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In a message dated 11/12/04 4:14:13 PM, wcbn007@easynet.co.uk writes:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">This isn’t to say we want any less open space percolated around the world but the name global open space being launched out of America (if that’s what this message says) may be the wrong name at the wrong time unless the people I have been talking with are a very confused international sample<BR>
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Chris--<BR>
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I find your comments very interesting, because they parallel conversations that were held at an Open Space on Open Space conference in California a few years ago. We wanted to make OST more accessible to people anywhere in the world who wanted to use it. Our conclusions were:<BR>
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1) We did not want to use the world global, and did not want this to be an American project.<BR>
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2) Instead of always meeting on the N. American continent, we would begin moving the annual worldwide Open Space on Open Space conference to many areas of the world, always hosted by local OST practitioners. This would facilitate increased participation of people in each region.<BR>
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3) We would raise funds to support participation in conferences and training events by people from many countries, especially those who had insufficient resources to travel.<BR>
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4) A number of people offered to provide facilitation training and support, if desired by local practitioners, in many parts of the world.<BR>
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About red and blue states, the map that you see is exaggerated by the way the electoral system of the US works. An individual's vote for president of the US is really a vote for an elector of the candidate's party for that state. So, even if a presidential candidate has a small majority in a state, he will receive ALL of that state's electoral votes. So, the country is not as polarised as it looks on the "red and blue" maps.<BR>
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However, many of the values I wish to support appear to be in the minority just now, and it does not make me happy. It does make me want to stay in contact with other people around the world, and to have opportunities to work with other Americans who share my beliefs--which this conference might facilitate.<BR>
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I don't know all the convenors, but the ones I do know I respect highly. Peter Block has worked with organizations, and taught consulting skills, for several decades, and is widely respected for his integrity. Some are not native Americans--Dinesh is Indian, working in the US. Michael Lindfield came to the US from Britain. He was at the first Open Space conference I ever attended, with Harrison in Sonoma county, and Dinesh has been a part of the Open Space community for a long time as well. These are not people I would suspect of having a hidden agenda to impose American values on other cultures.<BR>
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I don't know what is planned for this conference, but you could easily get more information by participating online in the conversations.<BR>
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My two cents' worth--<BR>
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Joelle<BR>
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