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<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=6><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=6><FONT size=3>Easy to say, not necessarily to
do, but since you're dealing with the President, t</FONT></FONT></EM><EM><FONT
face=Arial size=6><FONT size=3>ry to get approval to
</FONT></FONT></EM><STRONG><U><EM><FONT face=Arial>Go o</FONT></EM><EM><FONT
face=Arial>ff c</FONT></EM></U></STRONG><EM><FONT face=Arial size=6><FONT
size=3><STRONG><U>ampus</U></STRONG></FONT> <FONT size=3>if more than 400 accept
the invitation (how likely is this by the way?). And set a deadline for signing
up for the event which is hopefully copacetic with the cancellation policy of
your backup (bigger) off-campus site.</FONT></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=6><FONT
size=3>Winston </FONT></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=6></FONT></EM> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=gbl@amauta.org href="mailto:gbl@amauta.org">Gilbert Brenson-Lazan</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, January 06, 2002 3:05
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Some suggestions please</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi, all:<BR><BR>Even though I have not contributed much to the
OSLIST, due to commitments<BR>as moderator of several other lists y my
collegial and profesional<BR>responsabilities, I am an avid reader and learner
from this important<BR>cyberspace.<BR><BR>Since there is no OSonOS in the next
few days to help me with a big<BR>challenge I am facing, as it did a few years
ago en Monterey, I am turning<BR>to the collective wisdom and experience of
you all.<BR><BR>I have been doing OS and training facilitators to do it
for several years<BR>now, not just in companies but also in community
development and disaster<BR>intervention. Now I feel almost like a
victim of the success we have<BR>shared with this approch and have been
approached by a very desperate<BR>university president.<BR><BR>It is perhaps
the most important and prestigious agriculture school in<BR>Latin
America. They have just had a BIG structural shakeup over
their<BR>up-until-now famous autocratic style. The 800 members of the
student body<BR>are chomping at the bit to make the student affairs policies
more<BR>participatory and relevant and the newer members of the faculty (yes,
there<BR>is a BIG generation gap both in the faculty and the administration)
are in<BR>agreement. Others are very fearful of the loss of absolute,
hierarchical<BR>power; some of them realize it and some of them
don´t. A very strong and<BR>influential alumni association also mirrors
the same dynamic. They have<BR>all spent more than two years
"diagnosing" all the problems and now want to<BR>do something.<BR><BR>I have
been called in as a consult to recommend changes, a role which
I<BR>immediately challenged, choosing instead to offer a startup with an
a<BR>one-day OS process with students, teachers and administrators all
together,<BR>to explore feasible strategies to make the processes por
participative in<BR>the school. I will then do a program of training and
mentoring of the<BR>internal facilitators (grad students) of the school to
keep the ball<BR>rolling. With fear and trembling, the powers that be
have accepted this<BR>approach.<BR><BR>My question is on logistics:
There are six, 130-student residences which<BR>are microcosms of the school
(the students live on a gorgeous 2000 acre<BR>campus). There is no
facility big enough to put all 900 (students, profs<BR>and admins)
together. Maximum<BR>meeting capacity would be 400. I originally
thought of choosing a critical<BR>mass of 300-400 for the OS but the main
sponsor and supporter of the<BR>program would like to be able to close down
the university that day and<BR>invite ALL those that want to
participate.<BR><BR>My only idea so far is to organize mini-OSs in each
of the Residences. My<BR>colleagues and I would do the intro with two
groups of 400 and then they<BR>would go to their respective residences to do
their OS thing, with the<BR>support of a couple of previously-prepared
facilitators to be on hand if<BR>needed (I know that isn´t very kosher
OS but in Latin America I have found<BR>it to be an excellent strategy).
Then they would return at the end of the<BR>day (also in two groups) to share
results and form a followup<BR>commision. Everybody would get
everybody´s results.<BR><BR>What bright ideas do you all have? Any
Spanish-speaking OSers out there<BR>that want to help?<BR><BR>Thanks a
million.<BR><BR>Warm
regards,<BR><BR>Gil<BR><BR><BR>
**************************************<BR> AMAUTA
INTERNATIONAL, LLC<BR> Gilbert Brenson-Lazan -
Socio-Gerente<BR> Tel: (+57-1) 345-2724 - Fax: 345-2072<BR>U.S.
Voice Mail and Fax: (206)
888-4386<BR> e-mail:
<<A
href="mailto:gbl@amauta.org">gbl@amauta.org</A>><BR>
website: <<A
href="http://amauta.org">http://amauta.org</A>><BR>
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