Dear Chris, I have never trained people in open space. There have been occasions where people came to learn about open space. Some of the more experienced open space people would say that maybe it is possible to create the space in which people interested in learning or being taught might remember open space. I like that image. My design for those kinds of people - and I do not know what age they would consider to be in - has been at the least a one-day, 12 hour experience. If I were to operate in your time frame, I would open the space for a topic of their passion in the first afternoon. Next morning, after having read the proceedings I would open a space on open space to reflect on the experience of the afternoon from the previous day. The last half day I would spend with the group to go over all the open questions, nuts and bolts etc. I would not do the convergence (as you suggested) but rather allow enough time for reflection. My experience is that a prerequisite for convergence is more time than just one afternoon. (if you have a very specific issue and people that are pretty much into this issue and are eager to take on the burning questions and have the means to move things, convergence even after a half day of open space can work, as I just experienced recently). Therefore I am not so certain on this aspect. My hunch, though, is that less is more in this situation. And if participants in your group really get into open space in a serious way they can always catch up on the convergence stuff. All said, I still think it would be great you had more time for your event!! I call my one-day, 12 hour (from 10 am to 10 pm) events "Open Space Lernwerkstatt". I know you will keep us posted and am really looking forward to your report. Good luck michael
PS: Wish you would come to OSonOS VIII in Berlin to have a face to face exchange