A Dialogue on Adaptations Towards Social Justice in Group Relations Conferences
Join us on June 13, 2022 1.30 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. ET
Group relations conferences have traditionally been structured to examine unconscious processes related to authority. Working in the “here and now” of large and small study groups and using a formal consultancy stance to explore anxiety among members and groups, group relations conferences foster deep experiential learning about authority. Innovations in group relations conferences have focused on questions of power-oppression, racism, colonialism, and intersectionality. These pressing questions have necessitated adaptations to group relations methodologies which have flourished in the past several years. Added to this the virtuality that the pandemic made possible allowed for great accessibility. These adaptations have included: hierarchical and lateral leadership, story telling, shifting the stance of the consultant, the role of staff, movement sessions, use of symbolism through visual media and associative frameworks, music, and other creative uses of padlets as ways to deepen exploration - not only of authority, but other these other issues deeply related to questions of authority.
This event is intended for people who have directed and or worked on staff at group relations conferences using some of these or other adaptations in an effort to develop our learnings and to foster dialogue across oppressive systems and processes as a step towards social justice.
These questions might include and are not limited to:
How do the group relations methodologies replicate the structures of colonialism and oppression?
How do we explore questions of oppression experientially without recreating oppressive relationships that marginalize and stress members?
What is required for learning about unconscious processes as they impinge on social justice issues?
How do group relations adaptations shift reflections on constructions of authority in relation to oppression?
What are the politics of group relations practices?
How does the role of the consultant and staff changed?
This event will include a dialogue among the panelists, small group discussions with participants followed by a plenary.
This event is intended for people who have directed and or worked on staff at group relations conferences using some of these or other adaptations in an effort to develop our learnings and to foster dialogue across oppressive systems and processes as a step towards social justice.
These questions might include and are not limited to:
How do the group relations methodologies replicate the structures of colonialism and oppression?
How do we explore questions of oppression experientially without recreating oppressive relationships that marginalize and stress members?
What is required for learning about unconscious processes as they impinge on social justice issues?
How do group relations adaptations shift reflections on constructions of authority in relation to oppression?
What are the politics of group relations practices?
How does the role of the consultant and staff changed?
This event will include a dialogue among the panelists, small group discussions with participants followed by a plenary.
Panelists
Jo-anne Carlyle
Jo-anne Carlyle PhD, Clin. Foren. Psychol., Org. Consultant, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. Having worked as a clinician, researcher, teacher and consultant for over 30 years, she is transitioning to work with greater social impact for the final phase of her career.
Janelle Joseph
Dr. Janelle Joseph is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. Dr Joseph’s research focuses on leadership related to race, gender, equity, and de-colonization.
Evangeline Sarda
Evangeline Sarda, JD, she, her, hers, is an Associate Clinical Law Professor at Boston College Law School, Faculty Director of Leaders Entering and Advancing Public Service (LEAPS), and Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Clinic / Director of the Prosecution Clinic. She is a board member of both Group Relations International (GRI) and Centre for Social Dreaming (CSD), a fellow and long-time member of the A. K. Rice Institute (AKRI) and also a member of several of its affiliates. She is Treasurer of the Research and Education Collaborative with Al-Quds University (RECA). She is of Philippine and Indian descent, born and raised in the United States, and currently resides in Massachusetts.
mak wemuk
Davíd Luna (mak wemuk), JD (he, him), is indigenous (of the Coahuiltecan peoples) and Latinx (Chicanx). He is a consultant specializing in issues of racial equity and social justice (Luna Consulting & Coaching). He formerly led Equal Voice Action, a 501(c)(4) focused on digital organizing around issues of working poor families. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Washington-Baltimore Center for the Study of Group Relations, a Co-Creator of Group Relations International, an AKRI Certified Consultant, a Past-President of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives, and a member of the National Lawyers Guild. He is the father of four powerful young women and is based in the Chicago area.
Barbara Williams
Barbara Williams, EdD, Director of Bureau Kensington (BKI), a consulting practice working with movement building and feminist networks and organizations internationally. She is a guest of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and founder of Impact for Community Insight (www.ici-ici.ca) a group relations network offering GR conferences and consulting training in Toronto.\
Why ICI?
Working with others can be exhilarating and it can be trying. We know that when we work with others “how” we do the work is of equal or more importance to “what” work we do. Yet working in difficult conditions and fraught environments as activists, professionals, leaders and workers, we can encounter intractable group and organizational problems which are difficult to make sense of never mind overcome.
At ICI, we believe that making sense of these difficulties is key to creating the change we want to see in our communities and organizations, and that we can do so – or at least begin to do so - by better understanding ourselves, each other, and how we work together. By improving our understanding of how unconscious forces affect groups and they us, we can improve our own impact, develop our leadership capacity, and increase our capacity to a better world.
ICI's trainings, based on the group relations method developed by the UK-based Tavistock Institute, offer opportunities to learn about the nature and emergence of difference, leadership and authority in groups.
This requires exploring the connection between our inner worlds (thoughts, fantasies) and outer worlds (context and environments) and sharing those connections. Using a variety of didactic sessions, small and large group sessions, storytelling, and role analysis, we link the learnings from the event to your organization and context.
ICI’s training offers opportunities to:
Increase effectiveness by understanding difference and people-in-context
Observe group behaviour in the here-and-now and understand how they appear in your organization
Develop your leadership capacity
Understand how your leadership style affects the group
Learn about "under the surface" forces that impact people, groups and organizations.
Working with others can be exhilarating and it can be trying. We know that when we work with others “how” we do the work is of equal or more importance to “what” work we do. Yet working in difficult conditions and fraught environments as activists, professionals, leaders and workers, we can encounter intractable group and organizational problems which are difficult to make sense of never mind overcome.
At ICI, we believe that making sense of these difficulties is key to creating the change we want to see in our communities and organizations, and that we can do so – or at least begin to do so - by better understanding ourselves, each other, and how we work together. By improving our understanding of how unconscious forces affect groups and they us, we can improve our own impact, develop our leadership capacity, and increase our capacity to a better world.
ICI's trainings, based on the group relations method developed by the UK-based Tavistock Institute, offer opportunities to learn about the nature and emergence of difference, leadership and authority in groups.
This requires exploring the connection between our inner worlds (thoughts, fantasies) and outer worlds (context and environments) and sharing those connections. Using a variety of didactic sessions, small and large group sessions, storytelling, and role analysis, we link the learnings from the event to your organization and context.
ICI’s training offers opportunities to:
Increase effectiveness by understanding difference and people-in-context
Observe group behaviour in the here-and-now and understand how they appear in your organization
Develop your leadership capacity
Understand how your leadership style affects the group
Learn about "under the surface" forces that impact people, groups and organizations.
