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<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; DIRECTION: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; TEXT-ALIGN: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><FONT
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I warmly congratulate
you Harrison, Michael and all the team for this outstanding opportunity to
create a true dialogue. From where I am living (both in </SPAN><?xml:namespace
prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Israel</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> and in the Palestinian
territories), dialogue between both sides seems impossible and unrealistic more
than ever these days. .</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; DIRECTION: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; TEXT-ALIGN: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=4>I have experienced
dialogue in my conflict area so many times as a participant and as a
facilitator, but always felt that the new learning and the change remain only
with the individual who participated. This was and still is very frustrating for
me. I am in constant search of ideas on how to bring wider influence to
what people like me, Avner and Tova try to do here. So here in this OS you
started from the top, and it can create a real breakthrough if somebody
push it further. I believe that these spiritual leaders are the ones who are
guiding and leading both peoples (The Palestinian and the Israeli). Unlike the
situation in the Christian community in Israel and in the Palestinian
territories, both the Moslem and the Jewish ones have strong leadership and
representatives in the political and spiritual field and most people listen,
follow and comply (to some limit) to what they preach for. So I hope that this
meeting will open up the way for Imams, Rabbis (hopefully Christian leaders as
well) in my place to start addressing each other as potential partners for
dialogue even when the enemy label is so deeply rooted in our and their minds, I
believe that with Open Space and real intention to get together a miracle could
happen here. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
size=4> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; DIRECTION: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; TEXT-ALIGN: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=4>With warm appreciation
and hugs, <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=4>Carol</FONT></SPAN></P>
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size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P><SPAN
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<DIV>----- Original Message -----
<DIV>From: "Harrison Owen" <<A
href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net">hhowen@verizon.net</A>></DIV>
<DIV>To: <<A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>></DIV>
<DIV>Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 2:00 PM</DIV>
<DIV>Subject: Imams and Rabbis -- Good News and Bad news in Open Space
(definitely Long)</DIV></DIV></SPAN>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p>At odd points I have remarked
that there is good news and bad news about<BR>Open Space. The good news is that
it works. And the bad news is that it<BR>works. I think we saw that in spades
over the past several days in Seville,<BR>Spain when some 120 Imams and Rabbis
plus and equal number of "experts"<BR>(largely academics) and students gathered
for the 2nd Global Congress of<BR>Imams and Rabbis for Peace. <BR><BR>Telling
the tale will require a little history first, and then - to the best<BR>of my
ability - I will describe what happened. But as is usual in such<BR>situations,
there was so much going on every second, much of which was well<BR>below the
surface, I must emphasize that this is simply my view (what<BR>else?). I didn't
see it all, and nobody could, so there will be some guesses<BR>here and there.
Once the tale is told I will attempt some reflections and<BR>learnings. I know
that I learned an enormous amount about human beings in<BR>this early part of
the 21st Century, about Open Space, and about me. And of<BR>course, this will
only be a "first cut." Doubtless there will be more.<BR><BR>The story actually
begins several years ago when I had the privilege of<BR>opening space for 50
Palestinians and Israelis in Rome (see<BR><A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/opening_space_for_peace.htm">http://www.openspaceworld.com/opening_space_for_peace.htm</A>
) Two of the<BR>sponsors of that event were apparently deeply affected
(positively) and<BR>sometime later, when they began to work with a French
organization called,<BR>Hommes de Paroles, which was seeking to bring together
Imams and Rabbis as a<BR>means for peace - they suggested that one approach
might be Open Space. We<BR>had several conversations at the time, but it was
very clear to me that the<BR>sponsors were by no means ready to take that step,
and I advised against it.<BR>A year passed and they came back (last fall) - and
this time there seemed<BR>like more of a possibility. But I still had some
reservations which I<BR>shared, however, they were convinced that Open Space was
the way to go,<BR>provided there could be a day up front, run in the mode of a
traditional<BR>conference (speakers and facilitated groups), and followed by two
full days<BR>in Open Space. I really could not say no.<BR><BR>I persuaded two of
the staff from Hommes de Paroles to come to Berlin for<BR>our Practice of Peace
Program so that they could have a first hand<BR>experience of Open Space, just
to make sure that they really wanted to take<BR>this trip, and it seemed that
they did, and so we began preparations. To<BR>help out I asked that Michael
Pannwitz and crew be invited to support the<BR>effort and that was agreed to. So
it was off to the races!<BR><BR>The conference started on the 20th of March and
ran for 3 days, ending on<BR>the 22nd. The first day, as I indicated, was to be
done in the "traditional"<BR>mode and so Michael, his wonderful crew, and myself
used the time to get<BR>ready. As a consequence we (or at least I) were not
paying much attention to<BR>what was happening and how things were going.
Therefore it came as rather a<BR>surprise when one of the Hommes de Paroles
Staff raced up to me during the<BR>lunch break to say that the morning had been
a disaster and everything was<BR>about ready to explode. There were two more
facilitated sessions scheduled<BR>for the afternoon, but given what had happened
in the morning that did not<BR>seem to be an attractive option - and the
question was - how fast could we<BR>open space? After a quick consultation
with Michael and crew it seemed like<BR>an hour might do - and so by 4 pm (lunch
is late and long in that part of<BR>the world) we were ready to go. <BR><BR>The
temple bells were rung and the people came - but it was very clear by<BR>number
of empty seats that only about 2/3 of the people had arrived. No<BR>explanation
was offered, and things were happening so fast that I saw no<BR>option but press
ahead. The opening was standard-by-the-book, although I<BR>must say that it took
every ounce of experience and energy I possessed to<BR>focus and support the
massively conflicted spirit(s) present in that room.<BR>But everything happened
just like usual. Four principles, law of two feet,<BR>and a massive outpouring
of issues. Michael tells me there were 87 coming<BR>from 200 people.
<BR><BR>Because it was late in the day and people were clearly exhausted we
had<BR>decided to convene the first session the following morning. I could see
a<BR>number of negatives to that, but the added time overnight also made
it<BR>possible to complete some arrangements that we hadn't quite gotten to,
and<BR>besides there would doubtless be more issues in the morning. And so
we<BR>adjourned for the evening. I confess to an overwhelming feeling
of<BR>exhaustion and exhilaration, both and simultaneously. As they say in
the<BR>sports world, at least in the US, I left everything on the field.
Nothing<BR>held back. It was, so far as I could see a "go for broke" situation -
and if<BR>the magic of Open Space had not done its usual, I didn't have a clue
what<BR>the plan "B" might be, and certainly no energy left to implement it.
<BR><BR>As I left the meeting hall, it seemed to me that a definite change in
mood<BR>had taken place. Perhaps it was just my normal optimism, but the feeling
of<BR>the place had moved from something close to dark despair towards excited
and<BR>expectant confusion. This was all new for everybody, and in many ways
it<BR>would have been much better if we could have immediately gone into
sessions,<BR>but that option had been passed by. However, as I was making my way
to my<BR>room for a little R&R (rest and relaxation) one of the
participants<BR>literally raced up to me and breathlessly said, "Thank you,
thank you for<BR>saving the meeting." Needless to say I was pleased, and I
turned to him and<BR>said - "And Thank you too - you saved it!"<BR><BR>The next
morning, we opened space for new issues - and before we were done a<BR>total of
141 issues had been posted (Michael's count). A number were<BR>obviously posted
by people who had not been present the night before because<BR>it was quite
apparent that they did not quite understand the procedure -<BR>however they
seemed genuinely pleased to just have the opportunity to make a<BR>statement.
Things went on a little longer than they might should have,<BR>causing the first
session to be truncated. But by the middle of the<BR>afternoon it seemed that a
real flow had been established, and the confusion<BR>of the morning was replaced
by multiple groups meeting -- doing what ever<BR>they needed to do.
<BR><BR>As I was drawing my first more or less relaxed breath in 24 hours, I
was<BR>approached by a staffer from the organizing group who informed me that
the<BR>sponsor wanted to have a conversation. Of course I agreed, and some
little<BR>time later we took refuge in my room. He asked me how I thought things
were<BR>going, and I said, quite honestly, that everything seemed to be right
on<BR>track - happening just the way I would expect. Then he made it clear that
he<BR>needed to be able to issue a press release by 6 pm the following day
which<BR>would include a statement by the congress (presumably approved by all)
along<BR>with concrete action steps. He then asked me if I could produce such
a<BR>result with Open Space. I told him frankly that there were no
guarantees.<BR>Although I did feel it quite likely that many of the groups would
bring<BR>their discussions down to the point of action, all of which might
be<BR>announced to the press. However, when it came to the formal
"statement,"<BR>that sort of thing just really did not happen in Open Space.
<BR><BR>The presence of the Press was pretty massive and overwhelming. I knew
that<BR>they would be there, and understood the sponsors' desire to have the
press.<BR>I cautioned, however, that if the Congress turned into one big
press<BR>conference - the possibilities for meaningful dialogue and real
progress<BR>would go down drastically. I thought that I had been heard, and in
fact<BR>there was an agreement that the press would be present for the
opening<BR>ceremony and again at the end. But that message obviously never
really got<BR>through. The press was all over the place, and there was nothing I
could do.<BR>It also became very clear that from the sponsor's point of view,
press<BR>coverage, and a final statement with action plans to feed the press was
a,<BR>and possibly the, major priority. When I was unable to make any iron
clad<BR>guarantee, the sponsor said that under those circumstances they
would<BR>probably have to stop the Open Space.<BR><BR>Our conversations
continued over the day, but so far as I knew no decision<BR>had been taken, and
when it came time for Evening News that proceeded as<BR>usual. In fact it was
absolutely "text book." There were people saying that<BR>the day had been a life
changing experience. Others said that when they<BR>came, they had no hope, but
that now hope was alive again. There were also<BR>comments to the effect that
there was a lot of work to be done, and that on<BR>the morning we really had to
get moving. It was - so far as I was concerned<BR>-- exactly what I would have
anticipated for the evening of the first day,<BR>and more to the point,
positioned us very well for a very high level of<BR>focused attention and action
when the morning came. But it did go on... and<BR>on. The sponsors had indicated
that they wanted to speak with me again<BR>before dinner, and so I asked Michael
if he could close out Evening news -<BR>which he did with elegance! And I went
to see the sponsors.<BR><BR>The conversation was short and to the point. Open
Space was closed. I<BR>indicated that while I thought I could understand some of
the pressures,<BR>needs and concerns that would bring them to that point, I also
felt<BR>constrained to say that a large number of their delegates had worked
very<BR>hard, invested a great deal, and were expecting to carry on the
following<BR>day. I felt it essential that their work and persons be
acknowledged and<BR>honored - and further that I did not have a clue how to do
that, nor did I<BR>think it appropriate for me to even try. It was their
meeting, and I had<BR>done all I could do. I left the sponsoring group to their
deliberations.<BR><BR>The announcement of the closing of Open Space and the
program for the<BR>following day was made at dinner. It was to be a series of
plenary sessions<BR>in which an action plan and final statement were to be
created. In the<BR>morning the delegates would be invited to make suggestions,
and the<BR>sponsoring committee would work out the details over lunch and come
back to<BR>the delegates in the afternoon. I must say that the announcement of
the<BR>changes in program was handled extremely well, regardless of what I may
have<BR>though about the decision itself.<BR><BR>The next (and final day) was
one continuing plenary session. Needless to say<BR>I had no part, which allowed
me to hang out in the lobby, and Michael and<BR>his marvelous crew could prepare
the proceedings. In fact a number of the<BR>groups had not only met, but also
reported. Most were quite brief, but<BR>several ran to 10 pages. Michael and Co
had their work cut out for<BR>themselves.<BR><BR>As I wandered the lobby I
confess to a certain sadness for what might have<BR>been - but over the day this
sadness was replaced with a sense of wonder for<BR>what had actually taken place
and was in fact taking place. All during the<BR>day there was a constant flow of
individuals coming to me with profuse<BR>thanks for the opportunity of the
previous day. Others came wanting to know<BR>if we could do training programs in
their lands, and how Open Space might<BR>work with their multiple
constituencies. Even more wonderful were the<BR>Africans who "got" Open Space
instantaneously - and were very pleased (and<BR>surprised) to know that Open
Space came from Africa - at least my<BR>inspiration for it. This quickly
countered muted expressions that had<BR>surfaced in odd spots to the effect that
all of this was all an "American"<BR>invention - and we all know what we think
of Americans! Especially Americans<BR>who wore strange hats! (smile)<BR><BR>The
proceedings were done and delivered by 8 pm. Michael, the Crew, and I<BR>felt
that since a Stammtisch had yet to be held in Seville, there was no<BR>time like
the present. A marvelous, small, neighborhood gathering place<BR>presented
itself, well supplied with good drink and outstanding Tabas (sp?).<BR>Who could
ask for anything more?<BR><BR>After a very short night, it came time to leave.
My flight was an early one,<BR>so I never did see Michael et al, but I felt
surrounded by the affection of<BR>warm people. There was a whole bus full going
to the airport, and I sat next<BR>to a Greek Rabbi. We talked of life, death and
the possibility of renewal.<BR>Just idle chatter! And when it came time to go to
my gate I turned before<BR>leaving to catch sight of the Imam from Kenya, a huge
beautiful man. He<BR>smiled broadly so I went over to shake his hand. To my
surprise, he brushed<BR>my hand away and simply buried me in a warm crushing
hug. I thought I was<BR>pretty good at this hugging business, but I definitely
need some lessons,<BR>and I got one. As I turned to walk on the plane, I heard
the Imam say loudly<BR>to his fellows - "That is a great man." Truly I felt
embarrassed, but also<BR>very good. And I think we did some good.<BR><BR><BR>So
what have we learned? <BR><BR> Doubtless the lessons will continue to
surface, but a major one for me<BR>might be: REALLY Be Prepared to Be Surprised!
I frankly thought I had<BR>covered all the important bases with the sponsor, but
obviously things had<BR>changed, as they have nasty habit of doing. There were
times when I<BR>personally felt the growing heat of anger, combined with
feelings of abuse<BR>of the people who had invested themselves in the day of
Open Space and of<BR>myself. It did occur to me that the sponsoring group really
did not want<BR>open exchange and dialogue, but had only agreed for Open Space
as a "cover"<BR>for plans and intentions that existed well before the meeting.
There was no<BR>question that the need for control was very strong in that
group, and that<BR>the pride of position and possibility of slight were always
present - so<BR>that my suspicion might well have had a foundation. That said,
it was also<BR>true that the ambient forces, currents, swirls, and side eddies
were so<BR>abundant and confusing that anybody who claimed to actually know what
was<BR>going on, or worse to be in Control - truly looked a little silly.
We<BR>started very much in a control mode, with the first day's formal sessions
-<BR>and they simply blew up - and showed every sign of continuing to blow
up<BR>until we opened space. The day in Open Space was rich and intense,
albeit<BR>confusing. But the strange thing is that when the group went back into
the<BR>"control mode" on the 3rd day - things did not blow up! The people who
put<BR>that day together said they were going to operate in an "Open Space
Mode"<BR>(whatever that might mean) - and I think that is pretty much what they
did.<BR>Somehow it all flowed together with a consistency that was certainly
not<BR>apparent at the beginning, or even moment to moment. My feeling is that
it<BR>was all open space, of which the Open Space which I facilitated was just
a<BR>part - albeit a useful part. Go figure, but definitely
surprising.<BR><BR>Harrison<BR><BR> <BR><BR>
<BR><BR><BR><BR>Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Drive<BR>Potomac,
Maryland 20854<BR>Phone 301-365-2093<BR>Skype hhowen<BR>Open Space
Training <A href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</A>
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