Triggering a Cascade of Uplift:

Pattern Language Design Workshop July 21-22

Uplift Academy Organization Workshop July 23

 Santa Cruz Mountain Redwoods, in Ben Lomond, Ca.

 Law of Uplift: the world is a better place than you think, especially after applying the Law of Uplift.

Our next workshop will be held in Ben Lomond, Ca. located in the Quaker Center, July 20-23, 2003.  The formal workshop will begin 10:00 AM  on Monday, July 21^st, but people are welcome to show up after 5:00pm Sunday evening for informal conversation and dinner at a restaurant.  The first two days of the workshop will be lead by Richard Gabriel, on the topic of Uplift Pattern Languages. See why we are talking about patterns here.   The third day will be lead by Nancy Glock-Grueneich, Heather Wood-Ion, and Jane LaPointe, discussing organizational issues of an Uplift Academy. 

Do It Now Opportunities

 In keeping with our tradition of Doing Something in conjunction with a workshop, we have a rich collection of activities in which participants may engage after the workshop.  For the more technically inclined, we will be having a  workshop: Technologies and Approaches to Support an Uplift Pattern Language at Stanford University later in the summer of 2003.  We will be creating an Uplift Starter Kit prototype which will distill the visions of this workshop, seeking the simplest package of downloadable information which could be used to trigger entry into a feedback loop of communities and people engaging in uplift patterns.  We will be starting an Uplift Pattern Design system for people to enter and edit their patterns.  And, expecting the unexpected, there will likely be many more activities and interactions to follow.

Some Participants

Richard Gabriel,  who will be leading the Pattern Language Workshop, is one of the foremost interpreters of Christopher Alexander’s work on patterns  He received a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University in 1981, and an MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College in 1998. He has been a researcher at Stanford University, company president and Chief Technical Officer at Lucid, Inc., vice president of Development at ParcPlace-Digtalk, a management consultant for several startups and Sun Microsystems, and Consulting Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University.

            He currently is a Distinguished Engineer and chief scientist of a small laboratory at Sun Microsystems, researching the architecture, design, and implementation of extraordinarily large systems as well as development techniques for building them. He is Sun's open source expert, advising the company on community-based strategies. He is President of the Hillside Group, a nonprofit that nurtures the software patterns community by holding conferences, publishing books, and awarding scholarships. He is the lead guitarist in a working rock 'n' roll band and a poet.  Richard's interest bridge both the technical and humanitarian aspects of patterns and technology, and will be collaborating with GivingSpace in a forthcoming workshop in the summer of 2003 at Stanford University on technological approaches to supporting patterns for humanitarian uplift.

Marcia Odell  has won many awards for her successful work as founder of the Women’s Empowerment Program in Nepal, sponsored by PACT, including the “Change the World” Best Practice  Award from the Club of Budapest.  The World Bank and the Government of Japan, through the Global Development Network, cited her program as one of the ten most innovative development projects in the world in their 2000 development innovation competition.  This program is heavily based on the concepts of Appreciative Inquiry.  It pioneers several interesting patterns: of savings-led microfinance (women save their own money, and keep their capital in their own village, rather than assuming debt and interest payments to the "city"), self-organization  (her lecture in Nairobi 2 years ago lead to the formation of 64 women's groups, which went on to create over one hundred more), and self-propagation (women who learn to read go on to teach their friends), and autonomy-inducing help. (see below).  Beyond its success as a program in its own right, we will be looking at this program for inspiration for more general patterns of uplift.

This program, now called the  Worth Initiative, was featured in January 2003 issue of Glamour Magazine:

“125,000 of [Nepal's] poorest women recently taught themselves to read and operate village banks. "The men used to laugh at us for studying," participant Bipi Maya Tamang told a project field-worker. "Now they see so many changes. They encourage us." The program clearly boosted the women's confidence, but the benefits didn't stop there. "The women started businesses and nurseries," says Marcia Odell, who oversaw the recently completed project for Pact, an international development nonprofit. "They lobbied for roads and clinics, then tackled issues like alcoholism, domestic abuse and sex trafficking." Just three years later, 6,200 women's empowerment groups exist in Nepal."

Mac Odell, Marcia's husband and collaborator  who facilitated our May 2003 workshop, has many years experience in international development and appreciative inquiry,  will be introducing some  ideas for an Internet-based Uplift Starter Kit.  This will distill these lessons learned (and many others) into a a prototype of a simple, Internet downloadable package which can be used around the world to initiate and feedback insights into patterns of uplift.

Sharif Abdullah calls Christopher Alexander’s “A Pattern Language” one of the top 5 books to put on anyone’s bookshelf.  He is director of the Commonway Institute in Portland, Or.  His two books: “The Power of One, Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times”, and “Creating a World that Works for All.” are recommended reading for participants.  Growing up in some of the toughest social and economic conditions in Camden, NJ, he has also been an activist in the Sri Lanka, assisting Sarvodaya with its Peace Initiative, based on a Gandhian philosophy of non-violence; an island-wide organizational structure; and the ability to mobilize and motivate hundreds of thousands  of people with a clear vision of a post-conflict society.

Jerry Michalski of Sociate.com is former editor of Ester Dyson’s Release 1.0   He is one of the world's experts on the role of internet-mediated communities, and quite enthusiastic about the power of pattern languages.  He is working on his own list of 20 projects using a pattern language-approach.

Agenda: 

All sessions will be held at the Casa de Luz conference room, a 5 minute walk up hill from the Orchard Lodge where meals and on-site lodging will be handled.

Sunday, July 20:

Early bird arrival after 5 PM.    No meals planned, informal discussion, walk in the redwoods, dinner at restaurant, music.

Monday, July 21:

10:00 AM Begin workshop (participants will be asked to write a pattern that evening)

6:00 PM Completion of first day of workshop

Evening entertainment: story telling, music, drumming.

Tuesday, July 22: 

9:00 AM Second day of workshop

6:00 PM End of pattern language workshop

Wednesday, July 23:

9:00 AM .  Organizational Design Meeting, Facilitated by Nancy Glock-Gruenich, Heather Wood Ion, and Jane La Pointe.

5:00 PM  Adjourn Workshop. 

Participants must vacate rooms and Orchard Lodge must be cleaned up by 9:30 Weds Morning. 

Meeting Details:

The workshop will be held at Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, California, 10 miles north of Santa Cruz, 1 1/2 hours from San Francisco, and 45 minutes from San Jose.  See attached page for directions.  San Jose airport is the nearest major airport, although San Francisco and Oakland are acceptable alternatives.

            This center is a simple but beautiful complex set in the redwood groves in the Santa Cruz Mountains, providing a peaceful setting for our workshop.  On-site accommodations are typically two single beds per room, with a sink in the room and bathrooms down the hall.  Overnight participants are asked to bring their own bed sheets (twin size), pillow case, towel, soap, flashlight, and insect repellent.  Participants are requested to clean up their own rooms, and share in clean up after meals. The meeting hall is an uphill 5 minute walk from the Orchard Lodge residence area.  Participants may be driven up to the meeting hall, but parking up there is limited.  Participants may also get a motel room in Felton or Ben Lomond which are a few miles from the center.  Santa Cruz is also within driving distance.

Suggested Donations:

The financial goal of the workshop is to merely cover our costs. The following numbers are suggested donations to do so.  At the workshop we will announce total costs and let participants decide what to pay on an honor system. We suggest that those able to fund their participation on a corporate account pay the Corporate rate.  We suggest that those who stay at the lodge donate at the 'personal' level,.  and those who do not stay at the lodge donate at the 'Commuter' rate.  Payment is acceptable in cash or check made payable to the Visions of a Better World Foundation.

 Registration is via email to register@givingspace.org  

            Please send your name, contact information, and type of registration to the above email address, or fax it to (858) 756 3618.  Please also register yourself as a GivingSpace Friendly Favors user at www.favors.org/gs, and then RSVP for the workshop.  And please send in a photo for the Favors system-it makes for a much friendlier network!

Some Reading Material

Alexander, Christopher, "A Timeless Way of Building" and "A Pattern Language." (No need to read it all, but these are good sources on the theory of pattern languages") His latest book, "The Nature of Order" is also a very good read.

Gabriel, Richard, and Goldman, Ron: Mob Software: The Erotic Life of Code. Try reading this, substituting "uplift" for "program." Also, The Jini Community Pattern Language

Shuler, Doug, "A Pattern Language for Living Communication" and "Public Sphere Project"

Munnecke, Tom, Why a Pattern Language and Notes on Triggering a Cascade of Uplift as well as a photo essay on "The Quality Without a Name"

Abdullah, Sharif,  “The Power of One, Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times”, and “Creating a World that Works for All.”

Glock-Gruneich, Nancy, "Eliciting Compassion, Framing Truth, and Seeing What Isn't There." Towards a Pattern Language for Social Solutions.

For more information

Directions to Quaker Center

* photos by Rob Stephenson and Tom Munnecke