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<P>Dear Friends, </P>
<P>I want to thank Michael Herman for making a connection that has led to my
first Open Space facilitation opportunity since my recent move to Dublin. </P>
<P>Below is a short story about the budding project and a request for help in
the planning stage. </P><U>
<P>The Situation </P></U>
<P>As repeated all over the globe, Dublin is home to some 'pockets' of severe
heroin addiction. Neighbourhoods of what were considered "model" public housing
projects built in the late 50s and 60s are today miserable places, many slated
for demolition, home to the many who lost their jobs in the factory closures of
the 70s onward. The men, especially, feel disenfranchised and the once very
"valued" sons, today are more often "early-school-leavers" and prone to high
rates of severe heroin abuse, alcohol abuse, etc., etc. The Irish government set
up a National Drug Strategy Team involving numerous ministries (e.g. Education,
Health & Science, Family, Justice, etc.), initially identifying 13 areas of
special need (12 of which are here in Dublin) where local task forces now work
toward affecting positive change. </P><U>
<P>The Budding Project</P></U>
<P>The Canal Communities Local Drug Task Force has invited various local leaders
and network members to gather next Tuesday to plan a workshop to involve all
those involved in "the situation," from user to counsellor to whoever is
"passionate." In a very preliminary dialogue, the planner who contacted me
mentioned a possible theme of "Support for people to fulfil their lives." She
assumes that "support" may look like mentoring opportunities, support
structures, money, etc. In order to draw from the wisdom of those who come
(rather than asking for "more experts" to speak), she sees that Open Space may
very well serve as an appropriate workshop process. That’s where I feature
(thanks to mentors Toke Moller, Harrison Owen, Michael Herman and others).
</P><U>
<P>The Planning Meeting & Request for Help</P></U>
<P>When we meet next Tuesday, October 16, I will be playing the role of
consultant, albeit warily, or, in any case, as the only participant with some
experience in facilitating Open Space. My feeling is that a profitable planning
meeting could include Storytelling. Glory Ressler shared with me: </P>
<UL>
<LI>"As a preparatory exercise for an Open Space Technology meeting. </LI></UL>
<P>In this case, storytelling is a way to assist in defining the theme and
clarify the 'givens'. You can use the stories of what needs to be achieved and
what factors must be considered to visually map the forces at work. This is
similar to a number of other approaches including Environmental Scans, Mapping,
etc… You can also work with the sponsor and the stories of the organization as a
vehicle for laying out the history, present conditions and vision of the future.
The benefit of taking a storied approach is that it is informal and engages,
more fully, the sponsor(s) you are working with. Additionally, it provides
information concerning the unseen forces at play that might be difficult to
discern otherwise."</P>
<P>I would greatly appreciate your thoughts, links, stories about similar
situations, etc. </P>
<P>Cheers,</P>
<P>Marty Giannini</P>
<P></FONT><A href="mailto:mlg2010@yahoo.com"><FONT
size=2>mlg2010@yahoo.com</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> </P>
<P>+353 1 260 3465</P>
<P>Dublin</P>
<P>Ireland</P>
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