In an ongoing effort to engage with the broad expanse of Group Relations work in the world, we’d like to mention a few things that are going on internationally.
First, there’s a conference going on right now in South Africa that came to our attention via Ellen Short, who heard about it from its director, Jean Cooper. The Board joined Ellen in her vision to offer our support to Group Relations work the world over, and AKRI donated to the scholarship funds for the event. You can read more about it here and proudly know that AKRI has a part in learning that’s going on right now.
Next, there are three upcoming international conferences on the AKRI calendar. Coming up in February is OFEK’s annual residential conference , entitled “Authority and Leadership In Uncertain Realities,” from February 18-23, in Zichron Yaacov, Israel. In addition to offering differentiated experiences for first time and experienced members, it also offers an “Advanced Training Group” for those seeking training to take up consulting roles. The conference will be conducted in English.
Then March will bring Il Nodo Group’s 21st International Conference, entitled “Negotiating Differences/Conflicts in post-modern organizations.” In recent years, these conferences have considered their embedded ness in the Mediterranean—its ecology, its culture, its history, etc. This conference will also offer differentiated tracks for novice and experienced members.
Finally, April brings a Group Relations Australia Conference entitled “Multiple Roles: Conflicted Interests.” It’s a non-residential conference, occurring from 15-17 April in Melbourne.
In other news, Jack Marmorstein, in his role as President-Elect, attended the Tavistock Institute’s 70th Anniversary Festival in London in late October. He wrote up a report of his experiences on his blog, including detailed reports of the panels he saw, with speakers like Olya Khaleelee and David Armstrong reflecting on their long history in the work, as well as current AKRI members like Sarah Brazaitis speaking about work today. You can find his report and entries on all the panels here.
That’s the report from abroad. Don’t forget to be recruiting for the two January events that AKRI is supporting: The New York Center’s new weekend conference at City College, and the Boston Center’s Dover long-standing residential conference.