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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>With due thanks again to Peggy Holman and her Columbian adventure (2000
children…how DID you do that??) the World Bank initiative in South East
Asia has taken a couple of further steps – and as so many people asked me
for an update I am delighted to provide one.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I have been hugely privileged to “Open Space” in the past
month for street children in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Laos</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
– in both countries focusing on the questions of vital importance to them
from their perspective. I am sure somebody has done work in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Laos</st1:country-region> before (if not, please let’s add this
also to the countries where we have raised a flag and that counts as two in a
month!!) but not too sure about <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
so maybe I have managed to plant another flag for the world of Open Space??<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>We held the meeting at a Children’s Centre some thirty kilometers
outside <st1:City w:st="on">Ulaanbaatar</st1:City>, the capital of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
For those geographically challenged among us, I suggest a large scale atlas
where you will find Mongolia nestled totally landlocked between Russia and
China – and if you wanted two larger neighbours I have no idea where you
would look, when you have a total population of a mere 2.5 million. With
it’s Soviet past (although now independent and with an elected
Parliament) the Centre has a wonderful “soviet” look – solid,
old fashioned, lots of crumbling concrete, stone cold corridors and a splendid
statue of the founder in bronze at the entrance. Strangely (well, to me at
least) the countryside was beautiful around the Centre with fir trees and many
others slowly changing from green to brown, clear blue skies and a vast area
with the most unusual collection of guest houses – each clustered
together in a “style” that apparently resembled Mongolian /
Japanese / Swiss….well so they told me!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The meeting was held in the sports hall – probably the only one
with a yellow, blue and green painted floor with the NBA logo in Mongolia I
suspect – with fantastic steel radiators lining the walls installed when
radiators were meant to give off heat not act as interior design accessories
and when pipes were just that…stuck all over the place.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In <st1:country-region w:st="on">Laos</st1:country-region> and <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
signs came off the wall because it was too hot and humid – here because,
despite the weather being at least clement, the walls were too cold, and just a
little crumbly in places!!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Open Space produced its magic – even if I have no clue what was
said for the entire two days! We had well over 100 topics raised, some 70 with
written notes which went into the Proceedings Book and ten which we prioritized
for action points.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>This helps the World Bank, Unicef, National Association of Children,
Save the Children, World Vision and others focus their efforts, both for themselves
and for the demands they can make of the host government who will be clearly
shown the priorities from the mouths of those they expect, and we hope want, to
help<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>BUT it also produced two days of wonderful magic for the children
themselves, released for that time from their daily grind to achieve something
in their lives, which for many means actually surviving for another day –
and when winter comes here it hits Minus 40c which means survival is a darned tough
ask. The stories you may have read about street children living in manholes is
totally true – because the heating pipes need to be buried underground to
withstand the cold this is often the only warm place they can find.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>They worked with all the sessions of a two day Open Space (sitting on
chairs in meetings for a couple of hours could not have been further from their
daily life if we had tried) although given the age range of 6 to 22 we did have
a few drop outs…oh and one small dog who contributed beautifully, but
unknowingly, as a “butterfly”…but then reveled in the
outside. Meetings disappeared under trees on the edge of the forest, they sat
by an empty swimming pool, they climbed the tower of the Japanese village, they
ran everywhere. They were fed great meals, scoffed cake and sweets in their
farewell party, and after dinner the staff of the Centre and the children ran,
played games, sang songs, and soaked in the freedom, the safety, the clean air
and the warmth of the countryside.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>To add to the magic we had our own brass band…battered though the
instruments were (and in several cases bigger than the children themselves) and
a little dubious the notes, the stirring sound of martial music welcomed us all
back after lunch and enlivened a few tired spirits at the end of the day -
contrasted splendidly with the disco synchronized arm waving that followed
seconds later! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Oh yes – we were on Mongolian Television as well last
night….I didn’t watch it but then how would I have known which was
the news anyway?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>And a final touch of Open Space magic to end a memorable event. Before
leaving <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Ulaanbaatar</st1:City></st1:place>
I had a chance to walk around the town and heard my adopted name called out -
“Scotch”..not the drink but the tape we struggled to fix, and
refix, to the wall !!!! – and two of “my” children came
running up to say hello, still dressed in the orange t-shirts we had all worn
for the previous two days and still smiling from ear to ear. It’s a great
feeling to make 197 new young friends in just two days, and they all know your
name in a foreign country….”Scotch”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Thank you Peggy – thank you Open Space – and welcome to <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region></st1:place>!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Nigel Seys-Phillips</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Fulcrum Business Management Solutions</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>30 Mount <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Elizabeth</st1:place></st1:City></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>#04-34 Highpoint</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Singapore</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> 228519</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Tel: +65 9639 2510</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>E-mail: <a href="mailto:nigel@fulcrum.com.sg">nigel@fulcrum.com.sg</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
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