Focus on Inclusion
Posted 26 March 2008
The Social Planning Council in partnership with Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran invites you to participate in a unique community forum, Focus on Inclusion.
This will be a one-day event, bringing together the many voices of our community to lead the way to enhance Waterloo as an inclusive community.
When: Friday, April 18
Where: The Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology
Accelerator Centre, Research and Technology Park
University of Waterloo, 295 Hagey Blvd., Suite 240
Waterloo, Ontario
Time: Registration 8:30 a.m.
Open Space Forum 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Lunch provided
Please mark your calendars for this important date. Through an open space approach to raise the questions of what requires action now and what action is required, participants will play an active role in defining strategies that will strengthen Waterloo’s Focus on Inclusion.
No cost for this event. Please register by April 14 to:
focusoninclusion2008.eventbrite.com
or
Colleen Sargeant
Administrative Assistant to the Mayor
City of Waterloo
csargeant@city.waterloo.on.ca / 519-747-8700
or
Susan Mainland
Project Coordinator
Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo
admin@waterlooregion.org/519-579-1096 Ext 3005
Agenda
- 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration and refreshments
- 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Welcome and objectives
- 9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Opening the space and setting up inclusion discussion groups
- 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. First round of discussion groups
- 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon Posting and review of morning discussion results
- 12:00 noon - 12:45 p.m. Lunch
- 12:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Second round of discussion groups
- 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Posting and review of afternoon discussion results
- 3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Giving voice and focus to what has emerged
- 3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Closing
Focus on Inclusion in Waterloo
The Waterloo Community Action Forum is jointly sponsored by the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo and the City of Waterloo Mayors office. The theme is focused on taking action to make Waterloo more socially and economically inclusive of all members of the community. The purpose for issuing an invitation to the Forum is to begin to define a social development agenda for the Waterloo community.
What is Open Space?
Open Space Technology (OST) is a meeting methodology. It is also a philosophy and a life practice. What determines whether something is open space or not is that participants can take responsibility for ensuring what they know and care about is included in what is discussed - from taking the lead to host a dialogue on the topic they feel strongly about, to participating fully in discussions and to taking action in follow up to what is discussed. When participants take responsibility, the needs of both the individual and the collective are met.
Use of the term OST was first attributed to Harrison Owen in 1986. This method has been used all over the world by thousands of practitioners for groups of people from 4 to over 2000. It has been used in over 100 countries and in widely diverse settings, from designing aircraft doors at a large aircraft manufacturing company to engaging street kids in defining a sustainable jobs program. OST enables groups of any size to address complex, important issues and achieve meaningful results quickly.
Open Space Principles
The organizing theme of an Open Space meeting is that people who care about the subject will come together. The initial meeting notice takes the form of an invitation, thus the people who have attended have chosen to be there and are willing to contribute.
While the mechanics of Open Space provide a simple means to self-organize, it is the underlying principles that make it effective both for meetings and as a guidepost for individual and collective effectiveness. The Law of Mobility expresses the core idea of taking responsibility for what you are passionate about. In practical terms, the law says that if you're neither contributing nor, getting value where you are, go somewhere where you can. It is also a reminder to stand up for your passion.
The Open Space Process
The Facilitator will explain the OST process and then invite participants to co-create the agenda for the day. During this part of the meeting, participants can raise any issue or idea they feel passionate about and are prepared to take responsibility for leading a discussion on that topic during the day. Once all ideas have been generated, some processing may be done to integrate these into the final set of topics for the day. Following that, participants will be asked to sign up for discussion groups.
In the one day Focus on Inclusion event, there will be time for two (2) break-out periods and space for up to seven (7) discussion groups. Discussions will be held in designated areas or separate rooms known as 'breakout spaces' and participants are free to move amongst the discussion groups. In each group a recorder will be assigned to record the conversations. Copies of these will be printed and displayed for review by all participants in the Market Place area. Copies of all proceedings from the day will be available for distribution after the day is over.
After each small group discussion periods, the results from each discussion will be posted for all participants to review. Towards the end of the day, a large group discussion will be convened to give voice to what has emerged through the day.
How to Bring Issues and Ideas Forward
When the 'space is opened', the facilitator will invite participants to bring forward what they are passionate about - what are your burning issues and ideas related to creating a more inclusive community in Waterloo? The guiding question for the day is - what needs action to increase the inclusion of everyone in Waterloo?
Anyone can bring forward an issue and those who do are expected to provide leadership for the discussion during one of the break out periods. The Facilitator will ask participants to write their issues/idea and this will be posted. Some processing of ideas may take place and once all ideas are generated, the Facilitator will assist the group as a whole to shape the agenda for the day. Participants will sign up for the topics they feel most moved to discuss.
Each discussion group will be guided by the following questions:
- What needs action related to this topic?
- What action is needed to increase inclusion?
- Who will take action?
In each discussion group, the actions that each of the participants' is prepared to take will be identified. This will be the foundation of the community's action plan. Follow up meetings are planned over the coming year to report on progress and engage further discussion on the topics raised at the April 18th Forum.
How to Prepare for the Inclusion Forum
Think about what is important to you about the inclusion of everyone in the community. Consider what discussions you want to be a part of on the Forum day. Come prepared to be part of a dialogue with others. Know that your energy, commitment and passion will guide your participation and ultimately what action you are prepared to take coming from the day. We all share responsibility for the success of the day and the action we are prepared take to make a difference in the community.