[OSList] Meeting of the tribes: Our gifts for crisis and change

Michael M Pannwitz mmpannwitz at gmail.com
Sat Apr 4 05:18:09 PDT 2020


Dear Harrison,

yes, "whole system in the room" differs from "all who care".

In FutureSearch a great deal of effort is undertaken to identify parts 
of the system... in a community/neighborhood this may add up to 100 or 
more "parts". Once all have been named they are grouped under 8 
headings. For instance, a day care would be grouped with related parts 
and move into the group "Children". For each of these 8 groups 8 people 
are searched for that are willing, able and influential. They gather for 
3 days and wind up with actions... It might take up to 6 months and more 
of planning with many meetings to get this "system".

My motivation for mentioning the planning for an ost-event with the 5 or 
so prerequisites in mind and
picking diversity as one of the prerequisite roots in the question of 
Rolf Schneidereit on "exchange between tribes like...".

I wonder if the "exchange between tribes like..." might be achieved 
sustainably as a part of ongoing practice if every exchange that any 
"tribe" is engaged in anyhow and anyway (as our WOSonOSes and other 
exchanges) simply takes a closer look at "diversity" and then invites 
those of other tribes that they feel increases "diversity" for their 
exchange.

This would intensify the exchange in a simple and ongoing way without 
arranging an additional exchange between the "tribes". It would also 
give space for discussing such things as "liberation, participation, 
collective intelligence, deep dialogue" and other grand things 
participants care for.

I have and still do encourage the conveners of OST exchanges of all 
kinds to increase the diversity including the invitation to folks from 
"other tribes"... completely independent of any "crisis" but keeping in 
mind that I love "crisis" because it is one of the prerequisites for the 
Force of Selforganisation to really get steamed up.

Usually, our exchanges are focused on our craft but there are many more 
things that happen in exchanges such as in a WOSonOS. And it would not 
surprise me if any of the "tribes" that Rolf has in mind (Peggy could 
add 150 more, all gathered in her marvellous Book on that topic) 
experience similar things aside from the focus on the craft.

Thus, as a participant in the WOSonOS this October in Berlin I hope that 
those of you reading this from other "tribes" join in. Here is the link
> https://wosonos2020.berlin/

Reading the first line of the invitation:
"WOSonOS is the annual worldwide meeting of Open Space practitioners..."
simply imagine that "practitioners" can be expanded to "all who care"...

Greetings from a sunny Saturday morning in Belin Lichterfeld, our house 
is on the corner of Draisweg and Resselsteig (with the photovoltaic 
panels on the roof) where the gate to our garden is always open...
see here
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/Draisweg+1,+12209+Berlin/@52.4162003,13.3267668,64m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47a85b22273bf5c7:0xa0c56737e10b4a3c!8m2!3d52.41622!4d13.32688

Wishing you a great day on your porch at River Falls Drive

cheers and hugs (with digital hugs there is no distancing)
mmp








Am 03.04.2020 um 22:29 schrieb Harrison Owen via OSList:
> Exchange... yes. And on that note I might suggest that "getting the 
> whole system in the room" (Marv Weisbord's phrase) is certainly related 
> to the idea of diversity -- but not quite the same thing a my meaning 
> when I described "diversity" as one of the critical five preconditions 
> for self organization. My understanding of diversity may be achieved 
> when "all who care" are there (for the OS). "Caring" is the operative 
> word. Putting it simply: "If you care, you got to be there." "Those who 
> care might include: The whole system, less than the whole system, or 
> more. I've had the experience (as I am sure you have as well, Michael) 
> when total onlookers, just casual observers, suddenly discover that they 
> have an interest, some input -- and actually care. Sometimes they just 
> stand in the doorways, but on occasion they just moved right in and took 
> over -- to the benefit of everybody. Why or how -- who knows??? But they 
> cared! I've seen this happen often enough that I added another little 
> reminder to myself and whomsoever..."Honor the Stranger." They always 
> show up and their gifts can be extravagant. Strangers in out midst is by 
> no means a bad thing.
> 
> Harrison
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael M Pannwitz via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> To: Rolf Schneidereit via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> Cc: Michael M Pannwitz <mmpannwitz at gmail.com>
> Sent: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 3:24 am
> Subject: Re: [OSList] Meeting of the tribes: Our gifts for crisis and change
> 
> Dear Rolf,
> 
> exchange is what OSLIST thrives on.
> 
> For me, it is (was) THE  worldwide place for reflecting and learning and
> unfolding about my working and living as an os facilitator... in
> addition to my regular interaction in local, regional and worldwide
> OSonOS, including the Stammtische in Berlin (inactive for the duration
> of physical contact restrictions with the hope that the WOSonOS in
> Berlin in October of this year will be possible and, of course,
> Stammtische again...).
> 
> Looking at the 5 or so prerequisites for the unfolding of
> selforganisation (the center of my craft), I have always looked
> specifically at "diversity" (or as some say "getting the whole system in
> the room") and advocated that our os-exchanges would profit from high
> diversity as far as participants are concerned. I always felt that
> "diversity" was one of the prerequisites that we have some influence in.
> For instance, who all we would invite to our events (including OSLIST).
> 
> Looking at that aspect, diversity can be expanded in the same way as we
> suggest to our clients. Usually, we ask some simple questions in the
> planning stage of an event, such as "who all needs to be at the event to
> increase the chance for fullfilling both our aspirations we have around
> the "burning business issue" and the chance for action on the stuff that
> we feel needs to be taken?".
> 
> Often, I have found that in answering this question some pretty relevant
> groups were not in focus, such as "the customer" which, in a school
> setting, might be the students, in a parish the folks that attend the
> worships, in a company that specialises on "customer tailored
> nutritional products" the consumers of those products... or, in an os
> for the future of an NGO the folks that provide the finances or the
> government agencies that are needed for cooperation or the competitors
> in the same or related fields.
> 
> Now, my and the efforts of others to increase "diversity" in "our"
> events have been only partially successful. Asking ourselves the
> "diversity" question certainly surface those that should be invited. For
> an Open Space Learning Exchange or other events we invite to for
> reflection and learning  etc. that might be:
> 
> --- our clients
> --- children
> --- scholars, scientists, researchers
> --- facilitators of all kinds
> --- caterers
> --- facility managers
> --- event managers in hotels etc. where os events take place
> --- journalists (newspapers, scientific journals, radio, TV, internet...)
> --- non-facilitators that are curious
> --- former participants of os events
> --- writers that have produced works around ost
> ---
> ---
> 
> If we had a planning meeting, this list would certainly be expanded.
> 
> In this spirit, we would help expand time and space for
> selforganisation... any time, corona, war, hurricanes, climate change,
> you name it... even in peace and other happy times.
> 
> Apart from expanding on this I presently am participating in efforts in
> my immediate familiy, our neighborhood, in Berlin and so on, to slow
> down the spread of Corona to find ways to live with it.
> 
> Personally, I am enjoying some of the side effects of the presently
> challenging situation: practically no contrails over Berlin with clear
> skies and many more stars than usual, the reduction of noise (hardly any
> cars), the enormous unfolding of actions in civil society... in the face
> of closed schools, limiting contact restrictions, a dearth of protective
> masks, shortage of toilet paper... what have you.
> 
> Greetings from Berlin and looking forward to analog hugs maybe
> definitely at the WOSonOS this fall
> mmp
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Am 31.03.2020 um 09:46 schrieb Rolf Schneidereit via OSList:
>  > Dear Mates,
>  >
>  > would like to get your feedback. I'm wondering: is now the time to 
> intensify the exchange between tribes like Art of Hosting, Open Space, 
> Liberating Structures, World Café; Theory U and many others?
>  >
>  > With all individual differences - we share extraordinary times. We're 
> facing an urgent crisis which will cost many lives, we're shure to 
> expect the next economical crisis and we're amid the fast expanding 
> crisis of the ecosystem and the climate.
>  >
>  > Could it be helpful in this situation if the different streams for 
> liberation, participation, collective intelligence, deep dialogue and so 
> on comes together to share their insights, their initiatives, their 
> gifts? How can we support each other to support the common good and the 
> necessary transition?
>  >
>  > What do you think and sense? I'm going to sent this question to the 
> AoH- and the OS-List. If this call resonates with you feel free to sent 
> it to other communities you belong to.
>  >
>  > And how?
>  > The idea appears after a virtual Open Space. One insight: We can do a 
> really large gathering online. After that I've offered Lucas Cioffi from 
> Qiqochat a sponsorship for an online event with up to 300 participants 
> but he declined: He will offer the use of Qiqochat for such an event for 
> free! What we can do there (for example):
>  > - Check-in (perhaps as Impromptu Networking)
>  > - conversation café in small circles (recommendation of Christine 
> Koehler)
>  > - Open Space
>  > - Harvesting
>  > - Check-out
>  >
>  > If there is a encouraging feedback the next step will be a first 
> preparation (zoom) call. Can you imagine to support and host such a call?
>  >
>  > Looking forward to your response
>  > (or not - following the Law of two feets)
>  >
>  > Rolf

-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49 - 30-772 8000
mmpannwitz at gmail.com




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