After the Prato Dialogue October 10, 2006
Posted by Andy Roberts in : General , trackback
I returned from Florence on Sunday afternoon, lacking of sleep and travel weary, but stimulated by the discussion, people, and experience. Then it was straight back into the routine for Monday morning, with just enough time to upload my photoset to Flickr, and relate glimpses of my weekend to family and friend.
Joining in with a new group of friends who already have some common history and traditions can be a bit daunting at first, 
but I’ve done it before with other groups and only once found it impenetrable. And when there has been online interaction beforehand then sometimes you can hit the ground running, because you are in fact dealing with people you already know to some extent, with ongoing issues and debates, so there is never any shortage of things to talk about.
I gather this was CPsquare’s third such event, roughly, following dialogues in Setubal and Milan. It says on the ‘about’ page of the Prato Dialogue blog that “For many of us, where a social perspective on learning is the subject and the means of inquiry and the rallying point that brings us together these events are works of love. They are produced in moments stolen from our jobs, families and friends.” I only managed to steal enough time to attend for about 36 hours, and it was touch and go right up to the last minute whether I would be able to make it at all. In the end the feeling that I would somehow regret not making the extra effort to find a way motivated me to overcome obstacles and I’m really glad about that.
On Saturday morning the discussion began over breakfast and just carried on all morning. I noted that the conversation kept returning to the subject of blogging, which I don’t at all mind weighing in on, but it slightly puzzled me as the hot topic for a group of Communities of Practice people. 
It turned out that there had been some debate before I arrived, with recent convert bloggers contrasting against reluctant non-bloggers. I was reminded that we had that same tension in discussions about blogging at Ultraversity. At the lunch table, we were each formally responding to two set questions about our own paradoxes, boundaries, and trajectories, written up on a flip chart parked close to the table. A continuous series of camera flashes went off just a few feet from my eyes whilst I was trying to listen. Derek and Patricia were both keen to hear about the radical Ultraversity online degree course which I have recently completed, and that took up a fair chunk of my speaking time.
Then an adjournment to an internet cafe, where I bought 20 minutes time without any pressing need. Peter Jones commenting on this blog confirmed that it doesn’t display properly in Internet Explorer 6, and I could see that this was true in front of my own eyes. I’m going to upgrade to Wordpress 2.0 and find a new skin when I find some time…
Back in the grandly adorned but not always comfortable venue, the afternoon session 
began without any suggested theme or topic. Since we were in a room with walls covered in post-it notes from the previous day’s excercise, there was felt to be a need to explain the process which had led to them, and the conversation drifted on from there. I had little to contribute at first, and admit to feeling perplexed as to what the purpose was. I’ve never attended an Open Space event, nor an unconference so I would sit back and try to see how it works. In some ways it did allow some important topics to arise, and in other ways it may not have used valuable time as constructively as could be. At the other extreme, I wouldn’t want to be subjected to a series of mini lectures - monologuing - but I feel there is still a place sometimes for a prepared lead-off to initiate focussed dialogue. Etienne Wenger provided this in his own way by speaking of the concept of Knowledge Citizenship and his proposed research into Learning for a Small Planet.
And so on to a nearby restaurant where the conversation continues unabated and free wheeling. Some of the more peripheral topics which arose during the day included the world technology divide, politics of language, how open source developers earn a living, current world issues, Etienne’s original vision for CPsquare, group blogs, public and private, moral obligations of knowledge, um, and lots of other stuff.
When we got back it was late but somebody still wanted to discuss tomorrow’s agenda. Having spent all day indoors in rainy Florence I hoped if the weather was fine to at least see a small part of the famous city, particularly the bridges. There was also a suggestion to hear a bit more from me since I was having to leave before midday, so written on the flipchart were the words “Andy in the hotseat” which I thought at the time was just humour…
is an online professional who initiated DARnet 
I too found it strange … the concern about blogging. It brought home to me that something I take for granted is not a given, even in those places where I think it’s obvious.
P.S. I’m so glad you made it too.