<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Bhavash’s experience echoes mine. I have facilitated Open Space meetings and World Cafes in French, Estonian, Turkish and Irish and I only speak one of those languages passably. Have a translator you can meet before hand, speak slowly and clearly - much more slowly than you think you need too. And then get out of the way.<div><br></div><div>Chris</div><div><br><div><div>On Sep 16, 2014, at 12:47 AM, Bhavesh Patel <<a href="mailto:bhavmail@gmail.com">bhavmail@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Hi Michael,<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I once ran an OST for a Dutch group.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">My opening was in English with translation. My posters were in Dutch. All the proposed topics were in Dutch. All the discussions were in Dutch. On Day 3 I re-opened space for action steps, which all were in Dutch, and so was the closing circle. <br><br>At the end the most skeptical person in the client group, a former navy captain, thanked me for the most useful meeting he had been to and that the results were more than they expected.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I don't speak Dutch and till today don't really know what happened!<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I spent time literally collecting coffee cups, and when it was clear that I was forgotten by all, I went for a walk in a beautiful forest, it was Autumn, and then had a local specially brewed Autumnal beer.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">It was a real experience of letting go and letting come, and experiencing how OST 'happens.' I couldn't do anything more even if I wanted to because I didn't understand what was happening... and actually I didn't need too!<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Smiles Bhav...<br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 16 September 2014 04:51, Michael Wood <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:michael.wood@uwa.edu.au" target="_blank">michael.wood@uwa.edu.au</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hi Jo,<br>
<br>
Please tell us more about how to facilitate an Open Space when the group is operating in another language. Is it as 'simple' as having a 'translator'? Did you find the four principles and one law translated smoothly into Persian?<br>
<br>
Michael Wood<br>
Perth, Western Australia<br>
<br>
Message: 1<br>
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 23:22:16 +0200<br>
From: Thomas Herrmann <<a href="mailto:thomas@openspaceconsulting.com">thomas@openspaceconsulting.com</a>><br>
To: "<a href="mailto:jotoepfer@boscop.org">jotoepfer@boscop.org</a>" <<a href="mailto:jotoepfer@boscop.org">jotoepfer@boscop.org</a>>, World wide Open<br>
Space Technology email list <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [OSList] Note from Kabul - it works<br>
Message-ID:<br>
<<a href="mailto:4250BFDB-55A1-48AA-A904-6F75E80E59AC@openspaceconsulting.com">4250BFDB-55A1-48AA-A904-6F75E80E59AC@openspaceconsulting.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br>
<br>
Wishing U all good luck and great outcome.<br>
Wohoo<br>
Thomas<br>
<br>
Skickat fr?n min iPhone<br>
<br>
> 13 sep 2014 kl. 11:01 skrev Jo Toepfer <<a href="mailto:jotoepfer@boscop.org">jotoepfer@boscop.org</a>>:<br>
><br>
> Dear colleagues,<br>
><br>
> this is a little note from day 3 of an OST event in Kabul, Afghanistan. 40 people from the Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE) from 6 provinces gathered to work on "Issues and Opportunities for the<br>
> Future of ANAFAE" and I have the privilege to facilitate this event. In total we have 8 break-out sessions spread over 3 days and day 4 for action planning. People posted 33 issues in the first morning. So far 12 reports were handed in. Yesterday during evening news people shared their surprise and a lot of excitement about the outcome of the event. As I write this there are 3 break-out sessions going on and I observe intense discussions and serious engagement in the groups. I guess this proofs again that it always works.<br>
><br>
> Greetings<br>
> Jo<br>
><br>
> P.S.<br>
> It is very easy for me to be detached from outcome since everything is<br>
> going on in Persian language ;-)<br>
><br>
><br>
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