Dear Romy, Unless someone has seen you work, they can't truly imagine how well you set up a room to make it inviting from the moment that people enter. I have had that privilege and so I can imagine how you set things up for the young people and why they engaged from the beginning.
I hope many of these young people end up at the adult events. I have had a number of occasions to have young people attend Open Space Technology meetings that were originally intended for adults. Every time, they became the difference that made a difference. I will tell my favorite young people story. A personal one.On one occasion, one of those young people was my then 13 year old daughter Rachel, who came to an Open Space Technology meeting at the town hall. I have told this story often, because she caused great laughter when I started to do the opening and she said in a loud voice "not the bells mom, not the bells!". I think at the time she was embarrassed that I would use them in public. It was her first large OST meeting. Anyway, she and her sister and a number of their friends were at the meeting along with Town Council and many others, leaders of the community. I remember Rachel posting a topic about the Law. Many adults, including just about the whole Town Council, attended this session. they were very interested in the subject of The Law, with the intention of creating more Law to bring young people under control. Of course, Rachel's intention with her topic was just the opposite. Session times were 1 1/2 hours. Not a single one of those adults or Town Council members left the session. They told me later that they didn't dare to leave because it was led by a young person who had the courage to post the topic and speak her mind. The Mayor, who was a friend, as he walked past me, simply said "your daughter hmmm....". I'm not sure if he spoke this as compliment or fear...but he stayed for every word of it. And future discussions in the community were more balanced. Romy----you are doing fabulous work. I wish you much success with the next bits. Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy Mentoring for Organizational Effectiveness ********************************************************* For ongoing professional development, join us for training in the Genuine Contact Program for exceptional results in organizational effectiveness. Training dates for 2001 are noted below. Training can also be brought into an organization at other times. Those completing all four components of the Genuine Contact Program meet the requirements to attend the "train the trainer" session of four days, resulting in authorization to use the Genuine Contact Program for "in-house" training of teams. The Genuine Contact program is a program for building skill and capacity within the organization, for working with change. It is designed to keep external consultant involvement to a minimum, providing training and mentoring work only, so that working with change is led from within the organization. Leaders within an organization are taught to develop and use an operating system in which business is conducted with genuine contact at all levels on an ongoing basis. Upon completion of the sixteen days of training, the leaders are authorized to teach others within the organization, in an ongoing internal process, until the new operating system is functioning fully in a growthful and effective way. During year one, during and following the initial training, a consultant to the organization coaches and mentors this "in-house" team as the "in-house" team leads the change process for its own organization. Training components of the Genuine Contact Program are 1. Working with Open Space Technology (4 days); 2. Working with Whole Brain Process Facilitation (2 days); 3. Working with Cross Cultural Conflict Resolution (2 days); 4. Advanced Work in Open Space Technology focusing on the Open Space Organization (4 days); and 5. Train the trainer in the Genuine Contact program (4 days). Detailed information is available on our website at www.openspacetechnology.com <http://www.openspacetechnology.com> Prices noted below are the usual price for a training session but prices vary dependent on costs within each location. Training dates for 2001: Session One: Working with Open Space Technology ($600US): Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada Jan 29-Feb 1; Niagara,Ontario, Canada April 2-5; Calgary, Canada May 15-18; Holland June 8-11; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Oct 1-4; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Oct 15-18 Session Two: Working with whole brain Process Facilitation ($300 US):Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Mar 26-27; Seattle, Washington, USA April 9-10; Niagara, Ontario, Canada April 23-24; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada May 22-23; Sweden May 29-30; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA: Sept 17-18 Session Three: Working with Cross Cultural Conflict Resolution ($300US):Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Mar 28-29; Seattle, Washington USA April 11-12; Niagara, Ontario, Canada April 19-20; Sweden May 31-June 1; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Sept 19-20 Session Four: Advanced Work in Open Space Technology focusing on the Open Space Organization ($800US):Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Feb 2-4; San Francisco, California, USA April 28-May 1; Niagara, Ontario, Canada May 3-6; Berlin, Germany June 13-15; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Nov 1-4 Train the Trainer ($1500US): Raleigh,North Carolina, USA Sept 21,22,23,24 We invite you to the first conference of the International Alliance for Mentoring, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Sept. 25-26 Fee $100 US. "Dalar International Consultancy offers you the opportunity to achieve organizational results beyond your expectations. We believe that Spirit matters and people are precious. We know that strategies based on these values have exciting, tangible results." Birgitt and Ward Williams - we create opportunities for Genuine Contact for higher consciousness -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of romy shovelton Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 11:55 AM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: brief notes from N. Ireland Dear all thought I'd copy the notes I just wrote in reponse to an email from Birgitt. Many of you sent such supportive thoughts to me/ us and I am hugely grateful. I really felt you with us. Birgitt wrote: I am thinking about you as you set off for your work in Ireland and hope very much that it is both successful and joyfilled for you and that the results are lasting for the people.< xxxxxxxxxxxxx thanks so much for that. The young person's event went really well this week - especially the storytelling on the evening before the Open Space Technology meeting - it was very moving - and probably could have gone on longer once they got going. We also came up with a rather lovely process for involving them from moment one and making the space theirs : I put a series of flipchart sheets around a wonderful flower display in the centre of the circle - the sheets made a kind of hexagon looking shape (if you can imagine it). Into the inside of the sheets I layed all the wonderful stones that had been collected from a local beach - all kinds of beautiful shapes and colours - ready for the young people to choose to prompt their storytelling. Then I asked the young people to think about why they came and what they want to get out of being at the event and to 'go for it' and write their thoughts on the sheets in the centre. There was a big rush and lots of wonderful things written - about peace and making change etc - as well as "getting out of school!" - this was added to next day and during the time together. We also had an absolutely huge Graffitti Wall that was completely filled with thoughts. The Open Space time was somewhat chaotic and rather difficult to keep the attention of some of them through three one hour sessions (one before lunch and two afterwards) - and I wondered if 45 min sessions might have been better. On the other hand some of them wanted to talk for more than an hour (and of course could have done even if we'd created Post-Its of 45 mins). Whatever the timing issues, on the whole they all dived into conversations with energy and really thought hard about what they wanted for the future. It was sufficiently enjoyable and they found the whole time valuable enough that lots of them are saying that they are going to attend the next event (8/9th March)- for community and business people (and primarily adults) - I am really thrilled at this, as it's one of the reasons we put on the young person's event first.... and .... now they are coming. It's so good. We also really emphasised the importance of the young people taking things forward themselves and continuing to be involved (with support) rather than just giving their thoughts and then getting disappointed that "the Council" and others don't seem to listen or do anything. So... it will be great to have young people putting up their issues while the adults are there next week. so... thanks for keeping us in your thoughts..... Romy * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html =========================================================== osl...@egroups.com To subscribe, 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign up -- provide an email address, and choose a login ID and password 3. Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions To unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@egroups.com: 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign in and Proceed * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html =========================================================== osl...@egroups.com To subscribe, 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign up -- provide an email address, and choose a login ID and password 3. Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions To unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@egroups.com: 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign in and Proceed