Conversation Circle / Cercle sur les conversations

disclaimer: Here are some notes I typed up during the discussion. This doesn’t represent anything “official” ;-)

link to event

Moderateur: Kenneth Werbin

see photos here. There are annotations and hyperlinks on some of the photos if you want to know a few of the people.

Guest: Paul Shore
Paul Shore est un entrepreneur social et chef du bureau au Canada du réseau « Guerrilla News » (gnn.tv). La longue carrière de Paul en tant que réalisateur/producteur inclut des courts métrages aux réseaux CNN et Fox News. Ses films provocants, dont « IBM and the Holocaust » et « Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 » peuvent être visionner à http://gnn.tv . Paul est aussi co-fondateur et directeur des médias pour l’organisation « Apathy is boring », dont la mission est « . . . d’employer les arts, les médias et la technologie pour encourager les jeunes à s’engager dans le processus politique et ainsi révolutionner la démocratie.»

Note: This public conversation takes place during Journées Alternatives. See the events tomorrow and Sunday if you’re interested.

I’m not going to try to provide a summary of the discussion, but I invite people to add their recollections and commentaires in the comment section below (en Francais ou Anglais).

Phrases/Questions/Points to consider:

-Is forwarding an email considered “activism”? - before social movements used to take to the streets.

-How can we build a way in which we relate to each other on a human level while still using this new technology?

-How can the revolution happen on-line when the powers that be have much better use of these technologies?

-Is technology neutral?

Yes, it is just a tool.
vs.
People creating encryption technology with the intention for individuals to use it to keep information private.

-There was a lot of discussion about language, but I wouldn’t know how to summarize it. Anybody want to fill this in?

-The affect that technology is having on the socialization of children. How will our the current crop of kids relate to the world / each other after having grown up on videogames, internet?

-Point for discussion: What does everyone think of me taking notes and photos on people? Criticisms? Is it helpful for anyone? One word for it is sousveillance aka “Little Brother”.

As Ken said, see you at the next conversation.
Security and Surveillance: How big is Big Brother? - Oct 19th.

Okay people. We seem to be slowing down over here. That’s okay, but there’s two I need to expose you two so I don’t feel amiss as a your blogging host. They are both about blogging as public conversation.

First - making hyperlinks in your posts.
I noticed that few of you have put hyperlinks in your entries. That is a big part of what makes blogging a public conversation. You link to other people’s thoughts (both other bloggers and articles by “real” journalists) and ask your own questions or provide your own feedback.
For this tool (blogsome) the way to make a link to something is (when you’re writing your post) to highlight the word you want to make into a hyperlink, and then click on the button “link” which is right above the box you’re writing in. It will ask you for the url and you enter it and click “ok”. Simple as pie.

Second - commenting.
None of you comment. Well, there were one or two. Blogs are meant to be spaces for interaction. That doesn’t mean that every post gets 10 comments, but if you have a reaction to someone’s entry *please* share it. That’s why the person put it out there. If she didn’t care what you thought, then she wouldn’t be blogging it.
It’s relatively painless. I suggest you try it by clicking at the bottom of an entry on the words “No comments”. This link will change to “1 comment” as soon as someone gives it a go.

my friend sylvain recently was writing about the public aspect of blogging.

Écrire en public

He’s been blogging for a while (5 years I think) and owns a new technology company. I think he’s got a valuable perspective on these things. Also, the questions he’s addressing are the ones that people who aren’t bloggers (like most of you) usually ask. Interesting read. If you have any comments, please either leave them here (by clicking on “comments” below) or feel free to leave them on Sylvain’s site.

-mike

Hi everyone,
It was an amazing experience sharing a few days with you last week. Thanks to all for the kind and supportive words, regarding the planning and facilitation of the session. In reality, it is incredible what happens when a group of people come together to reflect on something with varied and diverse experience and perspectives.

Since the Learning Circle session, I have not had much time to reflect on the context of the session, despite it being part of my daily life. This afternoon, Jessie Sutherland will be facilitating a public conversation on Aboriginal-Canada reconciliation (http://univcafe.concordia.ca/html/event.html#reconciliation). It should be interesting to host it in a park, with a picnic premise.

Another point of interest relates to the outreach that was pursued for this event. Perhaps this will be of interest. For this event, and increasingly throughout the program, we have been developing partnerships with a range of organisations. This time around, it has involved Worldview Strategies, the Centre de Paix de Montreal, the Wampum Centre and others. The outreach was conducted through the usual cafe and email networks, but also through some of the networks of the different partners. Each of these networks is a different (though sometimes overlapping) community. In the past, the most diverse and well-attended conversations involved this type of outreach, thus attracting people who are specifically interested and involved in the issues, while still keeping the conversations open to the general public. Back to the in-group/out-group outreach, both of which I think are very important to ’setting the table’, as Dave Beckwith (from the Needmor Foundation - US-Based) mentionned and empashised the other day, or preparing the ground/soil, as critically important in the development process…

I have never used the Blog as a methodology and medium of writing. It seems interesting, if it is used. Mike, thank you for setting this up and encouraging its use.

Eric

We are looking at using open space as one of several large group processes/methodologies at c2d2. Not sure yet at what point in the three-four day conference we will do this. Certainly not all day and every day as one of our objectives is to use several methodologies so that conference delegates be exposed to as many as reasonable.

Also, the deadline for responses to the call for proposals has been extended to August 1. What has not been extended is the early bird registration fee. It will be $375 + GST = $401.25, until June 30. You can register online at www.c2d2.ca.

This is so much fun. Sandra. 10/4

Hi all. This is a first for me. Great two days last week. As a matter of fact, I really wanted to come back to Montreal this week to attend Jessie’s public conversation on Reconciliation. Hope if goes well Jessie. Someone let me know how it goes if anyone goes.

I have been in touch with several conference organizer colleagues about my participation in the learning circle on public conversations last week. Eric and Joanne and others, there is an opportunity to bring the experience here to Ottawa and in advance of the conference. One of our committees is looking to outreach projects in the community and bring the learning to the conference. I think that this could be done by and with the National Capital Commission on a topic which could be determined in concert with them and our Outreach group. Eric or others at the Institute would need to coach the Ottawans in public conversations or University of the Streets Cafe…if anyone is interested, let me know and I will put you in touch with the appropriate person here in Ottawa.

Also, I am thinking of going to Herardo’s session in July if my timetable permits. I really want to see one of these in action.

Cheers all. Hope this works. This is a first. Sandra. 10/4

I wanted to share this with Sandra for her conference, but I thought the rest of you might be interested as well. My friend is currently attending a training at John Abbott College on educating on human rights abuses.

She was learning about OpenSpace Technologies. Here’s a (marketing sounding) quote from their website:
In Open Space meetings, events and organizations, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance, such as: What is the strategy, group, organization or community that all stakeholders can support and work together to create?

“With groups of 5 to 1000 — working in one-day workshops, three-day conferences, or the regular weekly staff meeting — the common result is a powerful, effective connecting and strengthening of what’s already happening in the organization: planning and action, learning and doing, passion and responsibility, participation and performance. See also WorkingInOpenSpace (Guided Tour). ”

It lets people decide on an agenda together instead of it being set by the organizers. Also it’s big on setting up a structure to let things happen, instead of pre-determining the outcome and guiding people towards it.

I’m going to be using stuff like it for this conference in september. I’ll try to remember to come back here and let you all know how it went.

mike

Hi everyone

Friday evening, the summer program is over, my first time. I want to tell you that the 2 days we shared were the most successful experience for me, out of the whole week. Thursday was a bit of a flop for me, maybe in contrast, because I didn’t find the same spirit of sharing and community that I had experienced with you. I guess also the fact that we went on together for 2 days made a big difference in that regard. I intend to continue these conversations with some of you, maybe through the university cafes series, maybe through this medium, time will tell. I’m pretty open to making things happen, and now we have started to build bridges, so, like Gerardo (much easier to write than to say!), I’m excited…
Marie-Pierre

Hi everyone. Please make these corrections on your email list :

jennifer_macdonald a t hotmail com
bliterovich a t kmts ca

Here is the web site address of the Public Conversations Project. I found very helpfull the page on Tool box/Dialogue guides.

http://www.publicconversations.org

I am interested in experiencing different kinds of conversation, dialogues or similar approaches. I will try to attend the C2D2 conference on dialogue… but meanwhile if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

On top of the huge amount of information shared by everyone, the workshop on public conversations was a great experience in itself. Thanks to Janice and Eric for the flexible yet effective frame of work and for feeding us with the nuts and bolts on public conversations.

I am very stimulated by your deep involvements in your communities. My own project evolves around opening the emotional chanel to put back individuals into action. But I suspect my approach to the problems of our planet is very naïve and it explains my need to learn a lot more about different approaches to specific community situations.

I think each one of us as individual holds a part of the solution but we are a not able to grasp it directly. It is by interacting with one another, in an authentic relationship (even if it is a very short one), I feel we get closer to the bit of wisdom and peace necessary to find some solutions. The four touchstones of reconciliation made so much sense to me…

Carole

Hello to all. I just wanted to try this out.
Thanks again to Janice and Eric for the wonderful workshop. I have yet to completely digest the two days but do feel I have the tools to enhance our progams here.
I can’t wait to hear about all the wonderful ways you use what we’ve learned.

Julie