Open Space back to Balama

The Open Space Conference methodology is a participatory approach activating existing knowledge and capacities while leaving out external input and teaching. An Open Space (OS) is a simple but effective people-driven process which identifies critical issues, voice passions and concerns, learning from each other, and taking collective responsibility for finding solutions. Everybody who is needed to answer the question or solve the problem at hand will be invited to the OS. The ultimate goal of an OS is to create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues of concern to them. It allows even a high number of participants to enter into an interactive and goal-oriented dialogue, to plan their future, to develop new ideas and projects, to find solutions, or to restructure their organization or community. In the late 1960ies Harrisson Owen worked as a photojournalist in Balama, Liberia. When developing the Open Space in the 1980s, Harrisson Owen was inspired by his experience in Balama, a rural community in Bong County.