Open Space Technology for Constituent Assembly

Megha Ratna Shakya

Nepal is making headlines and history as its Constituent Assembly is beginning the work of writing Nepal's first peoples' constitution to chart out the country's destiny. People of Nepal have seen how meetings are conducted and ended in Nepal. The saying, that a meeting is an event that keeps minutes and gives away hours, is true in Nepal. We have meetings at homes, offices, communities, and parliament. Just think where we do not have meetings. But how many of us really think if the meetings are effective, conclusive and productive relative to the time and resources we spend on it.

First and foremost, there are certain codes of conduct most commonly known as the parliamentary procedure (basic principles, handling motions, voting, rules governing debates, boards and committees, the committee report, minutes, tabling of motions etc.) that people fail to follow in the meetings. Second, the meetings fail to be inclusive as more vocal and powerful dominate the show marginalizing the minority voice. Third, the meetings often end without any consent or conclusive decisions, which exacerbate the conflicts rather than solve the conflicts. These days we hear so much the word consensus but hardly have we heard consent. It is therefore important that an effective meeting system is adopted in the CA sessions.

One such system that may be most appropriate for the CA is the Open Space Technology that came to the world stage since 1986 when Harrison Owen of Maryland, USA promoted it and popularized across the globe, though he humbly expressed that the system was a global product of four continents that actively collaborated to develop it. Open Space is proven as a powerful meeting system to address complex issues. It may therefore be appropriate in situations like the CA where a major issue like framing the constitution must be resolved, characterized by high levels of complexity of carving various states, ensuring the rights of all protected, high levels of diversity (in terms of the numerous ethnic people involved), the presence of potential or actual conflict that are too obvious, and with a decision time of two years (four months have already been passed).

How does it work?
Seating arrangement is of prime importance in Open Space as the members sit forming a large circle. There could be several concentric circles to accommodate large number of participants. The whole idea is to allow everyone see and hear everyone else. The middle of the circle is kept empty, open and accessible to all the members where flipchart paper and marker pens are kept for any member to use. The walls around the room are used for displaying handwritten posters and messages. One special spot, a large blank area, in the wall is kept under a banner "marketplace" where participants post their issues or solutions. In the present venue of the Convention Centre at Baneshwor, the seating arrangement for the CA members has already been made in a traditional setting – all members of CA facing the Dias where the Speaker sits. However, if not at the center, at least an open space somewhere in the assembly hall could be created and many more circles created in the breakout rooms where numerous committees and sub-committees would meet.

Connecting
Open Space works like this. Members upon arrival at the assembly normally have some fellowship with a light conversation. This gathering is a unique opportunity for connecting with others who are eager to learn about, plan for, and take action in an area that they see as critical to the success of their own representations i.e. their constituents, the work of their parties or organisation(s), and/or their relationships with people of Nepal. This informal connection transcends the boundaries of political parities, ideologies etc. They connect first and foremost as Nepalese working for the welfare of the all the people of the country and renew their responsibility to craft a new constitution for New Nepal.

Focusing
The Speaker rings a chiming bell that breaks every conversation in the hall. As the sound of the bell settles, the Speaker of the parliament welcomes everyone into the CA with a brief word about the objective of the assembly of that day. The Speaker also points to the big empty wall as the agenda of CA to be filled with discussion topics related to the objectives of that day. The members will find this to be exciting step as they can indeed set the agenda for the day. This is participatory. This is inclusive. This is democratic and fair.

Self-Organizing
The Speaker explains the Four Principles of Open Space – (a) Whoever has been elected as a CA member is the right and qualified person for the job of helping write a new constitution, (b) Whenever the CA meeting starts is the right time to do the job, (c) Whatever happens in the CA is the only thing that could have happened, and (d) When CA meeting is over, it's over. What are the true messages of these principles for the CA members? - work hard for the sake of the country and its people, pay attention to every issue at hand, but be prepared to be surprised! Then there is one paramount law that is also explained - the Law of Two Feet which means if at any time during the day, any member of CA finds that one is not inspired, not able to concentrate, or contribute, he or she has the right and the responsibility to move... find another breakout session, visit the cafeteria for a cup of tea, take a walk outside the building, make a phone call, do anything - but NOT waste your's and other's time!

Action
The Speaker invites CA members to be ready to come to the center of the circle, and write down their burning issue, question, or an idea around the objective of the CA for that day in the flip chart and pin up in the wall. One would be surprised how many members would spring from their seats and start scribbling their offerings in the flip charts. Shortly, the first sessions starts. It is an amazing sight to see that the large circle is actually many small circles, in the corners of the room or in separate breakout rooms, each working on some important part of the main theme. When the sessions run in a number of days in a row, the members assembles in the morning and evening for short "news" sessions, where things like new sessions, major breakthroughs, and other plans are announced. If the CA members have one goal of writing the New Constitution for New Nepal, such a modus operandi for CA is possible even though the CA members are from diverse political parties.

Results
The Speaker convening a session takes the responsibility for capturing the notes with using the CA secretariat staff. The rule-of-thumb is that day one in Open Space is spent on a lot of discussion, day two is to document the proceedings, and day three is to address in a more formal manner to specific plans for immediate action. The CA meeting of the day concludes with a closing session. In the closing session, the CA members attest to the fact that, together, they have done what most would have thought was impossible to achieve. More specifically, they would have...

(1) Discussed on all of the issues of utmost importance as raised by CA members,
(2) Secured new ideas, resources and people related to these issues,
(3) Documented all of the proceedings and what next steps would be taken,
(4) Adopted strategic themes, clear priorities, immediate actions steps,
(5) Made available all of this information to CA members,
(6) Enabled the CA members to tell the outcome of the CA meeting to the Nepalese people.

Transforming
Open Space is simple yet very powerful in bringing out results in meetings. It starts with open-minded leadership first at the level of the Speaker of the House, to tackle an issue that really matters to the nation, and s/he makes a call to all CA members to co-create something new and amazing New Constitution for New Nepal. What happens in the CA meetings is an intense learning, sharing and productivity without any hidden agenda. The outcome is often a resolution with total consent of CA members, not just consensus. Open Space makes meetings most effective, fair, and inclusive. Open Space is also truly democratic as the majority can not dominate minority by ignoring their voice. The Open Space meetings always end in celebration of the accomplishments of the hard work and in expressing gratitude to people from within CA and outside for giving their time, energy and resources. Try Open Space and get the best out of the CA for the benefit of Nepal and Nepalese as a whole. The CA members should set aside their political differences at least for the period of this great task of writing a New Constitution for New Nepal. They will be blessed by 24 million people of the country.