<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Brendon, we live and work in a land where water is precious. Billabongs are often the life saving watering points when we travel much like an oasis in the desert. <div><br></div><div>Billabongs are also parts of prior streams where the stream has taken a new track and the billabong is cut off from surface flows of water yet they are fed and nourished by underground water that seeps across the flood plane even when the surface stream is non existent. Billabongs reminds me of the deep threads that are part of a community that sustain it in the hard times. The billabong is the evidence that this deep nourishment exists. </div><div><br></div><div> Some of these concepts are very familiar with Australians in the subconscious. It must be fun to see people discover the deeper meanings of billabong. </div><div><br></div><div>For me I would use the the name as it will connect with peoples experience after that I would let the participants take billabong where they choose. As with the “message sticks” that are the indigenous passport and map every group/tribe had different ways of describing the features of the map so to can the group do the same.</div><div><br></div><div>Just as in the song “click go the shears” the spirt of the “swagman” remains in the billabong to be heard now and then!</div><div><br></div><div>Billabong, just another way to have fun and connect with the community of concern. </div><div><br><div id="AppleMailSignature">Regards<div>Rob</div></div><div><br>On 21 May 2018, at 1:05 am, Brendan McKeague via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8">Ahhhh, the billabong….thanks of asking.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The billabong in Australia is a water hole or pond where water is usually found when the surrounding riverbed or land becomes dry - the last place to dry up in an otherwise arid landscape - often will have a few trees or bushes around it. I used to hear Aboriginal people speak of ‘knowing where the billabongs lay along certain routes or about meetings for initiation and other business held near certain billabongs. Also in the iconic Australian song, Waltzing Matilda, there is reference to the ‘swagman' (traveller/rover/hobo) who ‘camped by a billabong’. The term is well known and recognised in both Aboriginal and ‘whitefella’ culture. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In my early days of facilitating Open Space, I began to use the term billabong as a place of ‘refreshment, relaxation, restoration, reflection, renewal etc’ where, having introduced the terms butterflies and bees (in Australia, I prefer the term bee to distinguish from the European introduced ‘bumble bee’, regarded as a pest and destroying habitats of native species), I speak about billabong ‘spaces or places’ where you can go and rest up should you find that you need a break from the main meeting….maybe you’ve listened enough, talked enough, need some silence, need to think about an upcoming conversation that you’ve posted….find yourself a billabong space and refresh your energy. A billabong space is where you wish to create it…outside under a tree, going for a stroll, lounging on a beanbag, in a corner of the room or in the bar, anywhere you feel comfortable to relax…varies according to where the OS meeting is held - I once had someone tell me they spent 20mins in the toilet as it was the only ‘billabong’ space they could find! </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I have also had people report that one or two others came and joined them in their billabong and, guess what, the most wonderful thing happened….!</div><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">Billabongs are created, or not, in the very best of our self-organising tradition…just as the river meanders along its own course and leaves little pools of refreshment along the way for those who need it.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers</div><div class="">Brendan </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 20 May 2018, at 5:09 PM, Marai Kiele via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" class=""><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">What a colourful and vivid story. <div class="">Thank you Brendan for taking the time to describe it so richly!<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I got as curious as Jeff about the billabongs (first needed to look up the word).</div><div class="">Maybe there are a space where special flowers and animals can flourish?</div><div class="">Please fill us in :-)</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Marai</div><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Am 18.05.2018 um 09:54 schrieb Jeff Aitken via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>>:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="auto" class=""><div class="">Thank you. Very rich. Lots to appreciate here.<div dir="auto" class=""><br class=""></div><div dir="auto" class="">One initial question stands out: how do billabongs act in open space? </div><div dir="auto" class=""><br class=""></div><div dir="auto" class="">(We know about the butterflies and bees.) With thanks</div><div dir="auto" class=""><br class=""></div><div dir="auto" class="">Jeff</div><div dir="auto" class="">San Francisco</div><br class=""><br class=""><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="">On Fri, May 18, 2018, 12:38 AM Brendan McKeague via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:<br class=""></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Hi folks</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Here is a story (Irish style) of a recent Open Space meeting 'in disguise'. I hope it adds something to our ongoing learning and collective wisdom.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers</div><div class="">Brendan</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Open Space as Yarning Space - an Australian story</b><div class=""> <div class=""><b class="">Context</b></div><div class="">A group of five different ‘language/family groups’ wishing to pursue their intention of working together to submit a claim for native title over a certain area of land that their families had continuous connection with for many years. There was a history of disagreement, division and destructive conflict between some of the group during the past 10 years, illustrated by separate, competing claims over parts of the area in question. They had arrived at a place where most of the elders had decided it was time to work together otherwise their chances of achieving a successful claim in the national Native Title Court would be unlikely. In order to prepare themselves for the next steps in submitting a formal legal claim over the region, they suggested it would be appropriate to spend a couple of days together so that ‘they could sit and yarn' about the issues that divided them in the past, about how they might reconcile with each other and how they might work together in the future. The sponsor, a representative of the regional Land Council that would be responsible for resourcing the meeting, wondered if an Open Space style meeting would be appropriate. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Naming the Process</b></div><div class="">Another part of the context was that the sponsoring body did not have a favourable disposition towards Open Space. I’m not sure of the details, although it sounded like someone in senior management had previously experienced some sort of Open Space meeting and wasn’t impressed. My contact within the system asked that we not call it an Open Space meeting. I was happy to oblige and we came up with the loosely described notion of creating Yarning Circles ('yarning circle' is frequently used in indigenous vocabulary in Australia to describe a group, often referred to as 'a mob’, sitting in a circle discussing/having a yarn about whatever mattered to them. So the underlying concept was similar, without the structure of an OST meeting). </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">From an introductory meeting with the family leaders, we formulated an invitation that asked the questions: ‘how will we work together AND respect our individual differences and identities?’</div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In describing the process, I simply renamed the main circle as the group Yarning Circle, and the break-out spaces as Yarning Places…everything else pretty much the usual set-up. I shortened the principles on the posters to read: Right People; Right Time; Right Place; Right Yarning…the Law of Two Feet; Butterflies, Bees and Billabongs; Be Prepared to Be Surprised…and linked my introduction to each of these. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="">The Event</b></div><div class="">There was a lot of anticipation about what might happen. The complexity of longstanding inter-familial, inter-generational disputes is well known in the world of native title in Australia. Security guards were hired for the meeting so that only those who were entitled to be there (another interpretation of 'the right people') were admitted. This was to do with the requirement that only those who are directly descended from the original ‘traditional owners’ of the particular areas are entitled to be part of the discussions and eventual decision-making process. There are strict protocols around anthropologist 'connection research’ to ensure that this is the case and these reports often generate additional conflicts among family groups. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">On the first morning of the two-day event, while people were beginning to gather in the meeting space, there was a very animated and highly charged interaction between two rather large men (I subsequently discovered these were two brothers who had not spoken directly to each other for nearly ten years) and this generated a burst of high tension energy. A security guard intervened, in a very professional, low-key way, creating a pause between the men and providing an opportunity for some of their mutual relatives (mostly the older women) to exert a calming influence on them…fortunately, they seemed to be well practiced at such interventions! </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I was certainly wide awake now! Too soon for a nap…and I wondered, rather nervously, how the rest of the meeting might go</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The men calmed, the senior elder (one of the women) gave a ‘welcome to country’ asking that everyone in the room (about 60 participants) respect the ancestors, and each other, during this very important time together. I was then invited into the circle…I did my usual intro, with slight variations of language, verbal and body, to adapt to my environment. A the end of my introduction, as I usually do, I wished them well for the work of the day, handed the space over to them and exited the circle….</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">As I was heading towards the edge of the meeting area, I noticed a couple of people dive straight in the centre for their paper and pen…and to my surprise, the first topic announced was from one of the family members of the feuding brothers who invited the whole family to meet in the first session to sort out the issues that had been dividing them for the past decade. And it was an amazing ‘yarning place’…for much of an hour, there were loud voices, quiet voices, shouting, tears, hugs, reconciliation, laughter, resolve and agreement to disagree on what had caused their disturbances and, beyond that, agreement to work together in the future so that they could contribute constructively to the collective claim for Native Title….amazing to witness. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">For the remainder of the first day, people wandered, sat, stood and lounged around the room, energy and passion flitting and flowing in their own time, with differing degrees of high intensity, laughter and lightness.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">And for good measure, we also had a ‘space invasion’ in the afternoon, when another group that had been seeking to prevent this combined claim going ahead, and had convened a separate meeting in another part of the conference venue, entered the space uninvited. Some of the leaders in the room stood up and started towards the exit saying they would not stay while this new group was there. In the pause of surprise and wonder, I could only think of asking a question: ‘I don’t really know what’s happening here, would someone please explain?’ That led to the incoming group, some of whom were related to the meeting group, requesting to read out a short prepared statement to the meeting group and then to leave. The meeting group agreed to listen. The statement was delivered, there was silence and no return comments, the incoming group left the room and the existing group spent the rest of the afternoon discussing how they would respond to the information in the statement…a new agenda emerged for Day Two. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The second day of the meeting saw the group working together in the Yarning Circle, as an extension of ‘morning news’, for the first part of the morning, then breaking out into yarning places in response to new issues that were emerging. After a stretched-out lunch, the group converged to feed back the Action Plans before a very emotional, enthusiastic and energised closing circle (that included a short impromptu dance of celebration…)</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="">The Outcome</b></div><div class="">On the next day, following the two day Yarning Circle, there was a formal meeting with their legal representatives to ratify agreements made and provide instructions to be taken forward into the due process for native title claimants. Needless to say, this meeting was nothing like an Open Space meeting. However, the group on the previous afternoon had decided how they wanted the room to be set up for the formal meeting and, guess what, they chose to have five different circles for each of the five family groups and one centre circle for the elders from each group to enter when it came to delivering decisions to the legal representatives…creating a very different environment from the usual 'top table and rows'. That’s another story! </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="">Concluding Reflections</b></div><div class="">A few thoughts: the presenting context seemed suitable for Open Space; the meeting methodology was renamed, the underlying structure was retained; the conflictual energy that appeared prior to the meeting provided a catalyst for release of built-up tension and the courage to address what had caused it by those who lived within it; the stunning significance of self organisation at work, developing resilience to cope with a potential distracting/de-railing invasion; the use of the opportunity (the space invasion) to generate new agenda, to strategise and commit for the follow-up formal legal meeting (a complex adaptive system at work?); the presenting signs of relationship building, collective commitment and deeper levels of trust. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="">Sponsor feedback </b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">1)<span class="m_-4303004000813973650apple-tab-span"> </span>Why did you chose to use Open Space?</b><br class=""></div></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">We held a two day OS community consultation followed by a native title authorisation meeting. </i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">For the community consultation we needed an approach that allowed for a general theme, linked to progressing a native title claim, that allowed for the native title group to work out for themselves the best way to work together on a native title claim and beyond. OS provided the environment for this to occur. </i></div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""> <br class=""><b class="">2)<span class="m_-4303004000813973650apple-tab-span"> </span>What did you notice about the process, the engagement and the outcomes in this particular context?</b><br class=""></div></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">The OS approach to the meeting allowed for the attendees to take ownership of the direction of the two day meeting and, as a result, the outcomes/undertakings that were generated. In turn, the outcomes provided a roadmap for how the different traditional factions within the larger native title group could effectively cooperate while acknowledging and respecting differences. The outcomes will feed into the rule book and policy manual for the corporation earmarked to be the PBC. </i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">We used some OS concepts to good effect in the authorisation meeting. </i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""> </div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><b class="">3)<span class="m_-4303004000813973650apple-tab-span"> </span>What did you learn from this experience?</b><br class=""></div></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">That our clients can truly benefit from an OS meeting and that certain elements of OS can be introduced even into meetings with an agenda prescribed by legislation. </i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><i class="">I am convinced that an OS meeting should be convened early in the process of working with a native title group, particularly if there are internal divisions. </i></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class="m_-4303004000813973650WordSection1"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><span class=""><i class="">If used properly, I consider OS could also be useful in some overlapping claims. </i></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class="m_-4303004000813973650WordSection1"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><span class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt" class=""><span class=""><br class=""></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="">Who knows what will happen next…indeed, that's not ours to know in the complex and mysterious world of emergence!</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div>_______________________________________________<br class="">
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