Lao Wedding Reception

Lao Wedding Reception

Originally uploaded by James Zwier.

Sarah and I had our picture taken as part of a small wedding reception we hosted for friends in Laos. She wore a traditional Lao sihn skirt (woven by our friend Mok) and a silk top made at the local market. I wore a version of my Chicago wedding clothes.

There are more photos on my flickr site (click on my name link in this post).

Open Space Technology

I’ve been researching Open Space Technology, a way of facilitating meetings and conferences that is radically decentralized and empowering. It is not a technology in the sense of computers, cars, or warp drives, but rather meaning a tool or a method (see Wikipedia). There is no agenda or plan before the meeting begins – only a simple topic phrased as a question. The facilitator explains the Rule of Motion and Responsibility (Law of Two Feet) and the principles that come from it, and then sits down to let the participants choose small discussion topics, host them, record them (paper, video, podcast, whatever), and then publish the results for everyone else to read. Here’s a photo slideshow that describes how a typical Open Space event unfolds.

I once participated in a conference that used Open Space Technology, hosted by PTEV. It was one of the most invigorating, passion-filled events I’ve ever seen.