<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi, Chuni - <div><br></div><div>I have done a lot of multi-lingual (and also bi-lingual) Open Space events. </div><div>I am guessing that others who have done this have other 'lessons learned' to add to your thinking - this is what I have learned.</div><div><br></div><div>Get some tea everybody - it is a long message.</div><div><br></div><div>To me: It starts from the design of registration and invitation materials, the information you ask in registration to assess your language needs / resources / capacities, and also assess your documentation capacity, language-wise.</div><div><br></div><div>It continues with ongoing relationship-building for invitation and invitation strategy - in the language, settings and cultural ways different-language cultures communicate. Multiple ways and messages for different kinds of participants, if you can. </div><div><br></div><div>It continues with a thorough analysis of what the sound, visuals, signage and dynamics specific to Open Space are like - and then designing language access specifically to that:</div><div><br></div><div>Opening Circle / Agenda Co-Creation: </div><div>- everybody in a circle, all listening quietly - if only 2 languages are your main languages you have options to give the second-language speakers headsets and a simultaneous translator for this section</div><div>- if you do decide to use headsets - make sure they all come from the same provider. Mixing kinds often does not work.</div><div>- or someone who is out there in front of the group with the facilitator can translate after the facilitator speaks each line slowly - and expressively - pausing in between - into the second language used</div><div><br></div><div>Participants coming to the center, making signs, announcing topics:</div><div>- you have the option to have each participant come instead to one or more sign-making tables at which there sit two helpers - each helper is fully bilingual - one native speaker for each language used. </div><div>- if the participant can write, they write their own topic sign in their own language on the top have of (for example) an 11"x17" piece of paper (you could fold all papers in 1/2 to show top and bottom).</div><div>- the helper who speaks the *other* language writes the translation of that topic *in another color marker". This creates a bilingual sign quickly that people can see their preferred language on fairly easily.</div><div>- If the participant cannot write, they simply tell their topic to the helper at the sign-making table who writes it for them in both languages / 2 colors.</div><div><br></div><div>Then the participant walks up to the microphone in the center. There can be two fully bilingual helpers sitting by the microphone, there in the center (or outside ring or wherever people are announcing from).</div><div>- Participant says their topic in their home language. Helper who speaks the other of the 2 languages takes the mic and says the translation. And off the participant goes to post their topic sign on the wall.</div><div>Principles, Law, Notes-Taker Forms, Participant Sign-in Sheets for discussion areas, everything: In the 2 languages.</div><div><br></div><div>Then everyone is talking at once all around the room for the sessions.</div><div>- In your registration, you have asked participants to indicate their first and second language, fluency, etc. So you know your language needs from that.</div><div>- Their badges come pre-marked with a color dot - for example: green for Spanish speakers, Red for English speakers, a green and a red dot for bilingual speakers</div><div>- Even with roving translators this dot system usually helps people help each other with 'whisper translation'.</div><div>- If you have capacity you can also have roving translators - identify them with the same color scheme, clearly visible (like a piece of fabric around their neck / arm-band / etc.) - Green and Red</div><div>The participants may use them, or they may wave them away, doing fine for themselves.</div><div><br></div><div>Then there is notes-taking.</div><div>- In your registration materials you can also ask who has a laptop to bring for mutual use, who can help by taking notes when they can, and so on. In the text that says this you explain that bilingual notes-takers will be a welcome support to increase knowledge-sharing across culture and language.</div><div>You don't formally give people these roles - you are just 'seeding' the field and inviting this capacity.</div><div>At the Newsroom you can ask everyone who can to transcribe their final notes in (let us say) English. For your English version of the Book of Proceedings. Even if not everyone can do that, you will have less to translate post-event because some of them will be able to do this.</div><div><br></div><div>You will want to pre-think whether the client has the capacity to translate the full Book of Proceedings into Spanish. And if not - how the Spanish-speakers who do not read English can receive the information post-event.</div><div>On your registration materials you can include questions for them to mark such as 'can you receive a pdf file' or some other language to see who has access to an electronic version, and who needs hard-copy.</div><div><br></div><div>I have had clients make sure (all of this - all of the above - is discussed and worked out in the pre-work phase) - that there are pre-set times and locations where some of their participants who cannot read or speak the main languages can come together again in small groups - with a representative who is bilingual who can read and talk through the Book of Proceedings with them in a talking circle, over several meetings, for group discussion. Or match them with an advocate in their region who can sit with them to read together as a duo. Again: assessing capacity and providing for universal access.</div><div><br></div><div>Closing Circle: </div><div>- Again this is everyone sitting quietly so you can do what you did in Opening Circle: either headsets, or a bilingual translator. It will take double the time if you have to repeat everything everyone says all around the circle in 2 languages. But by this time often people are sitting with each other and can do 'whisper translation' for each other - and you can ask them to sit in the Closing Circle this way if you need to. To scribe these closing comments - to add this reflection to the Book of Proceedings - you will also need a fully bilingual helper or two.</div><div><br></div><div>There are also cultural elements of food, music, welcoming, access to transport, child care, use of universal / non-academic language, and many other things which can further equalize access to information and inclusion in a mixed-language setting. If you have people on your core planning team who are of these mixed cultures, classes and languages, you will have some passionate people who can help think through and strategize this as you explain to them the Open Space dynamics, actions and needs they are not yet familiar with.</div><div><br></div><div>A deep bow to Heifer International's National Immigrant Refugee Farmers Initiative - who worked tirelessly with me through the challenging design and pre-work for a many-language, most-amazing immigrant and refugee farming conference that I facilitated in Open Space. </div><div><br></div><div>Lisa</div><div><br></div><div>PS I will be showing some photos of this conference plus their Book of Proceedings at my upcoming Open Space Learning Workshop - May 16-18 in San Francisco. Maybe you can join us... !</div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Lisa Heft</div><div>Consultant, Facilitator, Educator</div><div>President Emerita, Open Space Institute US</div><div>Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution</div><div>Opening Space</div><div><a href="mailto:lisaheft@openingspace.net">lisaheft@openingspace.net</a></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></div></span></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"> <br></font><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:29 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:chunili2000@yahoo.com">chunili2000@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.8ex; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; padding-left: 1ex; position: static; z-index: auto; "> <div><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><div>Hello All,</div> <div> </div> <div>I am working on a state-wide initiative to bring people together to address "How Can Creativity and Innovation Revitalize New Jersey." </div> <div>One of the communities we are planning an open space for has a large Spanish speaking population. To host an inclusive event, we very much want to include these people who don't speak English.</div> <div>Does anyone have experience organizing a bi-lingual open space?</div> <div>Did you use a translator? Did you repeat everything in both languages? How did you handle the break-out discussions?</div> <div> </div> <div>Thank you so much for sharing!</div> <div> </div> <div>Chuni Li</div> <div>New Jersey<var></var></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></blockquote></div> </div></body></html>