This story came to the Open Space Institute (US) e-mail address. Thought you might enjoy it.
Peg Holman -----Original Message----- From: Tom Atlee <c...@igc.apc.org> To: grouplearn...@lists.best.com <grouplearn...@lists.best.com>; eryn...@aol.com <eryn...@aol.com>; fnues...@aol.com Cc: h...@igc.org <h...@igc.org>; bbaumruc...@value.net <bbaumruc...@value.net>; bdfutu...@aol.com <bdfutu...@aol.com> Date: Friday, December 18, 1998 5:13 PM Subject: Y2K gets a small taste of Open Space >This thrills me and I want more of it. It embarrasses me that I wrote off >the World Future Society Y2K conference as probably too stuffy and too >tech/business/government oriented for me. A failure of imagination and >leadership on my part. We see here a story of people who didn't get >stopped by what was, but who took action to evoke what could be. I'm >co-heartened! -- Tom (Does anyone know what GCG is? I got this forwarded >from Meg Wheatley.) > >PS: If you wish to respond to me personally, kindly delete the other names >in the "TO" blank. Although I'd love to stimulate some dialogue among the >addressees, I don't want to overload people with unwanted email. > > >From: janickr...@aol.com <janickr...@aol.com> >To: g...@listbox.com <g...@listbox.com>; Cheryl Kuchler ><ckuch...@denalicg.com> >Cc: Nance Guilmartin <esse...@shore.net>; m...@berkana.org <m...@berkana.org>; >annerar...@aol.com <annerar...@aol.com> >Date: Friday, December 18, 1998 8:54 AM >Subject: Awesome Open Space at World Future Society Meeting > > >>GCG: >>I'm just back from the World Future Society Conference, where GCG was well >>represented with Gerry, Phyllis and me; Gerry came with Cheryl Kuchler, his >>Phily ODN associate who I met at Meg's Cape Cod conference) >>We'll all report in with the material we learned - which was substantial, >and >>which woke me up to an entire new level of understanding of the enormity of >>the impact we are facing. It is daunting. >>But the purpose of this email is to let you know the coup that Gerry and >>Cheryl pulled, in taking over the design and facilitation of the last 3 >hours >>of the conference. They offered an open space alternative, the outcome of >>which was vitality, participation, excitement, and breakthroughs, as the >>participants moved away from the important but drier topics of "National >>Security", Utilities, Embedded chips, etc etc with which we had been >immersed >>for almost two days, and came up with our own passionate themes: >>Generating Recovery >>Holistic Leadership >>Communicating Y2K Simply >>Moving Towards a More Sustainable and communal future >>Our Change Community >>Creating national and global leadership >>Planning and Preparation >>Organizing for self, family and community >>Ways to help organizations prepare for human aspects of Y2K >>Next Steps >> >>One Y2K "expert" publicly acknowledged that he had been to 20 Y2K >conferences >>and had never been to one that produced so much. I never would have >expected >>to see such humanity and spirituality at this conference, at which most >>speakers were government bureaucrats or academics, and most participants >had >>been passively participating in their grey suits. The closing afternoon >>session was a WOW - Walks on Water! >> >>Giving these 100+ Y2K leaders the experience and tool of self-organization >was >>truly a gift which could well get replicated now in the hundreds of next >>generation events that will follow, impacting thousands, no, millions, of >>people. >> >>Gerry and Cheryl, I offer you a standing ovation! Great work!!!!!! >> >>Love >>Jan > >Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * Oakland, CA >http://www.co-intelligence.org * http://www.co-intelligence.org/Y2K.html > > >
