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<DIV>Am I the right person to be walking the
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>circle/holding the space at this time in the
unfolding story of these people?</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=2>probably...definitely...who can know that? who
can assure that? </FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=2>another question might be : do i do that? do i
walk the circle/hold.. .......? </FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=2>Funda</FONT><BR></EM><BR></DIV><X-TAB>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mckeague@iprimus.com.au href="mailto:mckeague@iprimus.com.au">Brendan
Mckeague</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> Monday, October 03, 2005 4:06
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Cross Cultural
Facilitation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Thanks for your comments folks - both on and off list - I feel
as though I've planted a little seed, then gone away for the weekend and
returned to find a budding flower of such grace and beauty....such a wonderful
gift.<BR><BR>What is now emerging for me from your knowledgeable and
insightful comments is the true complexity of discernment in this situation -
this is the very stuff of Open Space for me - deep listening to my spirit as I
engage with the multiplicity of voices bringing rich wisdom, challenge and
affirmation...<BR><BR>And so I will speak to my client and discuss some issues
further -
about<BR><BR>1<X-TAB> </X-TAB>Open
Space - is this methodology appropriate at this time for this group - and is
one day
sufficient?<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>I
think that at least 1.5 days would provide that additional sleep-space and
familiarity with the process that enables more
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>learning to occur - and this learning
might well include reflection on the role (and gender?) of the OS
'holder'.<BR><BR>2<X-TAB> </X-TAB>If
we go with OS, then who is appropriate to open and hold space? Would a white
male 'facilitator' inhibit or enhance the
experience?<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>What
if the deeper learning that OS can access is prompted by the reactions of some
participants to the presence of a white male
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>facilitator? What if
such learning is inhibited or limited by the gender/culture of the
facilitator?
<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>AND - how
would we ever
know?<BR><BR>3<X-TAB> </X-TAB>I
honour the possibility of my fulfilling this role - I have a deep empathy with
those who have suffered oppression and violence and
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>have considerable experience now in providing
the service of opening and holding space for others - in this sense I agree
with
<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>Harrison
<FONT face=arial color=#ff0000>that OS operates “beneath Culture, Gender,
privilege (or lack of same), education,
etc…<BR></FONT><X-TAB> </X-TAB><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>I
believe that I do have the capacity and competency to be authentically present
to the service that this process might provide in this
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>situation - so
far as I can determine at this time - and that I will be blessed with
sufficient spirit within myself to 'hold' in an
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>appropriate way (while not carrying the
responsibility for) the diversity of the gathered participants. Open Space is
a process that <X-TAB> </X-TAB>connects deeply to the heart -
and as I believe this to be true - then my heart-energy will be open to those
who gather....and trust <X-TAB> </X-TAB>that whatever
happens...<BR><BR>4<X-TAB> </X-TAB>However
- is this (my centredness, self-belief and good intentions) enough in this
context? Am I the right person to be walking the
<X-TAB> </X-TAB>circle/holding the space at this time in the
unfolding story of these
people?<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>I
will need to bring this question to the client/sponsor and as Lisa/Joelle and
others say - ASK - and then:<BR><FONT face="Trebuchet MS"
size=2><X-TAB> </X-TAB>'Trust
your intuition, and ask your host team to trust their intuition – and to
listen for the answer inside.'<BR><BR></FONT>Thanks folks for truly inspiring
feedback<BR>Brendan<BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR>At 09:09 PM
1/10/2005, you wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"><FONT face=arial
color=#ff0000>Brendan – having done a number of Open Spaces in precisely the
same circumstances you describe (or almost) I don’t think there is a
problem. Or as you might say – No Worries! For example, I did an OS with 500
folks from the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) at a point where
that organization was about ready to explode. There were 500 women and me.
And the YWCA is a VERY feminist organization! I have also had the privilege
of opening space with a number of Indigenous groups. Again – no problems, no
worries. I think the critical thing is your authenticity – just fully being
there. And Open Space (as usual) does the rest.<BR> <BR>I might take
some small issue with Wendy’s suggestion that you acknowledge your maleness
and privilege up front. I would not do that for several reasons. First of
all it is really just a redundant statement of the obvious – you are male
and privileged. But most of all, such a statement draws attention to you.
What you want to do (or at least what I would want to do) is to move as
quickly as possible to that moment when the group starts to do its thing and
you leave center stage. Anything that slows that movement or gets in the
way, I try to eliminate. Think of one more thing NOT to do.
<BR> <BR>What saves the day in such situations is the “fact” that OS
operates “beneath Culture, Gender, privilege (or lack of same), education,
etc… -- I think. Doubtless awareness and sensitivity to the issues involved
is a plus, and we all have a lot to learn. But when facilitating an Open
Space, I am not sure that such awareness makes that much difference, and
indeed it may be a distraction in that you become so aware of difference
that you miss the commonality. I have always found that people everywhere
have more in common than they do in difference. In any event, I have never
found any difficulty in situations such as you describe PROVIDED I was
authentically present (as much as I could be) AND moved the opening along as
quickly as possible to the point where the folks got to work, and I got out
of the way. As we all know, it really isn’t about
me/us.<BR> <BR>Harrison<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR></FONT>
<DIV align=center><FONT face=arial color=#ff0000 size=2>Harrison
Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Drive<BR>Potomac, Maryland
20845<BR>Phone 301-365-2093<BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"
color=#ff0000>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">http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</A></FONT><FONT
color=#0000ff><BR><A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A></FONT><FONT
color=#ff0000> <BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"
color=#ff0000>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
archives Visit: <A
href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html"
eudora="autourl">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</A><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT
face=tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> OSLIST [<A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU"
eudora="autourl">mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Brendan McKeague<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 30, 2005 11:22
PM<BR><B>To:</B> OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR><B>Subject:</B> Cross
Cultural Facilitation<BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times"> <BR>G'day folks in the OS global
community<BR>A new client has asked me about facilitating a one-day OS for a
group of stakeholders and others about the creation of a refuge/hostel for
indigenous women - she has only minor concerns about using Open Space having
recently experienced her first event with me - her major concern is about
using a non-Aboriginal white male as the facilitator - see honest and
forthright comments below - and this event would be in a different part of
the country from where I live and where I'm not known locally in the
indigenous community - any thoughts on this query? Any stories of this sort
of cross-cultural/gender scenario?<BR>Cheers<BR>Brendan <BR>We have an
opportunity with the new site being built in ----- to devote some of our
resources to responding to the plight of indigenous families. Having a
different focus away from the mainstream site gives our service an
opportunity to explore, with the assistance of indigenous stakeholders, a
different way of responding to women and children from indigenous families
escaping violence. I don’t know what this will look like and it will
be difficult and we won’t always get it right. It will be a process of
learning and experimenting with new ways of responding to families.
<BR> <BR>This is like a leap into the unknown for us because it will
change our service. It has not been undertaken by any other service to
my knowledge, so there is no blue print to how we should proceed.
Having said this, I do think it is possible and I believe it will have a
positive impact on our service as a whole. <BR>There would be about 35-40
people invited to this gathering which would represent all of the key groups
that would have an interest in a mainstream organisation taking on and
providing a service to Aboriginal women and children. <BR>There has been a
positive reaction so far to the proposal from Aboriginal organisations but I
am sure we will face some resistance/perhaps hostility? (I will probably
know this before we enter an open space) – and in a sense that is one of the
reasons why I think an Open Space forum will be good so that we can hear and
respond to people’s concerns. <BR>One of my concerns Brendan is how they
will receive you as a facilitator of this process. I am confident
about you holding the space for us to discuss these issues but I also don’t
want to set you up in the process either. I am worried that there
might be some hostility to a man facilitating the process and not a woman
(you may be the only man there). I would love your thoughts around
this and whether you have done anything similar before. Part of me
says be courageous and go with what you think will work and another part of
me is scared stiff! <BR></FONT>* *
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