2009 17th WOSonOS
OPEN SPACE REPORT FORM
Topic Name Taking OS to 319 towns/cities with topic arena in climate change
Topic Number:1G
Convenor : Jorie
Participants (including Bumble Bees): F. Brian, jochen, Larry, Yu-ting, Aquia,tony Yang, Spark, Eva, Jackie, Gail, Steven, Mark,
Insights, Questions Raised, Possible Actions, Recommendations, etc:
Purpose to initiate the topic:
Jorie: This topic has a specific purpose. I have been invited to make a proposal to British council in Taiwan and an environmental organization for a one day forum on climate change. They are thinking to play the movie ”Age of Stupid” as an educational awareness to start the day and have open space as a way to exchange learning/insights, and perhaps evoke personal action toward such a huge topic. We would like to scale the forum into 319 towns/cities in Taiwan.
Goal : to understand the ‘climate change’ via the movie” age of stupid’, arising understanding and taking actions. People come because of the topic not because of Os. OS is just a good way to create conversation.
PRE-WORK
Theme:
1. You need a strong and compelling theme. Although the arena is a given-climate change, the theme needs to be specifically tailored to each community’s concern and issues. Involve sponsors and local leaders to come up a short, clear theme to arise passion and interests. E.g. targeting to the typhoon morakot for the communities in disasters zone would be a good opportunity.
2. Examples from Larry- he did a 3/4day OST with wide range diverse groups. They were concerned about the air quality in Toronto. The theme” clearing the air in our community”, good discussions and follow up actions.
3. Examples for how to craft a theme; F. Brian- in Australia, a group wanted to talk about the future of a charitable organization. The crafted theme, after several conversations with the sponsor, became “Doing what we do even better—issues and opportunities’
4. Arena is climate change for this project , the theme needs to be different with each community or school, e.g. how to clear the water/ what can I help to reduce CO2/
Question on the real purpose for the forum
1. What is the sponsor’s purpose? Is it to educate or to initiate the conversation around climate change?
2. Using a film sounds very top down way to educate people. It usually degenerates the group; OS is for discussion and invite people’s wisdom and experience. Video followed with OS seemed odd.
3. If the movie is 90 minutes and you really have to use the movie, try to use 2-3 clips, no more 15 minutes. Most people have very short attention space, 90’ film is 87’ lost o conversation time, destroy the mood for OS.
4. you could play the movie a night before , then the 2nd day is OST along.
5. You need to talk to the sponsors for their real intention. If education is the purpose, there are other ways to generate discussion after the film, such as world café or ORID.
Who is the sponsor?
1. The big sponsor maybe the British council who has good intention to initiate general awareness on climate change, who may be the sponsor of $$
2. The real sponsors will be local community leaders, who feels passionate about the topic, not the open space method. People come because of the theme/topic, not because of the method. If they come because of Os, they tend to be observers.
3. village people may have different culture and langue from OS users. When we take Os to different cities/towns/villages, you need to have conversations with the local sponsors, and craft a specific /focused theme that speak to their level of conversation.
4. how to find local sponsors:Relation is important in finding local sponsor. Find community leaders, or village leaders who may not in real power position, who is opinion leader and has great passion toward the theme, who has trust with the facilitators or event organizors. They local sponsors need t obe willing to share their authorities.
5. Important to have local sponsor who opens the container of the conversation and allow conversation to happen at the level they want to or comfortable with.
How to roll out?
1. train facilitators- find 10 OST practioners or go to university and find students
2. start with a pilot study , 3-4 communities
3. find strategic alliance, such as presbitarian church, or community development association
4. may even try out a quick survey through emails to find out the need from communities, regarding to climate change, and design the service/process
5. Start out a one day general forum, discussing the climate change, inviting people who are interested and passionate about and want to do something aobut the topic.
6. If starting with a community/village, invite TV to broadcast as an opportunity for other communities to see how the topic is approached.
Other things to bear in mind
1. Local/culture sensitivity: youtube has many stories on open space; how os is operated in different countries.
2. Experience on using community theater+ OST to talk about environmental issues. There is gap between the facilitator/performers and the village people. How to bridge the gap and encourage village people to participate?
There is hierarchy in the community, how to break that in OS?
3. In the disaster zone, people started talking about where would be next landslide or river flood. Their worries/concerns were not heard. This might be a starting point for find the right local sponsors.
4. In OS, conversation and relation are the output. People build relation and connection and over a period of time, things might happen and actions take place. We seem to emphasize action/decision. In OS, creating conversation and building relation is more important than action decision. Things emerging, genuine conversation happens. OS, it is also a healing process..
