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At 10:57 AM 1/12/2003 -0500, Alan Silverman wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Having to physically travel to a
specific place to participate in a<br>
process, this immediately cuts out almost everyone - the disabled,
the<br>
poor, the dying, 99.9% of all of us, from participation.
Which serves<br>
the individuals who control powerful institutions. I want a
virtual<br>
Washington D.C., a virtual UN. I think it can be done, with
specific<br>
technologies.</blockquote><br>
You are undoubtedly correct that the necessity to travel limits
participation. That said, there is also a large body of experience which
demonstrates that when Open Space is combined with virtual Open Space
(and after all the Internet is probably the biggest Open Space going) the
positive effects both ways are enormous. There are some folks who do much
better in a face-to-face environment, and there are others who fair
better in a virtual world. When these are connected and mutually
supportive, the results can be impressive. The Canadian experience, which
Birgitt described is a good example, and there are others. I think your
proposal would be much stronger, and the effect more powerful if it
included both. You are right -- the needed technology is definitely
available, waiting only to be used.<br><br>
Harrison<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-365-2093<br>
Open Space Training
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.com</a>
<br>
Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
Personal website <a href="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm" eudora="autourl"><font color="#0000FF">http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</a><br><br>
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