In the run-up to the oe-day, we were very uncertain and asked ourselves:

• How is this topic, which occupies us so intensively and at the same time seems so far removed from the context of „organisational development“, received?
• How do our long-standing Berlin participants react to the fact that we are going to Halle?
• And how are we ourselves „capable of speaking“ on this topic, as a group of colleagues in which more Western than Eastern socialisation has taken place?

We wanted the oe-day to offer space to explore the different experiences - in storytelling sessions, impulses, dialogue formats and workshops.

Tell a personal story

Right from the start, it became clear how powerful and challenging it is when people from different backgrounds and backgrounds share their stories. Joana Ebbinghaus and Lysan Escher told the first biographical stories of the day, and this continued throughout the day: very personal experiences were shared again and again.

It was not about attribution, but about exploration. Not about guilt or justification, but about resonance. And about the question of how we can create spaces in organisations in which diversity is not covered up, but held. In many cases, this was also possible and feasible on the oe-tag because three great people were available as „contact persons for inner movement“ and the participants knew that they would not be left alone with their emotions. Even though this option was only used a little, the feedback was that the availability alone was helpful to stay in dialogue in a different way.

Even if it became difficult at times not to slip out of the description into attributions, there was always help to open the heart and mind and not to lose curiosity while listening. Our conceptual starting point, to look at East AND West as consistently as possible, could not be realised as far as we would have liked and so the focus remained on life and the fall of communism in the East.

Listening as an active practice

Also - and perhaps precisely - because of these dynamics, it was an oe-day full of diverse perspectives. Listen was the defining attitude of the day: open, unintentional, attentive. The magic of listening unfolded its power: connections were created, understanding was more important than judgement, spaces for insight, trust and shared learning were opened up, perception was broadened and even silence was listened to.

This allowed tensions to become tangible - and therefore also productive. It became clear: Only when we stop prematurely smoothing over differences is there a chance for real understanding. Participants described how beneficial it was to be able to show their perspectives without having to immediately explain or categorise.

Orientation through focus

The „Listening Lenses“ provided helpful orientation: seven focus points, from which everyone chose one and to which we could direct our listening attention throughout the day. This led to the formation of so-called “lens groups”, which met three times throughout the day and allowed the richness of the day's content to become visible at the end.

Our core competence “organisational development” was less in demand than usual on this oe-day and we enjoyed looking far beyond the horizon. In any case, the takeaway from oe-tag 2025 is: keep asking questions and keep listening - even and especially where it gets personal and, above all, where it gets uncomfortable.