#OneTeamGovGlobal…. Welcome to The Heart

“Connecting to one’s best future possibility and creating powerful breakthrough ideas requires the intelligence of the heart and the hand — not just the intelligence of the head.”

C. Otto Scharmer

It’s just before 6:00am at the Victoria Conference Centre. Around 10 of us are already here, finishing setting up for One Team Gov Global. A few hundred of us, from across Canada and around the world, are gathering today for an unconference about public sector reform. (Unconference? Public sector reform? Yes. More about that in a moment). How we can change the way we work through practical action and a user experience lens? As part of the user experience team, I have worked to create a hub for shared experiences and spontaneous activities throughout the day.

How can we support people to connect in new ways? To generate new ideas? To inspire one another and the broader community?

First, what’s an unconference? Effectively, it’s a 100% participant-driven gathering. John Kenney’s note on his 2018 experience explains it well: “Instead of listening to keynotes and panelists all day, we shared and learned with each other. We benefited from the diversity of experiences and perspectives in the room. No one person was the expert or put on a pedestal above others.”

And a bottom up movement championing public sector reform? Yes. #OneTeamGov operates based on a set of principles to help generate a shared understanding of what it means to embody and practice change:

• Care deeply about citizens
• Be diverse and inclusive
• Experiment and iterate
• Take practical action
• Work in the open and positively
• Work across borders
• Embrace technology

I have been privileged to work with the conference’s user experience team for the past six or so months to help make sure participants have a phenomenal. We have been working with the ideas of HEAD, HEART, and HANDS. The open space breakout sessions and related conversations offer an opportunity to think, and work with the head. The heart is our shared physical space, where we’ll all begin and end the day, and offer a space for conversations in between. We also have some activities set aside for participants to use their hands, and to take practical actions to build on their unconference experience.

The Heart is a space for connection: We planned some activities, and have made space to support spontaneous conversations

How can we bring our whole selves to the day? We have created spaces to both connect with one another, and to connect inward, with one’s self.

• Setting our intentions: Two colleagues have created a wall for people to interact with images and consider their intentions for the day.
• Opening and closing ceremonies: We’ll all be together, connected, in the Heart, twice today.
• “Heartbeat mapping”: Want to discuss some ideas that extend beyond the agenda we set this morning? Join us for a guided exercise to map our assumptions, patterns, and insights through a guided exercise. These will shape eight breakout sessions taking place later this afternoon.
• Reflective Practices: I opened a conversation a while back about what questions people use when they reflect on their experiences. We have collected what people shared, and have posted the installation — with space to add more!

• Sharing a piece of ourselves: Who are we and what inspires us? People have shared quotes and images that reflect who they are. We’ve posted what we have so far, and welcome additions to the wall.
• LEGO: Who plays with lego? Who’s into serious play? Want to add some dimension to your discussions? Come by and grab a bin.
• Campfire: Want to unpack something you heard? Continue a conversation? Come sit at our “fire”. Participants have come from around the world, and we want to make sure there is space for meaningful conversation.
• Campfire conversations: Colleagues from the Centre for Public Impact, and the Privy Council Office, will share some recent thinking on legitimacy, engagement, and connecting with one another.
• Creative practices: A talented colleague from Ontario will share an artistic practice with us. I have also heard a rumour that there may be dancing. Come by at 2:30 this afternoon to find out whether it is true.
• Moving to action: Wondering what to do with your experience? Check out the Paper Plane Exchange, and our postcard station, which will both be underway at the end of the afternoon

Need some stillness or quiet? We’ve got you covered. There’s a room for meditation, colouring, and general calm, plus signs directing people to the ocean, and treed spots.

Curious, but not with us in Victoria today? Please do chime in, either by commenting on this post or tagging us at #OneTeamGovGlobal. See you in The Heart.