Melinda, here is what 'we' did for Seattle Practice of Peace 2003. We invited some guests as part of our design and we included their names and a very brief bit of information about their work in the world. This had the effect of 'seeding' the energy for the conference. From a marketing standpoint, it told people who read our "marketing" invitation to the conference what kinds of people would be in attendance. Instead of having keynotes and formal breakout sessions, people knew that amazing practitioners and 'experts' would be at the event. And each of the 'invited guests" were free, of course, in open space to give lectures or hold breakouts and butterfly conversations and whatever else they wanted. "Our" Practice of Peace had 130 participants from 25 countries and it was a transformative event that literally changed some participants lives and I am CERTAIN listing invited guests on the invitation was essential to creating the event.
Here is what we wrote in one version of our invitation: To enrich the gathering, invited OST practitioners are bringing their experiences of living and working in regions of war and conflict: Tova Averbuch & Avner Haramati, Israel, pioneered OST in Israel in 1999. Susan Coleman, U.S., an international conflict resolution expert uses large group processes with communities and systems in conflict. John Johnson & Gladys Clark-Johnson, open space for social justice in U.S. urban communities. Carol Daniel Kasbari, Israel/Palestine, facilitator for Israeli Palestinian groups in conflict, and practitioner of OST within the Palestinian people. John Engle, U.S. citizen living in Haiti, brought OST to networks and organizations throughout Haiti. Harrison Owen, U.S., originated Open Space Technology in 1984. Pablo Restrepo Saenz, Colombia, uses OST with a negotiation process in violent conflicts. Arun Wakhlu, India, opens space for peace and prosperity in India, Pakistan, and Kashmir. Melinda: here is a link to the practice of peace website. If you look around, you can see many details of 'our' PoP invitation. Warmly, Tree Fitzpatrick Seattle mystic and shaman, formerly known as a consultant (I got a promotion) * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist