Dear Mayke, the one thing I remember very clearly from an open space several years ago in Nairobi is the remark of one of the older participants: "Oh, I know this, we do that in our village, we call it baraza." On further inquiry it turned out that "baraza" means something like "sitting under a shady tree" and that some of the others in the room had heard about it having been a custom in their villages, too, by different names. This is certainly a detail I would incorporate into my intro were I offered another chance to facilitate an os in Africa: "By the way, what I am going to talk about has roots in Africa. In fact, some of you elders might have experienced it ...". This would honor the cultural context as well as the elders in the circle. You already had a lead to Theo Groot (he is the fellow who can be reached via bduga...@afsat.com ) the address given to you by Jan De Pelseneer from Belgium. In case you like a copy of the draft of his dissertation, contact him directly. Greetings from Berlin mmp
--Original Message Text--- From: Mayke Wagner, essence Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 08:19:06 +0100 Open Space experience with African countries Hello from springtime Germany, I have my first Open Space Conference coming up in April and Lisa encouraged me to make use of the expertise and experience of all of you! The Open Space will take place in Nairobi, Kenya and we will have participants from Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sounth Africa. The topic will be "Towards Sustainability of Healthcare Technology Systems" with participants being stakeholders, decision makers, and maintenance staff from all levels (national, regional, district, facility) of the healthcare technology system. My question is whether - from your experience - there are certain cultural aspects I need to consider. Do you have any experience with / recommendations for this group of participants? Looking forward to your ideas and stories, Mayke ___________________________________________ essence - Beratung, Training, Coaching Mayke Wagner Hanser 3 88279 Amtzell GERMANY mayke.wag...@t-e-a-m.org Tel (+49) 07520 / 9232 02 visit us: <http://www.t-e-a-m.org> Michael M Pannwitz boscop Draisweg 1 12209 Berlin, Germany FON +49 - 30-772 8000 FAX +49 - 30-773 92 464 www.michaelmpannwitz.de www.openspace-landschaft.de An der E-Gruppe "openspacedeutsch" für deutschsprechende open space-PraktikerInnen interessiert? Enfach eine mail an mich. * * ========================================================== 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
