Openings in Israel
This report in this week from OpenSpaceTech colleague Avner Haramati, in Jerusalem…
Nine months ago we opened a space in a Regional Council that includes 25 villages and Kibutzim (corporate villages). They decided to build a five years strategic plan for the region together with the inhabitants. Eleven teams worked on the issues that stemmed from the Open Space. Last friday, ten teams that included inhabitants (130 of them) and civil servants presented their final suggestions in an open event/market to the public and guests and were acknowledged as the official guidelines of the strategic plan. The teams decided that they want to continue. The issue of the eleventh team was “clear as mud” and was publicly declared by the Head of the Council as the next focal point.Congratulations (and thanks!) to Avner and Tova on their unfolding successes!The event and all the process was declared by the Inhabitants and the Academic and Govenmental guests as the first manifestation of real participatory democracy that they have experienced and they were thrilled. One of the inhabitants shared her understanding of the process: ” We were excited by the four principles but I would like to add to the fourth: It ends when it ends but then it starts again.” Or as Tova said, ” After nine months the baby was born but now all the work of raising him up starts.” It seems that they are getting addicted to this, and our role along the way is just slightly to remind them of the tune (in their words).