Each community has its own language and vocabulary can change or be created within that culture. The same is true for the community of Open Space facilitators and enthusiasts. To assist you in understanding some of the words we use in our discussions, writing and practice and to help you develop materials for your Open Space events, here are translations and definitions in several different languages.

If time, budget and access will allow, people participating in your Open Space event from various cultures will appreciate your efforts to translate your signage, forms and handouts into the languages spoken by different portions of the group. If you do wish to translate these terms and do not find those translations here, and as facilitators have used Open Space in over 100 countries, we may be able to find you a correct translation. If you would like to contribute a language to this glossary, I welcome you - please contact me at lisaheft@openingspace.net. Keep in mind that this should not be a literal translation but one informed by what these different concepts and words mean in Open Space, particularly – carefully-chosen words that can communicate what is the intention of these phrases. It is good to use several people to offer translation recommendations for the same item, as languages vary by region and levels of formality. And it is best to use people whose first language is that particular language, as well as people who actually do translation -- rather than people who just happen to speak a language. A literal translation word for word of any phrase is not, indeed, a cultural translation, nor is it one that can capture the nuances of the message being shared.