Hi Csaba, I can only add one other approach to Lisa's wonderful through answer. When we ran the OS for 2,100 street kids in Bogota in 2004, they sat on the ground in a courtyard. We made circles using masking tape, complete with aisles. Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78084501@N00/79452635/in/set-1700469/
And with people: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78084501@N00/79452640/in/set-1700469/ I have no idea how many roles of tape it took! Peggy _________________________________ Peggy Holman pe...@peggyholman.com 15347 SE 49th Place Bellevue, WA 98006 425-746-6274 www.peggyholman.com www.journalismthatmatters.org Coming in September Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity www.engagingemergence.com For the second edition of The Change Handbook, go to: www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger On Jul 17, 2010, at 5:51 AM, Lisa Heft wrote: > Hi, Csaba - > > I have had (for example) 850 students in a sports hall, where chairs were not > allowed on the lovely floor. > > I do not think concentric circles are required - even though that is > something I try for in other situations. However as we have shared on this > list over the years - a circle feeling / formation / presence / indication > and working 'in the round' is essential. I agree with Barry that you can > mark the open space in the center or have volunteers standing on the (their > bodies create it) outline of that free space in the center, to indicate and > inform that people entering the room are invited to be seated (outside / > around that shape). You do the same thing for Closing Circle comments and > reflection. > > Csaba - I do not know if your space is similar to other athletic hall spaces > however I find that in a gymnasium or similar space **sound** and > **visibility** and **agenda wall space** are the main issues. > > - sound sounds like it is coming from everywhere > > - when someone stands to name a topic, visibility for them and sound are > important because the space plays with sound. If people are seated (therefore > very low) and a bunch of people are standing waiting to announce their topic > - that may block everyone's vision and it may be hard for them to focus on > the topic convenors' words (given the sound issue). So you might consider > having the topic convenors announce at a place at the edge of the circle (or > two places opposite, with microphones?) in an aisle so the line of people > ready to announce goes down the aisle instead of inside the circle in front > of all viewers. > > - If you do decide to set up two announcing stations instead of one, and > because the sound in a sports hall can come over big speakers therefore > sounds like it is coming from everywhere, you might do something to > physically / visually indicate (say, if you have two positions from where > people are announcing their topics) who is currently speaking. Again: this > can help the focus in such a space - for example you (in the center) could > turn to and indicate whoever speaks next so the audience can get that sense > better. > > - Agenda Wall can be hung or placed but sometimes sports hall walls are not > as welcoming to tape and sometimes the halls themselves are more humid which > is also not so good for tape - so it is a good thing to investigate > > Most of all, I may be sharing these ideas based on my own experiences but of > course your sports hall, your own style or experiences may lead you to do it > differently. These are just some things I have noticed in a gymnasium / > sports hall environment. > > One other thing - you may not know who in your group of 270-300 students has > visible or invisible physical disabilities - and when we think of students > sitting on the ground, it usually feels right and good. Ideally, if people > pre-register you can ask a question in the registration process about whether > people have any food needs or mobility or other access issues and mention > that seating for most people will be directly on the floor. If you cannot do > this, it might be great idea for your lovely volunteers (or you, if you area > team of one) to mark some very clear aisles (any certain kind of tape on the > floor allowed?) for access, notice as people come in if there are people with > wheelchairs or crutches and so on - where would they go? Perhaps a mat on the > floor in one section designated for disability access, with a few folding > chairs on that or room for wheelchairs? > > It both helps the people with diverse physical abilities and offers the > awareness moment to the rest of the student group. > Just an idea. > > Cheers from a star-filled early California morning, > Lisa > > > Lisa Heft > Consultant, Facilitator, Educator > Opening Space > lisah...@openingspace.net > www.openingspace.net > > Ask me about the The Power of Pre-Work workshop for facilitators -August > 18-20, 2010 - San Francisco > and the Open Space Learning Workshops - October 15-18, 2010 - Medellin, > Colombia and December 15-17, 2010 - San Francisco > > Join me on OSLIST - the World Open Space community in conversation (English) > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > and at the Open Space World Community space (all languages) > http://openspaceworld.ning.com > > > > On Jul 17, 2010, at 2:23 AM, Csaba Lengyel wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> We will facilitate an OST event of 270-300 students in a sports hall, where >> it is not possible to bring in chairs. Here comes a question, how can we set >> up the opening circle? Participants will sit on the floor (they are fine >> with that), but how can we make sure that they actually for concentric >> circles? >> >> Have you had any similar experience? Or have you got just some idea, how to >> solve this issue? >> >> Thank you in advance! >> >> Csaba > > > > * * ========================================================== > 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 * * ========================================================== 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
