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CSRP Institute 2024 Banathy Conversation, Lugano

For five immersive days, a team of six researchers had the opporunity to collaborate on ideas on rhythmic shifts (mostly based on Systems Changes Learning) and anticipatory systems (in the legacy of Robert Rosen).  The 2024 Banathy Conversation was organized by the Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute, facilitated by Susu Nousala, Gary S. Metcalf, and Jelena Sucic.

Converrsatons had been convened by the International Federation for Systems Research since 1982.

Conversations were introduced by Bela H. Banathy around 1980 as an alternative to the classical conferences which usually consist only of presentation of streamlined papers and short question slots. In a Conversation a small group of scientists meets for several days to discuss in a self-guided way a topic of scientific and social importance. A Conversation is preceded by an intensive preparation phase and followed by a post-conversation consolidation period. No papers are presented during the conversation; the participants discuss face-to-face their topic, often modifying it in the course of the conversation.

As far as we know, this was the first event following the Banathy Conversation Methdology since the IFSR 2018 Conversation.

The Banathy approach has been a highlight experience in my personal development.  I was fortunate to have been invited to Austria to attend IFSR Conversation events in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012,  Moving on from an era when email messaging was the most common medium, I spent a month this past summer updating online communications technologies to pilot mobile devices, secure group chat, a wiki, and a classroom platform.

On the first day, Gary started the plenary session with the traditional empty chair that Bela Banathy included, to recognize constituents who aren’t privileged to attend such meeting.  We had two Conversation teams.

Plenary start to 2024 Banathy Conversation by @garysmetcalf for #CSRPInstitute, explaining history of Social Systems Design dialogues contrasting to academic paper-reading presentations. Experimenting with evolving methods with face-to-face inquiry amongst a new generation of scholars, no wifi in the venue. Some unfortunate last-minute cancellations, we hope to invite them to subsequent meetings in 2025. (Grottino Viganello, Via della Pergola, Viganello, Switzerland) 20240930

Team Brown was composed of residential participants who had flown in for the meeting:

  • David Mallery, from Scotland’s Rural College in Edinburgh;
  • Zaid Khan and Samah Kamalmaz, from the Systems Changes Learning Circle in Toronto;
  • Jian Chen, from Tongji University College of Design and innovation in Shanghai;
  • Timothée Landa, from Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris;
  • and, myself!

Judith Rosen was scheduled to be part of our team, but unfortunately had a family issue arise in the week right before travelling.

The second team, named Confluenza, was composed of creatives local to the Ticino canton.  In an adjacent space, they formalized an association that have previously been more casual.  That team worked in a more fluid maner, with a core group maintaining coherence as parricipants threaded attendance according to personal availability.

For visitors to Switzerland, the discussion days were full.  We grabbed opportunities to tour around Lugano on some lunchtimes and late afternoons before the sun set.

Pedal boat on Lago di Lugano, looking south from the city at sunset. In the distance, the shore of comune Campione d'Italia to the east in Italy, and the peak of San Salvatore in Switzerland, where country borders are not straight lines. Leisure touring time is short with sunset around 7:00pm with meetings concluding at 5:30pm. (Parco Ciani, Lugano, Switzerland) 20240930

On morning of the fifth day, the two teams convened to reflect on progress that was had been made during the week.

Morning plenary of day 5 of 2024 Banathy Conversation of #CSRPInstitute, with two groups in the reflecting phase, relating experiences from the prior 4 days. One group followed the traditional conventing of full-week immersion of international participants. The other group involved members within the region, and experimented with a core group maintaining continuity while swapped in as available. Asynchronous recollecting phase will follow with asynchronous collaborative editing of proceedings. (Grottino Viganello, Via della Pergola, Lugano, Switzerland) 20241004

We shared learning not just within each team, but also across both teams.  Formal reports will follow in a few months, as Conversation Experience Reports are co-authored.

The conventing in Lugano was closed out with the Annual General Meeting for the CSRP Institute, in the fourth year after incorporation in Switzerland.

Concluding 5 days immersed on the 2024 Banathy Conversation of #CSRPInstitute. This meeting room was the venue for Team Brown, and plenary sessions with the second team breaking out nearby. Kitchen facilities meant shared lunches and dinners together, following runs to the grocery story down the street. (Grottino Viganello, Via della Pergola, Lugano, Switzerland) 20241004

Systems researchers may look forward to more Banathy Conversation events to come from CSRP Institute.  Loose plans have been discussed for a Conversation in the USA in April 2025, and in Southeast Asia in September-October 2025.


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