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<font size=3>Chris:<br>
<br>
How wonderful for you and for the participants. I love the aspect of you
reassuring the "leadership"/conference organizers so that they
are en-couraged to stay open in the process and how people self-organize
(yet again) and the organizers learn lessons they would never otherwise
have the opportunity to learn. Great coaching and faith on your part -
also great modelling - well done and congratulations.<br>
<br>
And a big "virtual" hug to all who discovered their own natural
leadership - how exhilarating.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
Esther Ewing<br>
The Change Alliance<br>
165 University Avenue, Suite 703<br>
Toronto, Ontario<br>
M5H 3B9<br>
<br>
telephone: 416-350-5857<br>
fax: 416-360-6135<br>
<br>
At 01:09 AM 1/23/00 -0800, you wrote:<br>
>Amazing OS in Vancouver on Friday. The theme was "Making
lives better<br>
>for urban Aboriginal People...Let's stop talking about it...let's
start<br>
>doing it!"<br>
><br>
>175 people in attendance, including a federal cabinet minister,
two<br>
>deputy ministers, two cheifs, many leaders from throughout the<br>
>Aboriginal community and dozens of community members, program
staff,<br>
>private sector representatives, and clients.<br>
><br>
>Opened with a a prayer and a song sung by Leonard George a local
chief<br>
>and son of the great actor Chief Dan George. My opening
stressed that<br>
>traditional nature of the technology, how this was how we always met
to<br>
>solve our community's problems. Stressed passion,
responsibility AND<br>
>self-management, which equates to self-government, a very
important<br>
>value in our communities. The particpants were charged up and
by the<br>
>time I had finished the opening, there was a stampede...five
people<br>
>jumped out of their seats. I had to call for more
markers!<br>
><br>
>It took us twenty minutes to set 45 agenda items,most of them
proposed<br>
>by strong young women. Very few of the agenda items were
proposed by<br>
>the leadership that was present. Instead they found themselves
actively<br>
>involved in a meeting where the agenda had been set by people who
never<br>
>get a chance to set an agenda.<br>
><br>
>My notes remind me that the groups were very large and intially
quite<br>
>close together. The location was the Vancouver Friendship
Centre<br>
>gymnasium, an Aboriginal community centre, chosen for it's locality
and<br>
>the realized possibility of lots of drop ins. In my experience,
there<br>
>is nothing you can do to encourage Aboriginal people to meet in
smaller<br>
>groups. Has anybody else found this? First Nations people
seem to like<br>
>crowds...<br>
><br>
>This made the organizers a little nervous...shouldn't they be
further<br>
>apart? Shouldn't the groups be smaller? Over the day of
course, the<br>
>participants managed to spread themselves out nicely, and a
nice<br>
>self-ordering came out of it.<br>
><br>
>In the vein of "trust the process" comes this story...We
didn't break<br>
>for lunch, with the result that the whole crowd lined up for chow
at<br>
>12:00 and didn't get into the 12:00 sessions by about 12:40.
The<br>
>organizers were going nuts..."make an announcement!"
I refused. By<br>
>2:00, the meeting was running only 15 minutes behind, and by 4:00 ON
THE<br>
>DOT we were back in the circle and beginning the closing, right
on<br>
>schedule. I asked the organizers if they had ever seen a
conference<br>
>that was running late bring itself back on time and not drop
anything.<br>
>They were amazed. I was amazed too. 175 people, with no
leadership or<br>
>influence, ran 40 minutes late and brought themselves back on
time.<br>
>Remarkable.<br>
><br>
>Closing was very powerful. We were lucky to have many
traditional<br>
>people in attendance so many prayers were offered. This kind of
thing<br>
>wouldn't make it in the business community, but as a facilitator
working<br>
>in the Aboriginal community, I am luckey to have built in openings
and<br>
>closing at my disposal. Sharing ranged from a woman who was a
recovered<br>
>drug user/alcoholic/prostitute making a committment to action as
a<br>
>result of the day to a man who lightened us up by coming into
the<br>
>circle, giving his name and occupation and stating that he was
looking<br>
>for a wife. Someone called out "how many horses have you
got?"<br>
>Laughter...his response: "None. They ran away and we were
too lazy to<br>
>brand them!" I LOVE the way we laugh at ourselves!<br>
><br>
>This was a remarkable event and very important in the life of
the<br>
>impoverished urban aboriginal community of Vancouver. Open
Space has<br>
>opened a tremendous set of opportunities for people. A whole
new<br>
>leadership came forward, and a fresh momentum was established.
And<br>
>equally importantly, this may become known as the event during
which<br>
>Open Space took hold in the Aboriginal community in British
Columbia.<br>
>Everybody is now talking about using it. First Nations people
recognize<br>
>this technology, as I've said before, and meeting this way is a
very<br>
>profound process of rediscovery and is very imiportant to unleashing
the<br>
>cultural models that have colonized us for hundreds of years.
There is<br>
>a HUGE appetite for this now...I can't state it enough.<br>
><br>
>So thanks for all of you who wished me well. This was easily
the most<br>
>important facilitation I've ever done. Your support was
invaluable.<br>
><br>
>I'd also like to thank Harrison, on behalf of the many people
who<br>
>thanked me yesterday for the technology. You have given us a
great<br>
>gift, even if it was only by holding a mirror up to ourselves.
Open<br>
>Space represents a beautifully natural and indigenous technology that
is<br>
>reawakening a power among a great many First Nations people in
this<br>
>area. It's very exciting to be a part of that.<br>
><br>
>Chi meegwetch. Sorry for my overstated ebulence. I'm
thrilled...<br>
><br>
>Chris<br>
><br>
>--<br>
>CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>
>108-1035 Pacific Street<br>
>Vancouver BC<br>
>V6E 4G7<br>
><br>
>Phone: 604.683.3080<br>
>Fax: 604.683-3036<br>
><br>
><br>
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