[OSList] Tips for working with Translators during Open Space event

Michael M Pannwitz via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Tue Feb 23 15:00:34 PST 2016


My pleasure, Andrew.

Its no secret that a lot of os-work is happening all over the planet. 
And its also no secret in general that we os-practitioners are a shy 
crowd, hiding most of the tremendous stuff we are doing. I keep 
wondering why only a tiny fraction of our work is documented... seems to 
me that documenting more of what we do is a simple way of spreading the 
word. The 793 events recorded by some 60 of us in the worldscape 
represent probably only 0,001% of what is actually taking place.

Greetings from Berlin
mmp

On 23.02.2016 22:02, Andrew Rixon wrote:
> Thanks Michael.
>
> And thanks also for sharing the openspaceworldscape link.
>
> Australia looks a bit scarce on the map - but there is plenty happening
> here. ;-)
>
> Warm regards,
> Andrew
>
> On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 10:24 PM, Michael M Pannwitz
> <mmpannwitz at gmail.com <mailto:mmpannwitz at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Dear Andrew, Lisa, Birgitt and you others,
>
>     a few years ago I was asked to facilitate an event in the northeastern
>     corner of Poland with folks across the border from Lithuania also
>     attending. The sponsor asked two translators to translate my US-American
>     introduction into Polish and Lithuanian. They walked the circle behind
>     me as Lisa also described. One effect was that I constantly had little
>     breaks to focus on the next thing to say and the participants had
>     various inputs they could understand in different languages (my
>     assumption: all understood their mother tongue, of course and most had
>     at least some rudimentary language skills in the other languages
>     spoken).
>     All posters were in the three languages and issues were written on
>     sheets that had been folded into three spaces, so that translations
>     could be added by other participants.
>     I was wondering how they would manage in the breakout sessions. To my
>     surprise, a number of the breakout sessions used Russian... so there was
>     a common language? On inquiry, I was told that it would never do to use
>     Russian in an event like this, at least not in the "official" parts.
>     Ok, be prepared to be surprised.
>
>     Here is a short summary of some aspects of this event back in 2002 as
>     recorded in the Open Space worldscape
>
>         http://openspace-landschaft.de/an_veran.asp?veranstaltungId=1041&sprache=en&von_seite=ue_veranstaltung.asp&ds=10&branche=&begleiterId=9&anzeigeOrtId=0
>
>
>     Reading through this report I noticed that I did not include the
>     part about Russian in my note... hmmm? Political correctness?
>
>     A few years later, Harrison came to Berlin and did his three day
>     Practice of Peace event. Every day starts with a lecture followed by
>     an open space on the theme of the lecture. On the first day,
>     Harrison introduced the process, on the second day a colleague from
>     Russia did it in Russian and on the third day I did it without using
>     spoken words.
>     To me, the most memorable moment was during the Russian introduction
>     (not being translated) when pretty much at the beginning a
>     participant ran to the Russian colleague, kneeled in front of her
>     pleading, in English, to please translate her introduction. At that
>     moment, his friend that he sat next to in the circle called out:
>     "Hey, come back here, I know Russian and can translate for you if
>     you like!"
>     This was a hilarious intervention that not only stopped the space
>     invader but also demonstrated how hidden the ressources in the group
>     are even for people in the know (friends).
>
>      From all this and other situations I learned to ask questions when
>     the issue of translation arose (especially when the sponsor of the
>     event does not come from the local context). This often leads to
>     "one less thing to do" and to make more space for the forces of
>     selforganisation to do its thing.
>
>     Yes, lets hear how things went and I invite you to deposit a note
>     about this event in the Open Space worldscape, a data base with
>     presently 793 events recorded, here is the link, its in English and
>     German
>
>         http://openspaceworldscape.org/
>
>
>     cheers
>     mmp
>
>
>     22.02.2016 22 <tel:22.02.2016%2022>:18, Andrew Rixon via OSList wrote:
>
>         Hi All,
>
>         I'm helping a client prepare for an Open Space event - 400 people,
>         and within the audience there will be a group of 10-20 koreans who
>         will require a translator.
>
>         I'd love to hear stories and tips on what people have found to work
>         well...
>
>         Warm regards, Andrew
>
>         -- Andrew Rixon PhD Director Babel Fish Group W:
>         http://www.babelfishgroup.com E: andrew at babelfishgroup.com
>         <mailto:andrew at babelfishgroup.com>
>         <mailto:andrew at babelfishgroup.com
>         <mailto:andrew at babelfishgroup.com>> M: +61400 352 809
>         <tel:%2B61400%20352%20809> F: +61(0)3 8610
>         0162
>
>         *Come join Bob Dick and I on April 12th and 13th in Melbourne for:*
>         "Kickstarting Change that Lasts: How to flatten hierarchies, build
>         relationships and get work done!
>         <http://kickstartingchangemelbourne2016.eventbrite.com.au>"
>         <http://kickstartingchangemelbourne2016.eventbrite.com.au> An
>         innovative program on applying Open Space Technology and Action
>         Learning
>
>
>
>
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>
>     --
>     Michael M Pannwitz
>     Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>     ++49 - 30-772 8000 <tel:%2B%2B49%20-%2030-772%208000>
>
>
>
>     Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 402 resident Open
>     Space Workers in 67 countries working in a total of 143 countries
>     worldwide: www.openspaceworldmap.org <http://www.openspaceworldmap.org>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Andrew Rixon PhD
> Director
> Babel Fish Group
> W: http://www.babelfishgroup.com
> E: andrew at babelfishgroup.com <mailto:andrew at babelfishgroup.com>
> M: +61400 352 809
> F: +61(0)3 8610 0162
>
> *Come join Bob Dick and I on April 12th and 13th in Melbourne for:*
> "Kickstarting Change that Lasts: How to flatten hierarchies, build
> relationships and get work done!
> <http://kickstartingchangemelbourne2016.eventbrite.com.au>"
> <http://kickstartingchangemelbourne2016.eventbrite.com.au>
> An innovative program on applying Open Space Technology and Action Learning
>
>

-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49 - 30-772 8000



Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 402 resident Open 
Space Workers in 67 countries working in a total of 143 countries 
worldwide: www.openspaceworldmap.org



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