| Here are questions that we will discuss in the full day workshop
at the International Conference
on Communities and Technologies. The full
workshop description is available here. It is an organized reflection on the
Lisbon Dialog. 1. Authority and legitimacy.
Do 'core' members of a community have greater authority to change things? Without
formal leadership, can change be legitimized? Can newcomers shape the course of
a community of practice? 2. Ways of talking. Finding effective ways
to talk (large groups vs. small, walks to and from lodging vs. "sessions",
case studies vs. "inquiries") were challenging domains of experimentation.
Does phase change require new genres and new language? What might this mean? Where
do the new ways come from and what happens to the "old"? 3.
Rites of passage. At the Setúbal meeting, plans to 'hatch' the next
stage of CPsquare were discussed. These were contested by participants comfortable
with the ideology, modes of address and structures of the 'earlier' version. How
easy is it for CoPs to survive different stages of development? Can personal growth
be aligned with community transformation? Does phase change mean new members,
or are existing community members 'renewed'? 4. Online and offline.
The Setubal dialog, an offline interaction, drew much of its power from the online
preparation and work of many of the participants. The 'maintenance' of the experience,
after the week's event, has also happened online. What is the status of 'visitors',
or those who were not involved in the pre and post online activity? How active
and how constant do members of a community have to be? Can a community be 'held'
by a few dedicated members? How do strangers and visitors affect the status quo? 5.
The reflective community. CPsquare may be seen as a metalevel, or 'second
order' organization, that drives exchange of experience among practitioners from
a wide range of domains who have an apostolic role in their different professions.
To what extent can the CPsquare experience inform local practice? Are there transferable
or foundation experiences? Can lessons be learned? How complex are these? 6.
Being a "founding outsider". During the four and a half days, a
majority of the participants reported that they felt like "outsiders"
in one way or another-and at one point or another. What was that about? Is that
kind of discomfort a correlate of learning depth in a social learning environment?
7. Phase-change outcomes. Many participants had the strong sense
that a phase change had occurred, but there would be a remarkable diversity of
accounts of what exactly the change was. Would someone outside "the community"
be able to recognize the significance of the event or of the change?
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