Ֆորում
Details
It was this spirit that resulted in the idea of introducing the Open Space Technology (OST) as a new format of civic education in Egypt. In March 2011 the authors of this article, both working in Egypt for many years, organized the first Open Space in the country. This event encouraged many other national and international institutions and initiatives to adopt and further develop OST in Egypt and other Arab countries. The unexpected popularity of OST in revolutionary Egypt proved that it is in fact the right methodology at the right time in the right context and the right place. OST is a meeting format that fosters dialogue and exchange in a democratic way. It is easy to organize and non-costly. It invites for sharing opinions, discovering common ground, discussing and tackling differences. It helps generating ideas and reflecting about their implementation. This article argues that Open Space (OS), therefore, is a format that perfectly fits the transforming political environment and the socio-cultural setting of Egypt and – most probably – other Arab transformation-states.
Egypt after the revolution: political debates on high demand
Egypt is currently facing a very difficult
transformation period. After thirty, some might even
say after sixty years of authoritarian rule, new and
old political actors are competing for influence and
power. The culminating confrontation between the
new Islamist government and its liberal and secular
opponents is characterized by a general lack of a
political debate culture. This comes with no
surprise. For many years the Mubarak-regime
systematically oppressed free speech, public political
debate and independent political interestaggregation.
‘Divide and command’ was the main
principle of governance.
Authoritarian rule was supported by a strong
tradition of hierarchies and social classes across the
whole Egyptian society. Egyptian children are not
brought up in the spirit of free thinking but rather in
a tradition of dependence from and of subordination
under people of higher status. Many younger
Egyptians are frustrated with events in which they
are only asked to listen (which often enough is used
equivalent to “obey”). In governmental schools and
universities, knowledge is often simply passed from
the elder to the younger. Education is synonymous
to rote learning and memorizing. In religion, politics
and as well in the families, it is similar: Leaders,
authorities and heads have to be respected and
should not be put in question – they have the last
word. Egyptians are now free to talk and discuss
their personal and political opinions and the current
political and religious developments and day-to-day
life offer enough material for engaged and often
heated discussions and debates – and again the
general lack of a culture of dialogue and exchange is
prevalent since two years. Still, in the majority of
cases, open spaces for debates over differing
opinions and controversial issues are not provided
for.
The consequences of these underlying political
and social conditions are even more negative if the
strong oral tradition of Egyptian culture is taken into
account. Since its very beginnings, the Arab-Islamic
culture is very much based on the spoken word, as
e.g. in the tradition and reliability on verbal
contracts. Public speaking skills and respectful
verbal sparring are highly appreciated in Egyptian
media and academia. How an argument is presented
becomes sometimes more relevant than the
argument itself.
When a strong oral tradition meets strong
political and traditional constraints on free speech
then frustrations, polarisation and dissatisfaction
are inevitable. Therefore, the Egyptian revolution
itself was based on the desire to speak up. The
desire to express themselves on topics like politics, religious diversity, social norms, gender and
environment remains and seems to be increasing. It
is channelled in arts, graffiti, jokes, songs,
Facebook-pages, blogs and many other formats.
No surprise, that since the revolution any format
that provides opportunities to talk and exchange fell
on fruitful ground. Since February 2011 numerous
NGOs and social initiatives were established.
Universities, Think Tanks and cultural institutes
organize discussion panels, “Tahrir-dialogues” and
public debates. Institutions like the Goethe-Institute
established so called “Tahrir-Lounges” in several
parts of the country. Here, young people can get
together, discuss and exchange freely.
However the lack of a public debate culture is still
evident. The recent clashes between the Islamist
government and its opponents clearly indicate that
Egypt still lacks a sense of community. In this critical
phase of political transition, the country is in dire
need of a culture of dialogue. For many Egyptians it
is still a learning experience that disagreement does
not mean the end of a friendship, marriage, cooperation
or co-existence. OST might serve as a tool
to provide this experience.
Open Space at work in Egypt
“This is like on the Tahrir Square” says 24 year old
Kazem and looks at a painted poster with the slogan
“Whenever it starts, is the right time”. Kazem who
additionally to his job as pharmacists is engaged in a
youth initiative which creates political awareness
amongst young Egyptians, is one participant of the
supposedly first Open Space in Egypt. “This was
unknown to us: No agenda, no speakers. I had never
believed that this would work”. After three days of
conversations, discussions and collection of ideas,
he is amazed. As the majority of the youth activists
who have met in March 2011 following the invitation
of the Egyptian Youth Federation (EYF) and the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) for the first OS in
Egypt he is keen on applying this new format in his
own initiative. “We young Egyptians have done this
revolution because we had enough of others
dictating us what to do and what to think”, says May
who works in her semester break in a political youth
initiative in Alexandria. “The Open Space method
suits us since it demands and fosters creativity,
openness and initiative”.
The idea of open space
What is Open Space about? Open Space is a simple
form of group facilitation originated in the US in the
1980s by Harrison Owen1. After having organized a
conference over a period of months, the evaluation
of this event revealed that the participants appreciated
most the part he did not plan at all: the really
interesting talks took place during the coffee breaks.
So why not creating an event out of the coffee break
and drop anything else? Owen called his idea Open
Space since his main concern was about literally
creating open space in which movement and action
are possible and in which topics can be defined
without constraints, issues can be talked over and
solutions can be developed.
Open Space is a simple method to run productive
meetings in any kind of group and organization, in
every day practice and ongoing change. It enables
self-organizing groups of 5 to 2000 people to deal
with hugely complex issues in a very short period of
time. What does not exist in Open Space are
speakers, group facilitators, defined talking times
and predefined topics for conversation. Only a
proper introduction by a facilitator who opens the
space, and practical support by a core team are
important. The facilitator also explains the few
principles. However more important is voluntariness,
openness, concern, heterogeneity and a broad and
complex guiding theme. The few principles painted
on big posters are explained fast: Everyone comes
and goes, no one is forced or obliged to do anything.
There is no fixed timeline but time slots which
provide room for conversations and discussions. One
poster close to the door sends the participants on
their way with a well-intentioned admonition: “Be
prepared to be surprised”.
How does it work?2 In contrast to usual events, all
participants are sitting in concentric circles of chairs;
this event has neither a key-note speaker, nor power
point presentations, nor a pre-set program. A white
wall is titled “agenda” and the only information it
contains are time slots. The facilitators briefly
introduce the theme, process and guidelines of the
Open Space. Then they invite the participants to
come to the middle and to announce the issues or questions they would like to discuss in the following
breakout sessions. Participants then choose those
issues which, individually, are of most interest and
importance. These topics become the focal point for
all the subsequent break-out sessions, dialogue and
action planning.
Open Space operates under five principles and
one law. This “Law of Two Feet” says that “If you find
yourself in a situation where you are not contributing
or learning, move somewhere else where you
can.” In conventional meetings you might have
experienced that your mind has already left the
room while you had to stay seated, in Open Space
you would follow this call and move to a more
productive place. In contrast to other situations
where this behaviour would be considered impolite
and even rude, in Open Space it is regarded as
disrespectful if you stay in a group although you
actually do not contribute or learn from it anymore.
The four original Open Space principles are:
- Whoever comes is the right person.
- Whenever it starts is the right time.
- Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
- When it is over it is over.
demonstrations on Tahrir Square, Harrison Owen
has developed a fifth principle:
- Wherever it happens is the right place.
the square is used as a symbol to visualize this new
principle.
The conveners of the breakout sessions take the
responsibility that the outcomes of their discussions
are captured on documentation sheets by themselves
or participants of their sessions on documentation
sheets. Those are displayed on a Breaking
News Wall close to the coffee break table so
everyone can have a look at the points discussed
and outcomes generated in the different break out
sessions that have already taken place. Based on the
discussions and the ideas of all participants,
potential next steps are identified and discussed in
groups of people interested in contributing to the
realization of the respective idea. All sheets are
collected in a report called “Book of Proceedings"
which will be handed over to the participants or
made accessible online. Follow-up meetings are
scheduled and participants continue cooperating and
implementing their ideas and initiatives long after
the Open Space has been concluded. So the end of
an Open Space event is actually a starting point.
Harrison Owen says Open Space always works –
provided certain conditions are present: For an Open
Space meeting to be successful, it must focus on a
real business issue which is of passionate concern to
those involved. OST works best in situations
characterized by a diverse group of people with a
rich variety of opinions who must and is ready to
deal with complex and potentially conflicting issues
of concern in innovative and productive ways. It is
particularly powerful when nobody knows the
answer, and the ongoing participation of a number
of people is required to deal with the questions.
The 5 preconditions for an OST are:
- There is a real business issue,
- a great deal of complexity,
- lots of diversity in terms of people and points of view,
- real passion (people care!) and probably also conflict and
- a decision time of yesterday (genuine urgency)
Debating the revolution: the first OS in Egypt
The idea for the 1st Open Space in Egypt was
created in fall 2010. At this time, an authoritarian
machinery of power had lock on the country. Hereby
but also by traditional thinking and structures, civic
education rapidly had reached its limits. Hierarchy,
seniority and surveillance were order of the day. In
the front, professors, teachers or experts lecture, the
often young listeners are allowed to ask questions,
all of this in most cases carefully monitored and
observed by employees of the abhorred state
security service “Amn Dawla”. So why not introducing
a new format that attracts young people, overcomes
hierarchies, encourages self-organization and opens
space for creativity? In the middle of the preparations,
the Egyptian revolution of January 25th
barged in. Suddenly, the Egyptians could say what
they thought and were called upon to reshape and
reform the future of their country. It was quite plain:
The Open Space method matched the revolutionary
atmosphere to a tee. The motto was obvious: “Egypt
at the Crossroads”. Less than two months after
Mubarak stepped down, 20 young Egyptians and ten
young Germans sat together in a Middle Class Hotel
some 120 kilometres east of Cairo to test the format
for the first time.
To begin with, the participants were introduced in
the Open Space Technology. Then every participant
had the opportunity to write down her/his burning
issues and to announce them together with a chosen
time slot on a wall called “Community Bulletin
Board”. After the first round, the participants had defined 22 issues, some more were added later.
With every round of conversation sessions, the
Breaking News Wall located close to the continuous
break buffet was filling more with new documentation
sheets. While having a cup of coffee or
tea, the participants read what was discussed so far.
Additionally a contact list was developed. Every
morning and evening, the participants gathered to
speak about the daily news and announcements.
After three days, 22 documentations of the
conversation sessions were on hand, 13 new project
ideas were born and their next 3 steps are recorded,
a video clip was taped, a facebook group established
and many new friendships were gained.
What were the outcomes in detail? Analogue to the
“Model United Nations” one participant wanted to
develop a “Model Tahrir” with the aim of representing
and reflecting the positions of different political and
social groups and associations in Egypt in a role play.
A female student from Alexandria wanted to use the
idea in women’s rights projects: “Open Space is ideal
to tackle taboo issues and to train gender equality,
especiall y in Upper Egypt”. And an NGO activist from
Cairo planned to use the method particularly with
regard to the reduction of prejudices.
“We Egyptians believe too often in conspiracy and
hidden agendas. But a format which by definition has
no agenda does not have a hidden agenda. This must
be convincing for everybody. By this method, we can
also reach people having a fundamental scepticism
towards everything new or foreign”. Three weeks
after the event, the idea of freeing a Cairene rooftop
from its waste and to create a space for leisure
assumed already a concrete shape.
The first Open Space in Egypt in March 2011
clearly indicated that a discussion method which
focuses on mentioning own issues and their
discussion falls on fertile soil. Supposedly, the Open
Space method would have worked out before the
Tahrir demonstrations. But after the revolution with
the gained freedom and the drive to test new things,
it seems even more as a fitting format.
3.3 Following up: A new format is gaining ground
The first OS, organized by EYF and KAS, showed
the way forward. The very general title “Egypt at the
Crossroads” was intentionally chosen in order to
capture the atmosphere present in Egypt right after
Mubarak stepped down. And it provided space to
identify more concrete topics for follow-up events.
Here, two issues were immediately obvious: the role
of women in the Egyptian society and the need for
jobs. Consequently, the following OS targeted exactly
these issues.
During the first Open Space a small group of
participants showed interest in learning more about
the technique and its backgrounds. They were
interested in spreading the method and the OST
know-how all over Egypt and in facilitating Open
Space events in Arabic. After having attended the
first three Open Space events facilitated in a row by
Claudia Gross, one of the authors of this article,
some of the participants organized and facilitated
their own Open Space events in English and in
Arabic. This happened in cooperation with social
initiatives or international and local NGOs on themes
that were relevant in the respective contexts such as:
Interfaith dialogues, refugees in Egypt, voluntarism,
informal areas – just to name a few.
Open Space Learning Exchanges (OSLEX) were
organized regularly as a common practice in order to
share experiences and learn from each other. One of
the main outcomes of the OSLEX was not only the
need for Arabic material and Arabic speaking
facilitators but also for sponsors. Given the limited
financial resources of average young Egyptians it
proved to be of high importance to make OST
attractive for international donors. All together,
eleven Open Space events in English and in Arabic
have been organized in 20123. Over 400 young
women and men from over 20 Egyptian governorates
have participated in the events. They are still in
contact and are now working on the next steps
initiatives they have identified.
Eslam Erman, one of the participants of the first
Open Space, joined and supported Claudia Gross
during the set-ups and coordination of the coming
two Open Spaces and documented all steps by
photos and text. Additionally he created a website to
serve as the platform of the internet-based social
initiative Open Space Egypt (OSE) which he together
with a group of Open Space enthusiasts and Claudia
Gross founded in mid 20113. OSE basically wants to
establish a network amongst Open Space facilitators
to further promote Open Space Technology in Egypt
and the Arab region. All services and materials
related to an Open Space event, such as Open Space
posters, checklists, forms, etc. are provided by this
network on their internet platform. Of particular
importance for the work of OSE are the translation of
manuals and posters to Arabic and the training of
Arabic speaking OST facilitators.
As already mentioned, the first OS had already
highlighted the need for trained facilitators who are
able to hold an OS in Arabic and under basic
conditions. Therefore in December 2011, Claudia
Gross designed and facilitated a Train-of-Facilitators
(ToF) workshop held before an OS event that was facilitated by participants of the ToF in Arabic. The
theme of this OS was “Informal Areas”, a topic that by
principle called for participants who would feel more
comfortable to discuss in Arabic, their mother
tongue. This Open Space was documented by the
first clip on an Arabic Open Space and can be found
on youTube under the key words “Baladna Kullina”4.
The ToF was followed by regular coaching sessions
for the whole group of 13 new Egyptian OS
facilitators during and after the OS event. After this
ToF workshop, Claudia Gross was frequently asked
for recommendations for OS facilitators and was
happy to recommend the participants of her training.
In 2012, the newly trained moderators facilitated
successfully 19 OS events for clients such as the
Swedish Institute in Alexandria and German Agency
for International Co-Operation (GIZ).
In 2012 OST gained further ground, even beyond
Egypt. The year 2012 started with an Open Space on
Dec 31st, organized by Khalil El-Masry, a newly
trained facilitator, who invited a group of activists to
discuss the perspectives for their work in 2012. Two
months later, in February, Khalil El-Masry, Eslam
Erman and Claudia Gross travelled to Jordan for a
company retreat in which an Open Space day was
embedded, supposedly one of the first OS to be held
in Jordan. The company had invited all team
members, from senior managers and advisors to the
driver. During this day, the unexpected happened:
Right after the introduction of the Open Space
principles, when the participants where invited to
come to the centre to write down their issues and
then create the agenda, the driver Moussa stood up,
walked slowly into the middle of the circle, wrote
down his issue and there it was: the topic that was
just naming the Pink Elephant, the main issue
dominating the company’s performance which no
one else would have mentioned so clearly, focusing
on the allocation of management responsibilities in
the company. He was applauded for bringing this
issue up. Later the driver convened his session which
was attended by all company owners, the senior
management staff, discussing frankly and in depth
this really existential topic.
In September 2012 Claudia Gross went to Lebanon
for an assignment and used the time to present OST
to a group of representatives of Lebanese youth
initiatives and NGOs. The reaction was very positive
and triggered a lively exchange about first hand
experiences with OS and their possible application in
Lebanon. With some concrete plans to train the first
Lebanese facilitators and to run a first OS in spring
2013, Lebanon seems to be the next country in the
region where the Open Space Technology could be
spread. Or it might be in a refugee camp in Jordan
where starting on the International Women’s Day on
March 8th, 2013, an OS will be held with female
Palestinian refugees.
Until December 2012, the newly trained facilitators
have facilitated 17 Open Spaces by themselves after
their training with more than 550 participants: Over
420 young Egyptians from all over the country have
participated in OS events facilitated by the newly
trained facilitators. Additionally, around 130
participants joined OS events in Germany, Spain and
Jordan facilitated by the newly trained facilitators.
They covered a variety of clients of the development
sector, Egyptian Institutions, NGOs, social initiatives.
Even Egyptian and international companies started to
make use of OST and the services that are provided
by the internet platform OSE.
Albeit the deteriorating political conditions the
plans of the Egyptian OS community for 2013 are
ambitious. The main focus is on a broad campaign to
introduce OS as a method for local NGOs and
initiatives all over the country and on the
establishment of a community of OS practitioners.
Eventually they will repeat the OS at the New Year’s
Eve for an outlook to the year 2013. A far more
ambitious idea is to organize several OS events
parallel in various Egyptian regions or even
governorates. Additionally, more facilitators will be
trained to cater for the high demand of OS events all
over Egypt and in the whole Arab region.
However, OS activities do also have to adapt to the
changing political environment. With the crackdown
on several international and Egyptian NGOs,
including the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, at the
beginning of 2012 the Egyptian authorities again
marked the red lines of independent civic education
activities. The OS community reacts to this
increasing political pressure with a double strategy.
On the one hand, more and more OS events will be
organized for national and international institutions
in “safe” places and within social initiatives and NGOs
private places. On the other hand, many activists try
to establish OS as a technology that also caters for
the needs and aims of official and governmental
organizations, with some success. By the end of
2012, the Egyptian Social Contract centre, which is
affiliated with the Think Tank of the Egyptian
government, asked for the facilitation of an Open
Space related to the development of the National
Youth Policy and an OS facilitators training.
3.4 Lessons learned. OS in practice
The almost two years of rich experiences with OS
in Egypt and some neighbouring countries showed a
couple of promises and constraints. After all, it made clear that OS works very well in a non-
Western environment and can be easily set-up under
different political conditions; however some limits
and adaptations of the technology have to be
considered.
Promises
The experience with using Open Space Technology
in Egypt has clearly shown that the equation of the
revolution "The people want … The people decide …
The people lead" can simply happen by creating an
inviting theme, attracting the right people (in Open
Space, whoever comes is by principle the right one),
and creating the proper space. In an Open Space
environment, diversity is welcomed, expression of
personal and political opinions is encouraged,
exchange and discussion is fostered, and common
ground is discovered jointly in dialogue. The whole
Open Space is governed by self-management and
self-responsibility in action.
Characteristic for Open Space events is the Circle
(or in bigger groups many concentric circles) in
which all participants come together for the opening
of the event and the smaller circles in which they
gather during the breakout sessions. The circle itself
has no top and no bottom, no beginning and no end,
and it symbolizes the equality amongst the
participants. They all have in common their interest
in the theme of the event, their readiness to take
responsibility for their issues and to convene a
session, talk about and contribute their ideas which
they are truly passionate about. So coming together
in a circle (in contrast to a U shape or a normal
theatre style conference seating format) lays the
fundament for the conversations without hierarchies
or borders and within the group of people who really
care about the theme.
This particular format fosters networking amongst
all participants who pollinate and cross-pollinate
their ideas while bumbling from one group to the
other. Women and men use the chance to bring up
their deep problems to the surface. The participants’
moves connect the different participants and
symbolize the network of interests and talents
present in the room. Diversity is discovered as a rich
asset necessary to jointly find solutions for
complex issues. The freedom to choose the sessions
they want to convene and to participate in and the
bumble-beeing foster the establishment of
professional and community relationships across
sector and age groups. Many participants report to
experience this freedom and connection for the first
time. To keep in touch after the event, all
participants are provided by with a list of contact
details of everyone who’s joining the event.
Open Space Technology transforms the control by
one leader to self-management by all participants
themselves, including the organization's or
community's traditional leaders then being part of
the participants’ group. Everyone is considered the
right person who can contribute important experiences,
information and opinions. Therefore an Open
Space event describes a deeply democratic meeting
experience. “I have been heard”, is how Egyptian
participants often comment after Open Space
sessions, realizing that the group they were
discussing with really seeked to understand. The
participants often feel a deep sense of peace,
gratitude and reconfirmation, as participants often
state in closing circles of OS events “I am so happy to
have met you all and to be part of this community. I
feel relieved that this kind of conversations is still
possible, even given the current political situations. I
thank you all.”
In Open Space people work together across
hierarchal, historical and group-related lines, and
indeed when everyone gets back to work it is
probable that they will continue to work and
communicate in a way that is different than the onpaper
organizational structure or the ways a society
has been set up, historically. Experience, also in
Egypt, shows that participants of Open Space events
integrate this unique experience and insects it into
their day-to-day life. They keep on referring to them
and find them supportive in their professional and
private life.
Experiencing (religious) diversity and common ground
In contrast to other forms of meetings usually
practiced in Egypt, in an Open Space event, all
participants share their individual opinions. All voices
are valued and appreciated. While there are no
keynote speakers, no experts, no leaders speaking
from the podium or panel in a one-way
communication to a mainly passively listening
audience, all participants are invited to convene and
actively participate in the session on topics they
consider important. By principle multiple facets of a
theme are represented by the issues proposed by the
participants and discussed during the sessions where
they discovered common ground. Meaningful
conversations take place in multi-way dialogues.
Often enough this safe space is used to discuss
openly and freely about issues the participants are
passionate about , but normally wouldn’t speak-up
about. Especially with regard to religious diversity,
experience has shown that participants of different religious backgrounds and orientations, sometimes
for the first time in their life, took the chance to
speak with each other instead of about each other.
In July 2011, an OS with the title “Unity in
Diversity” was organized in Wadi-.Natrun, close to
Cairo. One of the telling stories of this event is the
following: Due to the variety of religions present in
this event, the young organizers had taken special
care regarding the list of who is going to share the
sleeping room with whom. A sophisticated list was
developed before-hand – and ignored by the
receptionist once the bus with the participants
arrived. Ahmad Khallaf, the facilitator of the event,
was shocked when he realized that people were now
mixed in a random order. When he asked Claudia
Gross, who supported him in the set-up of the
venue, for an advice she referred to one of the Open
Space principles “Whatever happens is the only thing
that could have”. Then they focused further on the
preparation of the Opening Circle. During the event
the organizers realized that during the situation in
front of the reception, a young Coptic man had been
looking around for a partner to share the room with.
He chose someone shaved. They later they realized
that the one he had chosen had just shaved his
beard to present himself to the military service, but
actually belonged to the so called “Salafists”, an
ultra-orthodox Islamist grouping. Without the
receptionist ignoring the organizer’s list, both
participants would have never shared a room with
each other for two nights, seizing the opportunity to
really talk with each other and eventually become
friends.
Another example of this Open Space event is
related to the acceptance in diverse religious groups
of participants: In this event the usual closing
exercise of any OS was almost dropped. Since this
exercise included all participants holding hands, the
organizers considered it to be inadequate given the
variety of religious backgrounds and the presence of
women and man. However, after a while of thinking,
another idea came up: Holding hands maybe would
not be possible but holding something else would
be okay. And what if the “something else” were
pieces of a ribbon in the colours of the Egyptian
flag? An exercise that was close to be dropped
turned out to be a real symbolic closing: in spite of
their diverse religious backgrounds, all Egyptian
participants were united by their national flag.
Taking the initiative, overcoming stagnation
The principle “Whatever happens is the only thing
that could have” formulates a general acceptance of
everything that happens. And it also includes an
invitation to the participants: they are responsible
for what is happening in the event. Everything they
bring in will be discussed and shared amongst the
participants. If they realize after the event that
certain topics they had expected to be mentioned
where not addressed, it has been in their sole
responsibility to raise them. This principle is an
invitation to take initiative and be responsible for
what they consider important. After the facilitator
has explained the Open Space process and the
principles, she/he invites the participants to come to
the center to write their issues and names on a piece
of paper. After joining the OS event at the first
place, standing up and coming to the center
symbolizes the second step of taking responsibility
and being part of the solution.
Taking the initiative and contributing whatever
the participants consider important is also basic for
the breakout sessions. Instead of sitting passively on
their chairs and receiving information while being
stuck and mute, they have the chance to bring
themselves in. During the agenda creation and the
breakout sessions they feel that they are moving
forward, increasing their connections with likeminded
people, generating new energy and creating
a new momentum. This process continues when the
participants take responsibility for the documentation
of the topics discussed by typing it down in
the newsroom and in the action planning session at
the end of a two and a half or three days Open
Space event.
A lot of surprising learning happens in Open
Space in Egypt. This required and generated
creativity: New solutions are found as in the ribbon
exercise described above. Issue and documentation
sheets need to be clipped on laundry ropes in rooms
where the walls cannot be used (or in bedouin huts
where the “walls” are made out of straw). Also, an
Open Space event in a historical mosque, where
nothing could be stuck to the columns, lead to the
realization that the posters can also be laid on the
ground. Seeing ideas facing the open sky created
another connection and frame for the whole event.
Constraints
Need for spaces and sponsors
In Egypt after the revolution, those who wanted to
organize events for 50 participants and more had to
realize that there are very few appropriate places to
rent. Social initiatives and NGOs experience a lack of
public space for gathering and events. Apart from
governmental facilities, there seems to be only
expensive options left: renting halls in hotels.
Downside of this option are the high price, the lack
of enough breakout areas, the inappropriateness of
the formal setting of hotels for events such as e.g.
an Open Space on informal areas, and the usual lack
of daylight in the meeting rooms.
In general, finding a sponsor for an Open Space
event and being invited to facilitate one is a major
constraint. Therefore, Eslam Erman from Open Space
Egypt developed another proposal for Open Spaces
on education in Egypt which luckily was accepted
and supported by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria
in May 2012. The team of Open Space Egypt has
again prepared a proposal for an Open Space
against sexual harassment in Egypt and is currently
looking again for a sponsor. To tackle this issue, a
broader marketing campaign to promote the Open
Space Technology and sharing its success stories in
Egypt might be needed. Another experience shows that inviting potential sponsors as participants of
one Open Space event can convince them
successfully to sponsor an event within their scope
of work in the future too.
Defining the event’s theme and not its outcomes
Harrison Owen always stresses that “The only way
to bring an Open Space gathering to its knees is to
attempt to control it. Emergent order appears in
Open Space when the conditions for self
organization are met” and he continues “Open Space
requires real freedom, and real responsibility.”
Therefore finding sponsors and potential clients
needs to take the spirit of Open Space into
consideration. There is no room for manipulation
and interfering into the agenda creation, the topics
to be discussed will be brought in by the participants.
Consequently Open Space is not the right
technology when the organizers/participants have a
certain target/agenda in mind! Also, like in Egypt, a
highly charged political situation and a lack of trust
in the sponsors needs to be taken in close consideration
when planning an Open Space and eventually
be the reasons why another format will be chosen
first. Another problem emerges when people who
hold power and authority try to control the way that
people work together. In this case OST is not an
appropriate approach. Experience shows that if key
leaders believe they are the only people necessary
for the organization to do its best work, the space
for “best work” never really opens. As a result,
whenever sponsors think they know the answer,
have an agenda, wish to control outcomes and be in
charge, and are not prepared to change as a result
of the meeting, the facilitators won’t be able to
facilitate such an event and will recommend doing
another meeting format.
Assuring the event’s follow-up
In the planning phase of an Open Space event, the
follow-up needs already to be integrated and
scheduled for 6-8 weeks after the event. Ideally
these dates are already announced at the end of the
Open Space event so the transfer and follow-up is
eased. In practice, this need for a follow-up often
seemed to be not attractive for external sponsoring.
Donors usually perceive OS as a one off event, rather
than part of a value-creating process. If the
outcomes of an OS event are not taken into
consideration and business-as-usual continues, the
opportunity for change is missed. Participants
carrying the experience of having opened up and
spoken up in the Open Space event and then finding
themselves back in their closed NGO, company or
community will face a high amount of frustration
and de-motivation. Once the staff feels resigning
and desperate, it will be a lot more difficult to
motivate them again and to start another change
management initiative or event.
Therefore the commitment from the group,
community and/or management to continue the
spirit of the Open Space and make room for the
newly developed ideas is decisive for the events
success after the participants returned back. The
group’, sponsor’s and/or management’s readiness
to support the projects that emerge is crucial
including the provision of sufficient time, energy,
influence to realize the project discussed, identified
and created in the Open Space. They cannot be
solved by a few people; they will need the
contribution of a whole team.
Technical and practical challenges
When setting-up an Open Space, a relatively big
room is needed, ideally in a shape that allows
establishing concentric circles easily. While
organizing OS events in Egypt it surprisingly
appeared to be a problem that staff of venues is
“not able” or even reluctant to prepare a real circle
of chairs. Although told otherwise (and sometimes
having received a sketch of a chair circle in
advance), they often prepare a setting with tables in
the beginning. Once the facilitator arrives and asks
for a circle, first they make a big square with round
corners, then an oval/egg-shape, always leaving
space in front of the imaginary screen, expecting
speakers and presentations – which of course does
not happen in Open Space. When finally following
the instruction to form a circle of chairs, they
establish a real circle, shaking their head full of
doubts and disbelief about the nature of this event.
It might also happen that the budget does not
include the renting of computers for the Newsroom
where all participants would type their documentation sheets. A potential solution is to ask
the participants to bring their laptops, to provide
them with the form and ask them to share their
laptops with other participants. Another situation
might be that the event takes place in a remote area
without copy shops to copy the Book of Proceedings.
Possible ways to deal with this is taking pictures
and/or scanning the documentation sheets and
uploading them when back in Cairo.
Certainly the high rate of illiteracy could be a
problem for the written documentation which is
normally used. Potential solutions include e.g. using
drawings, sketches, and role plays, taping interviews
or videos, using symbols for the different issues
raised when developing the agenda by participants,
as e.g. a water bottle for water problems, a book for
education issues, etc. All these measures are also
ideas when facilitating Open Spaces with children
who cannot read or write.
Acceptance and cultural challenges
The authors of this article have often been
confronted with the argument that Open Spaces
might work in Western but not in Muslim countries.
After two years of practicing OS in Egypt and some
other Muslim countries, this assumption was
empirically proved to be wrong. OS activists can now
refer to these experiences where participants of
mixed religious backgrounds came together, where
Arab women were particularly invited to join and
where even a peace initiative comprising of members
of all religious backgrounds was establi-shed as
an idea of an Open Space event. Just recently the
authors were addressed by a colleague who plans to
organize an Open Space event in Somalia. Unfortunately,
the sponsor of this event rejected the OS idea
because he believes that it does not work in a
Muslim culture. Immediately, one experienced
Egyptian facilitator offered to act as a reference
person.
Another problem is time and punctuality.
Especially in cultures with a polychronic time
concept the principle “Whenever it starts is the right
time” might be very well known and practiced.
Unfortunately, the issue of punctuality regarding the
beginning of the events and its consecutive days is
of high relevance for the event’s success: Ideally
when all participants who care are there during the
opening, the discussions can start. Events in Cairo
started up to 1 hour late since participants just
dropped in within the first hour of the event, cursing
the traffic, while others were there in time.
Therefore, scheduling the event one hour earlier
than it is planned to start might be a measure of
self-defence. A registration time with a coffee and
tea buffet might be the culturally accepted answer to
this issue. When the event is taking place in a
remote area and all participants arrive together in a
bus, the event can start in time and with the
majority of people.
On the other hand, experience shows that when
the OS takes place in Cairo or wherever the
participants live, this measure of staying there / not
travelling and not staying overnight increases the
number of female participants, especially from more
traditional backgrounds. Women can often only
participate if they can sleep at home. Therefore it is
highly recommendable that Open Space events are
not organized in remote places when you want to
increase the number of participants, especially of
girls and women participating.
Conclusions
The consent regarding the first OS events in
Egypt is a thought provoking impulse for political
and civic education in transforming Arab societies.
Especially in phases of political transformations with
an uncertain outcome it seems to be important, not
only to reflect topics, but also forms and methods
of their implementation. “Conventional” conferences,
seminars and workshops are without an
alternative when specific knowledge s hall be
imparted and exchanged. This is nothing an OS can
do. However, where creative potentials shall be
awakened, soft skills trained and the structural
issues of a society reflected, OS is on a new and
cost-effective way. It was a stroke of luck that in
Egypt quasi a whole nation had its Open Space on
the Tahrir Square. Here, the new democratic rules of
the game were tested and practiced. And what
works in Egypt can also function in Tunisia, Libya,
Jordan, Lebanon and hopefully soon in other Arab
countries too. At present nowhere else will open
spaces for discussions of societies’ political future
be of more need than in the Arab world.