[OSList] A possible first for me - at least on the inspiring OS side - if not facilitating as well

Sun Mar 23 23:57:13 PDT 2014

THANK YOU Andrea for sharing.
I'm moved. About your very serious topic. About your courage to do 
something. About your openness. Keep on.

And thanks to Lisa - even as an experienced "open spacer", you made me 
think and reflect - what could be better?

Thanks to all of you "open spacers" around the world" Thank you for 
being here.

Lise, Copenhagen

Den 23-03-2014 18:29, Lisa Heft - skrev:
> Andrea -
>
> My heart goes out to you and your community.
>
> Some first thoughts:
> - anything involving grief and loss is best served by an overnight in 
> a facilitated gathering - as people often tell their story on Day 1 
> and seek witness to that story, with Day 2 offering a slightly 
> different bit of 'breathing room' opened up by overnight reflection, 
> 'percolation', integration of the day's experiences. So a 2-day 
> gathering may allow for people to feel space, story, expansion, grief, 
> connection and more.
> - remember that if you are the facilitator you are holding space for 
> others, and you hold a certain role (in your own eyes and in others' 
> eyes) - so decide whether you best serve by finding someone else to 
> facilitate so that you can be a participant
> - think about documentation design - dialogue is more than the time 
> one was in a conversation - it is also reflection afterwards, reading 
> about others' conversations, sharing knowledge across the system / 
> community, looking back over multiple conversations to see patterns or 
> ideas... Open Space events easily include people sharing 
> responsibility for documenting their conversations and pooling those 
> into a co-created Book of Proceedings that can be used post-event by 
> each individual in their own way as well as any group that wishes to 
> pore over it for ideas for future conversations or next steps
> - pre-work for any face-to-face gathering is so important - take the 
> time to find the best site you can (at least double the size of the 
> expected number of participants), remember how food fuels community 
> and thinking, share ideas for invitation and be sure to explore what 
> (resources, relationships, choice of time or place) helps others 
> actually access or feel included in an open invitation
> - remember this is not the only action and that one gathering is not a 
> solution - think about how this fits into the context and chain of 
> actions, gatherings, imaginings
> - don't forget to invite young people rather than talk about them
> - don't feel you need to do this event so quickly you do not have 
> enough time and support for making it a useful, inclusive, supported event
> - (this should be up at the top): Take very good care of yourself, and 
> know that we have you and your community in our thoughts
>
> Lisa
>
> *Lisa Heft*
> Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
> President Emerita, Open Space Institute US
> Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution
> *Opening Space*
>
>
>
> **
>
> On Mar 23, 2014, at 9:59 AM, Andrea Chiou 
> <andrea.chiou at ascconsultinginc.com 
> <mailto:andrea.chiou at ascconsultinginc.com>> wrote:
>
>> Hi all - first time posting here, though I’ve been reading from this 
>> list for probably 1/2 year or more.
>>
>> I’m happy that I can have confidence with the support of this group - 
>> as I have seen, as recently as today, all the support that is so 
>> freely and lovingly given - especially to slightly jittery new 
>> facilitators...
>>
>> The context for this email is:
>>
>> My son’s high school here in Fairfax County VA, has been experiencing 
>> a high number of suicides - six in the past 2 years, two in one week 
>> alone in February. There have also been others at nearby schools. 
>>  Recently, the school sponsored a large gathering of administrators 
>> and specialists inviting the parents to come listen.  IT was a 
>> one-way information feed. I described it in a blog post here. 
>>  hhttp://adaptivecollaboration.com/2014/03/06/prevention-and-build-quality-in-how-can-we-help-stem-teen-suicide/
>>
>> As I mention in the post, my only suggestion that I wrote on the 
>> ‘card’ they provided to parents for ideas was: conduct an open space…
>>
>> I also suggested this later on a community Facebook group that was 
>> established by parents to further the discussion and collaboration 
>> around the issues of mental health and stemming suicide at our high 
>> school..
>>
>> And today: I received THIS:
>>
>> Dear Mrs. Chiou,
>>
>> I am on the committee planning the upcoming FCPS Summit on Mental 
>> Health. I noticed on the community of solutions Facebook page that 
>> you posted information about the use of an Open Spaces format for 
>> encouraging discussions and free exchange of information at a 
>> conference. I followed your suggestion and googled it, listened to 
>> the presentation and read the information.
>>
>> I'd love to talk to you for a few minutes about the logistics of this 
>> approach. Do you have a number where I could reach you?
>>
>> Mary Ann Panarelli
>> Director, Intervention and Prevention Services
>> Fairfax County Public Schools
>> 571-423-4020
>>
>> I am floored!! Amazed. Humbled!
>>
>> I have not responded yet … :-)
>>
>> My experience with Open Space is through Agile Coach camp and Culture 
>> Conference in Philly 2 years ago. And reading this list and following 
>> a few especially agile folks who are passionate about OS (Dan is one)
>>
>> My passion comes from knowing there are voices which aren’t heard and 
>> need to speak. I care about listening, giving people space to talk.
>>
>> My extreme passion in this particular case, comes about from the 
>> urgency of this particular social problem. My own son is still a 
>> student there, and has grappled himself with depression/lows and 
>> occasional suicidal thoughts.
>>
>> So, the question becomes, what do I do next?.  Of course, I will 
>> respond to her with my phone number and a suggested time to speak 
>> with her. And I will read the whole OST guide (I’ve seen that advice 
>> numerous times, but now I need to get going on it).
>>
>> What else do you suggest?
>>
>> Perhaps I can be more specific with my questions to you after I 
>> finish reading the guide.
>>
>> Mean time, I am checking in with you:
>> I am glad; this is wonderful/scary.
>> I am afraid; first time.
>> I am sad; the trend of suicides in our community affecting our youth 
>> isn’t turning around.
>> I am glad; I have resources, people and ideas; even though I am not a 
>> mental health specialist, I can do small things to make a big difference.
>>
>> I’m IN!
>>
>> Thank you for listening!
>>
>> Andrea
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>
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-- 
Lise Damkjær
Learning4life
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L4L.dk
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