D&D thought leaders to develop a collective response

[Sandy]

Initiated by Peggy Holman (Open Space â?€?“ US), Chris Corrigan, Mark Jones and Tom Atlee, a group of D&D thought leaders are participating in a conference call tonight (and another on Monday) â?€?œto determine what collective responses from the Dialogue and Deliberation community could facilitate deep listening and wise action to serve both the short-term needs of those directly affected and the long-term well-being of society and the world.â?€?

A bunch of impressive D&D leaders were invited to be a part of this (leaders of Future Search, Study Circles, the Global Facilitator Service Corps, Appreciative Inquiry, AmericaSpeaks, Conversation Caf?ƒ©, Letâ?€?™s Talk America, etc.). NCDD's official representative to this group is Board member Paul Alexander, Director of Regis University's Institute on the Common Good.

The groupsâ?€?™s current thinking about what we may be able to do together is posted on NCDD's wiki at http://www.wiki-www.thataway.org/index.php?page=KatrinaCrisis.

I'll keep everyone posted on the group's progress here.
_________________
Sandy Heierbacher
Convenor, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)

[Sandy]

Friends,

Katrina stormed into lives, communities, and our collective psyche, shaking business as usual and opening space for potential changes, from the most horrendous to the most hopeful. We are in the middle of one of America's greatest internal diasporas, and one of our greatest potential societal teaching moments.

When â?€?œcontainersâ?€?* are mindfully created, conversations can heal, open hearts and minds, solve problems, bring forth visions, and help people create life newly together.

We in the field of "dialogue and deliberation" (D&D) know a tremendous amount about crafting such containers for convening, hosting and supporting strategic conversations. By acting together, we have a chance not only to help, but to build collective capacity for handling future crises; and, beyond that, to catalyze the conscious, wholesome transformation of society.

We invite you to join us on:

Monday, September 13th at 2:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm EST and/or
Monday, September 19th at 1:00 pm PST, 4:00 pm EST, 9:00 pm GMT
for a 60-90 minute conference call among D&D thought leaders.


Our purpose:

To determine what collective responses from the Dialogue and Deliberation community could facilitate deep listening and wise action to serve both the short-term needs of those directly affected and the long-term well-being of society and the world.

To learn more about our thinking to date, visit http://www.wiki-www.thataway.org/index.php?page=KatrinaCrisis.

Below is our initial list of invitees. Please let us know if you can join us. If you can't be with us and feel this is important, please invite someone from your network to attend.

Coheartedly,

Tom Atlee
Peggy Holman
Chris Corrigan
Mark Jones

*A container is an energetic and psychic space that supports people in learning and working well together. A good "container" is grounded in purpose, engages a relevant diversity of participants, and involves a mindfully chosen process that serves the purpose and people well.


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INVITEES

Marv Weisbord - Future Search

Sandra Janoff - Future Search

Kenoli Oleari - Future Search

Harrison Owen - Open Space Technology

Vicki Robin - Conversation Caf?ƒ©/ Letâ?€?™s Talk America

Susan Partnow - Conversation Caf?ƒ©/ Letâ?€?™s Talk America

Sandy Heierbacher - National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation

Marge Schiller â?€?“ Appreciative Inquiry

David Cooperrider - Appreciative Inquiry

Diana Whitney - Appreciative Inquiry

Miki Kashtan - Non-violent Communication

Martha Mc Coy - Study Circles Resource Center

Lars Hasselblad Torres - America Speaks

Gilbert Brenson-Lazan - Global Facilitators Service Committee

Juanita Brown - World Caf?ĩ

David Isaacs â?€?“ World Caf?ƒ©

Taylor Willingham - National Issues Forums

Dick Axelrod â?€?“ Conference Model+

Dale Peskin - Media Center

Nancy White - Technology

Gabriel Shirley- Technology


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HOSTS

Tom Atlee - Co-Intelligence Institute

Peggy Holman - Open Circle Company

Chris Corrigan â?€?“ Open Space Technology

Mark Jones â?€?“ The Sunyata Group



________________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 746-6274

www.opencirclecompany.com

--
_________________
Sandy Heierbacher
Convenor, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)

[Sandy]

Here's some of what the group has posted on the NCDD wiki:

FURTHER REFLECTIONS ON CONVERSATIONS WITH KATRINA

--

The Content of Conversations that Matter

There is a natural flow to the content of conversations for those directly affected by Katrina: safety, vision, co-creation. As safety needs are met, the conversation turns to vision. As vision comes into coherence, bringing it to life becomes the focus.

For others, conversations range across the terrain of the impact and implications of this disaster.

Hereâ?€?™s a preliminary map:

Safety
(Physical | Emotional | Mental | Spiritual)

Vision
(Character | Function | Physical Structure | Economic Models)|
People asking what is it I/we want? What is the character of the
city/region? "Do we want this to be a big industrial park, or Bourbon Street, or Auburn Park, etc?"

Co-creation
(Taking responsibility for what has heart and meaning)
Working with others and with the social and natural dynamics that are present to bring visions to life, responding to changing conditions as they occur

Impact & Implications
(New Orleans | Regions | Nations | World | . . .)
These are the conversations that concern matters beyond the immediate needs of those involved, the rebuilding of their lives and places, and the adversarial rhetoric or partisan politics. They concern the nation, the world, the future, etc. They offer powerful questions that transform people's thinking and stimulate learning, increasing our capacity to face future unknowns and crises.

--

Roles that Conversations Can Play

Here are some potential topics for conversation that could serve us well through this time. This map provides some insight into the scope of the work to be done in the short, medium and long term. (Not surprisingly, some of these conversations could fit within multiple headings.)

Although these conversations add up to wise, life-affirming choices in the face of catastrophe, they often involve very different people in different circumstances with different goals. What is significant to us is that they all require high quality conversation, the gift we have to give.

Safety

â?€¢ helping individuals and organizations and institutions cope with unprecedented situations

â?€¢ healing the personal trauma of victims and their supporters

â?€¢ helping those in Katrina's diaspora to find their way into new lives

Vision

â?€¢ opening new possibilities about recovery and rebuilding, and about who decides what happens next

â?€¢ inviting new shared visions that catalyze movement towards wholeness and sustainability

Co-creation

â?€¢ resolving or usefully engaging conflicts about how to proceed

â?€¢ redirecting energies trapped in political blamesmanship to more empowering directions

â?€¢ healing fragmentation at all levels, from the intrapersonal to the national

Impact & Implications

â?€¢ looking more deeply into what is happening, what it means, and who we have become - and can become

â?€¢ enabling shared learning that will improve our collective response to future crises

â?€¢ helping D&D professionals find creative niches in all these conversations, in service to life and the whole

--

Creating Containers for Conversations that Matter

Our work is creating the containers, inviting those practices and practitioners who can facilitate deep listening and conversations that lead to wise action.

A container is an energetic and psychic space that supports people in learning and working well together. A good container is grounded in purpose, engages a relevant diversity of participants, and involves a mindfully chosen process that serves the purpose and people well.
Two questions:

â?€¢ As thought leaders, what are the implications of Katrina for the community of D&D practitioners?

â?€¢ What can we learn about the meme of mobilizing local conversations everywhere so that we are better equipped to engage the remarkable practitioner networks the next time a crisis calls for our skills?

--

Questions for Thought Leaders

As we face the enormity of Katrina's impact on society, what can we do better together than we can apart?

What about this crisis makes it especially compelling to work with? What special promise or possibilities does it hold?

Considering our common skills, knowledge, and resources, how might we best use the opportunities of this moment to serve

- the immediate obvious needs of people involved in this crisis?
- the mid-term needs of affected communities?
- the long-term vitality of humanity and life on Earth?

What is the best thing that could happen to the dialogue and deliberation field (or movement) as a result of this crisis?

These questions are intended to stimulate, not restrict, the full range of responses we may have. Our aspiration is that new directions or activities emerge from among us, along with a commitment by some of us to continue and expand this conversation into our networks and into society.
_________________
Sandy Heierbacher
Convenor, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)

[Leah Lamb]

The following message was posted on the NCDD listserv:

hi all,

i'd like some quick help from any of you who'd like to play.?‚  based on conversations with some of you, and questions i've been living with, i woke this morning with a simple, doable 'good idea.':

?‚ 

the Conversation Cafes are going to send out some "hip pocket questions" for general use in talking re katrina.?‚  i read the ones some of you developed, and many articles and reports and came up with the following brief intro text and some sample questions.?‚  they point in the direction i think an hpq should go, but need help.?‚  imagine yourself asking someone in the grocery line each question - or someone over lunch. listen for embedded assumptions, cadence, openness, an sense of welcome, a spark for getting someone to speak from the heart, accessibility, simplicity.?‚  they should not just invite a rant against the government or any particular political group?‚ but get people to think about how the big thing relates to their little lives.?‚  see what changes you'd make, which work, which don't, what other ones you'd suggest.

?‚ 

i'd like to send these out by wednesday next week to the cc list so need responses by end of day monday.?‚  it's okay with me if we send out only one - or even up to?‚ half a dozen (but no more), if they are each zingers.?‚ 

?‚ 

thank you,

vicki

now the set up and the questions:

?‚ 

When Katrina breached the levees, flooding New Orleans, it also broke down barriers in our minds and hearts, flooding us with essential questions about responsibility, about poverty, race and class, about America as a great nation and about our uncertain future.?‚  We are all now looking around our lives â?€?“ where are â?€?œthe leveesâ?€? in our cities and our personal lives that are set to be breeched??‚  What do we fix? What do we scrap? What do we farm out to experts? What do we do for ourselves? Is our community prepared for breakdowns??‚  Are we??‚  When â?€?œsh-t happensâ?€? who is responsible?
?‚ 
Below are some?‚ â?€?œhip pocket questionsâ?€? to raise in conversations you are having.?‚  A "hip pocket question" is a simple question you carry around in your â?€?œhip pocketâ?€? and ask friends over coffee, strangers in the grocery line, groups at work or at parties.?‚  They are designed to be open ended, non-positional and reflective, seeding a stance of inquiry and learning in circumstances of polarization and blame. They have no â?€?˜right answer.â?€?™ They are also useful for Conversation Cafes (www.conversationcafe.org) and other more formal dialogue events.
?‚ 
HPQ: everyone agrees that US government response to Katrina was unworthy of â?€?œa great nation.â?€? What made America a â?€?œgreat nationâ?€? in the past? What do we rightly expect from our government â?€?“ and from one another â?€?“ for America to be â?€?˜a great nationâ?€?™ again?
?‚ 
HPQ: Who or what was responsible for the many breakdowns in New Orleans? In your community, what support do you need from national, state and local governments, from other institutions and from your neighbors to feel confident that you can meet future crises effectively?
?‚ 
HPQ: what is the best that could come from Katrina?
?‚ 
HPQ: in responding to community crises,?‚ what's the job of good citizens, what's the job of good government??‚  where can a citizen of America expect to turn for help?
?‚ 
HPQ: when sh-t happens, who is responsible?
?‚ 
HPQ: whatâ?€?™s the Katrina, the gathering storm, heading towards your life? what can you learn from the Katrina failures to meet your Katrina well?
?‚ 
HPQ: If you were on the planning team to rebuild the Gulf cities affected by Katrina, what three questions or principles would you suggest the team use to make the best choices?
?‚ 
?‚ 
-------------------------------
Vicki Robin
P.O. Box 1501
Langley, WA 98260
(206) 769-3424 cell
(360) 221-2251 land
Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.
Gandhi


Leah Lamb
NCDD Listserv Moderator
Berkeley, CA