — the team of 4 women
> from the US doing this workshop — had asked the women to introduce
> themselves. One by one, they stood and spoke as if they were making a
> speech to a crowd. In my minds eye, their words were all in capital letters
> with exclamation points (!).  The moment the introductions started, the
> other women started talking to each other rather than listening to the
> person speaking. We stepped in and asked that they listen to each other.
> Such a simple idea that was apparently not a cultural norm."..
> >
> > Am I right to assume that in the design there were 4 speeches first
> offered by locals, then you, or some of you introducing the process which
> then was not received by attention???  Is that it??
> >
> > In this case, I wonder what the situation would be like - say - in the
> MidWest among ordinary local people invited to an OS the first time in
> their lives?  How would they behave after 4 locals giving a lengthy speech
> about the importance of.... and the norm for .... and how impressive and
> humbling it is to welcome a team of hosts from Siberia to come and
> introduce them to their way of working???...
> > Has anyone asked, ie., the participants who they were? what brought them
> there? what culture of talking, sharing and expressing themselves they
> aplly in their normal days?  etc.
> >
> > I really feel we need to be very contextual and cautious in our
> assumptions ...but you also know that, of course...
> >
> >
> > Agota E.Ruzsa,
> > Hungary
> >
> >
> >
> > 2014-02-11 23:57 GMT+01:00 Peggy Holman <peggy at peggyholman.com<mailto:
> peggy at peggyholman.com>>:
> > I had the privilege of working with Marina in 2001 with a group of women
> leaders in Siberia.
> >
> > To this day, I remember the opening circle. We — the team of 4 women
> from the US doing this workshop — had asked the women to introduce
> themselves. One by one, they stood and spoke as if they were making a
> speech to a crowd. In my minds eye, their words were all in capital letters
> with exclamation points (!).  The moment the introductions started, the
> other women started talking to each other rather than listening to the
> person speaking. We stepped in and asked that they listen to each other.
> Such a simple idea that was apparently not a cultural norm.
> >
> > By the end of the next day, as they worked together in small groups, the
> conversations all seemed engaged and authentic, with real listening going
> on.
> >
> > One thing I learned on that trip was to never assume that I could
> accurately interpret what was going on. So I wonder...Marina — how do you
> remember it?
> >
> > appreciatively,
> > Peggy
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _________________________________
> > Peggy Holman
> > peggy at peggyholman.com<mailto:peggy at peggyholman.com>
> > Twitter: @peggyholman
> >
> > 15347 SE 49th Place
> > Bellevue, WA  98006
> > 425-746-6274
> > www.peggyholman.com<http://www.peggyholman.com>
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> >
> > Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into
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> >
> >
> > "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
> burnt, is to become
> > the fire".
> >  -- Drew Dellinger
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Feb 11, 2014, at 9:51 AM, Тясто Марина В. <tyasto at sapa.nsk.su<mailto:
> tyasto at sapa.nsk.su>> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Ulrika,
> >
> > I echo Elwin as I also have extensive experience of facilitation OST
> events in Russia as I live here, especially with different groups of state
> and municipal servants in the classroom environment. At the beginning most
> of them looked like having freedom shock being invited to post issues they
> care for. But after starting discussions they began to change their way of
> communication and learning freely and fully. Always coming to the room for
> the reports and closing I've observed totally different people - with much
> more self-confidence, positive outlook and friendly feelings to each other.
> OST actually gives people the first experience of free behavior ,
> self-organizing, self-learning and real leadership. I hardly could define
> Russian case as a real dictatorship, but I don't know about any bad
> consequences for the OST meeting participants. Even though some of them
> were saying something like: even though I'd be fired after I will organize
> something like this in my office - organization I'll do it and  finally
> tell the truth.
> > I'm  sure it is important to bring OST to every possible place and share
> it with as many people as possible.
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > Marina
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > От: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org> [
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] от имени Elwin and Joan [
> elwinandjoan at yahoo.com<mailto:elwinandjoan at yahoo.com>]
> > Отправлено: 10 февраля 2014 г. 18:09
> > Кому: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> > Тема: Re: [OSList] Open Space in dictatorship
> >
> > Ulrika,
> > I have Opened Space countless times in nearly every country of the
> former Soviet Union, from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
> > In most cases I had the opportunity to return for further development
> work. I have never encountered anyone who suffered any retribution as a
> result of Open Space participation. To the contrary, I continue to get
> email thank you notes from many participants of Open Space dating back more
> than a decade.
> >
> > It always works!
> >
> > Elwin Guild
> > Future Development International
> >
> >
> >
> > On Monday, February 10, 2014 11:34 AM, Ulrika Eklund <
> ulrika.eklund at telia.com<mailto:ulrika.eklund at telia.com>> wrote:
> > Dear listmembers and all your experience
> >
> > I would love to take part of your experience and knowledge about
> > working with OS in countries operated by dictatorship. A closed space,
> > where you are used/allowed to think as The party. "Its a lovely country
> > as long as you follow the rules"
> >
> > For example I had a training course with a group working in the
> > authorities and governmental bodies (national and regional level), and
> > they listed some of the problems in one area. After they were
> > encouraged to brainstorm ideas and solutions on the problems. After the
> > task I asked - what was the new ideas and insight you got? New?! We
> > repeated what the party already have decided"... so it was more a
> > memory test :) An other exampel: in the university where I met the
> > students study a Human rights course sponsered by another country. They
> > said: "its a good course. Why I asked and the answer was: we are
> > allowed to ask questions when we don't understand, you know sometimes
> > you read a text in the book and you don't understand and it doesnot
> > help to read it many times, here we can ask, and we are also allowed to
> > discuss.
> >
> > So my question - how is Open Space working in this circumstances? How
> > you know people that think freely are not punished after?
> >
> > WIsh you all a lovley week
> > Ulrika
> >
> >
> > --
> > Ulrika Eklund
> > Bergsgatan 7A
> > SE-112 23 Stockholm
> > Sweden
> > mobile +46-(0)70-699 86 12<tel:%2B46-%280%2970-699%2086%2012>
> >
> > --
> >
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