Lucy Garrick reports from The North Shore Group, Seattle WA on a synthesis of Open Space and a number of other change facilitation and virtual collaboration tools…

The Time For Global Collaboration Has Come. In the last month I helped design and facilitated the world’s first real-time global collaboration on the subject of positive change. This work excites me because as technology is providing new ways to connect and work together, RTVC provides an opportunity to reconfigure the way people collaborate in organizations as well as across organizations, communities, institutions and governments.

What is real-time global virtual collaboration (RTVC)?

RTVC is a group of change consultants and facilitators who adapt and integrate traditional collaborative change tools and facilitated techniques, such as inquiry, dialog and other group processes, for positive change.



The concept of the world’s first Real-time Virtual Collaboration Conference was to hatched about four weeks ago. It demonstrates what is possible when integrating facilitative change tools such as Open Space, World Cafe, Three Lens Conversation, etc. with real-time social media, such as VOIP, wikis, online collaborative tools and social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or facebook.

Conference participants prepared for the conference through a Mind Map portal created especially for this event.

The 1/2 day conference was designed and organized by the RTVC Team, itself a self-organizing group of consultants and facilitators living in seven countries: Germany, S.Africa, Brazil, United Kingdom, Ontario, USA, and Canada – most of us have not yet met face-to-face.

Conference participants from 30 countries convened on Skype Chat for the opening plenary session, posting topics for break-out sessions on positive change. Break-out sessions were held on the a variety of social media chosen by conveners of the break-out sessions. Think of a sort of virtual, conference hotel. 
Over 50 participants from around the globe signed on to the opening session using Skype Chat. 
Opening and closing sessions were facilitated by members of the RTVC organization.

Reactions To The Conference Taken from the Closing Session Transcript
thrilling 

excitement 

multilevel 

smooth 

encouraging 

engaging 

conversations 

learning
like riding a roller coaster
technically challenging

possibility 

engaging
falling off the cliff 

bacterial 

crossing boundaries
engaging 

exhilarating 

surfing 

disruptive 

just starting 

difficult connections
interesting 

complex 

What’s next? 

calls for more 

germinal

Click on the RTVC Mind Map to see facts, key learnings, session topics and more. Note instructions on how to navigate the mind map in the lower right corner of the page.

To learn more about RTVC join us at the RTVC Forum on the Change Management Toolbook.
Click to see how countries were represented at the Conference.