What are the possibilities of Open Space in our lives, organizations and communities? What capacities and tools do we need, to move to the next level with this work? Let’s gather and learn from one another.
Jeff Aitken, Kaliya Hamlin, Lisa Heft and Heidi Nobantu Saul invite you to several days in and about Open Space — where the newly trained and the longtime practitioners will share our excitement, encouragement, trials and errors — and explore how we use this remarkable organizational and community-building process, on its own or with other tools and methods:
San Francisco, California, USA
January 15 through January 17, 2010
Casual gathering to meet old and new friends and colleagues
Friday, January 15, 2010 – 5:00-7:00 pm
(nibbles, beverages and conversation – dinner on your own)
Open Space on Open Space
Saturday, January 16, 2010
8:30 am arrival, 9:00 am prompt start; Evening News until 5:00, pot-luck dinner to follow
Sunday, January 17, 2010
8:30 am arrival, 9:00 am prompt start; Closing Circle ends at 4:00, Newsroom open until 5:00
(included in the registration fee, Saturday and Sunday breakfast nibbles and lunches – join us to create a ‘pot luck’ dinner on Saturday evening)
To Register
Contact lisaheft@openingspace.net for more information and a registration form. The sooner you register and send payment, the more we can help share resources with others who would like to come – so we encourage you to register now. We would appreciate your registration form no later than January 5.
The Site
The OSonOS will be held at beautiful Fort Mason, a historic military garrison that now houses arts organizations, the world-famous Greens restaurant, reception facilities and more. Walk outside to enjoy the fresh Bay air, wave to sea lions, crabs and shore birds and see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. The rest of San Francisco is just a bus or a taxi ride away. If budget is an issue, there is even a hostel nearby with the best view in the world.
Getting Here
Fly into San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which is about 15.5 miles from Fort Mason. Take a rental car, taxi (about $52 dollars US one-way, including tip), BART train to the MUNI bus system ($8.10 US for BART, $2.00 for MUNI), or shuttle into the city ($19.00 one-way including tip). Local city transit is via BART, MUNI, taxi, your car or your own two feet or wheelchair. Oakland International Airport, in the East Bay, is about 23 miles from Fort Mason. We recommend you stay at an accommodation near Fort Mason / Marina District / Fisherman’s Wharf area. Parking at the Fort Mason site is $8 per day or evening if you park inside the gates; free if you park outside the gates but do watch signs for restricted parking areas.
Accommodation
Delegates are responsible for their own accommodation – please ask for a list of local places to stay if you need one. Our list includes a full range of accommodations from the $30/night dormitory-style hostel to large hotels.
Global Village Marketplace and Silent Auction
One of our traditions for an OSonOS is to have a Global Village Marketplace – where we sell folk art, poetry or other lovely items to each other to raise money for our own travel expense or for the Access Queen (scholarship) Project. We will also have a Silent Auction for the Access Queen Project – highest bidder gets to buy the lovely item for this same fund. So pack into your luggage some lovely artisan work, poetry, shawl or other item to sell to other OpenSpaceniks, and bring a little extra money if you like (US dollars please) to buy lovely things from your lovely colleagues.
Suitcase Cuisine
As Saturday is a ‘pot luck’ dinner, feel free to pack into your luggage, buy nearby or bring from home a special food or beverage item to contribute to our buffet.
Open Space Learning Workshop
December 9-11, 2009 in San Francisco
As the OSonOS is not a training but rather an invitation to explore OST on deeper levels, we encourage anyone who has not yet learned the method or facilitated Open Space to attend a workshop or read Harrison’s book and jump right in a few times before attending this conference.
The Open Space Learning Workshops bring together those who are new to the method and those who have experienced it — an opportunity to share your learning and understanding of the method and to prepare yourselves for facilitating your own Open Space. You will experience an Open Space meeting and learn how to design, prepare hosts or clients, coordinate and facilitate the meeting and help organizations or communities support the actions and momentum that come out of the event.
This experiential workshop will include all of the things you may wish to know for holding your own Open Space event – from planning, preparation and design to logistics, talking with sponsors/clients, developing invitations and themes, recording proceedings, event follow-up, ‘what-ifs’ and anything else you personally would like to share or ask about. Registration fees are flexible – money should never get in the way of learning. Participants are encouraged to read Harrison Owen’s book “Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide†prior to this workshop.
For more information about content, schedule and pricing for the December workshop, contact Lisa Heft at lisaheft@openingspace.net.
For those of you nearer to the New York region – our colleagues in New York are hosting a training the same January weekend as this OSonOS – if you have not yet learned about Open Space and are in that region, let Lisa know and she can send you more information.
