Conference Design and Events:

The Conference is a temporary educational institution that provides various opportunities through different events to differentiate between here and now reality and fantasy, i.e. unchecked assumptions based on both conscious past experience and experience stored in the unconscious. In the absence of the routine and activities of day to day life and the presence of a minimum number of structures in the Conference, it is possible to find the space to reflect, explore and connect one’s outward behaviour with one’s inner data of thoughts and feelings. Each event is planned to vary the view from which one perceives oneself and others, which may change as sessions proceed.

Members and staff are both participants, the conference accords them different roles. While the hypotheses and interventions of the staff are aimed to highlight group process in relation to the primary task, it is for each member to scrutinise what it means for her or him. Staff are allocated to each of the events in the role of consultants or in the role of collective management to help keep the focus on the primary task.

Two streams of this IGRC:

The Entry stream: This stream is for those who have no previous experience of attending a Group Relations Conference
The Ongoing stream: This stream is for those who have attended one or more Group Relations Conferences

The Plenaries (P): The Conference begins with an Opening Plenary that has the task of introducing the conference as well as of exploring one’s joining experience. There will also be an opening plenary of the Institutional Event to introduce the event and a closing plenary to reflect on the experiences of the event. There will be an opening plenary of the Review Event for the members to self select group membership. The Closing Plenary on the last day is for reflecting on and exploring one’s Conference experience as a whole, and in particular for focusing on one’s learning in the Conference. Further, there will also be short plenaries on most days to reflect on one’s on-going experiences in the Conference.

Conference Sensing Matrix (CSM): In the past couple of decades, group work on dreams have proved to be a fertile field for connecting to the group’s unconscious dynamics. ‘Matrix’ is a place where things grow. The task of the CSM is to share one’s dream and associate with (not analyse) one’s own and others’ dreams, reveries and physical sensations and connect these with one’s experience of the Conference.

The Study System:

It comprises of work groups of two sizes, the small and the large group.

Small Study Event (SSE):This event consists of groups of up to 12 members. The task of the SSE is to study the behaviour of the group as it occurs. It provides opportunities for exploring feelings and thoughts as they arise, and how this process is affected by the dynamics operating at the level of the group. Membership of each SSE group remains the same throughout. The service of a consultant is allocated to each group.

Large Study Event (LSE): This event comprises of all the members. The number of consultants allocated varies with the size of membership and in this Conference the LSE is likely to have two or three consultants. The task of the LSE is the same as that of the Small Study Event. However, the difference between the two lies in the nature of the dynamics as the size of the group changes from one in which everyone can see at a glance the others to one where some may be heard but remain out of vision, paving the way for such phenomena as sub-group formation, myth making, identity crisis, etc.

Yoga Event: The yoga sessions will provide an opportunity for members to practice breathing in special ways and simple physical awareness exercises that enhance the experience of the mind-body. The yoga event offers an additional way in which members can learn about and connect to themselves the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual processes present in the conference as a system.

(Loose fitting clothes will be appropriate for the yoga sessions.)

The Review System:

Review Event (RE): The task of the RE will be to review one’s Conference experience in various events.

It is expected that the members will:

(a) self-select in review groups of more or less equal
     numbers based on task related criteria evolved by them
     in a plenary of relatively short duration;

                          (b) consult with one another.

Each group in the Review Event will also be provided with the services of a consultant. The composition of these groups will remain the same throughout the RE.

The Institution as a System:

Institutional Event (IE): All of us carry in our minds pictures of institutions to which we belong or belonged. These pictures include those that we consciously believe to be true or those that we wish to be true. We also carry unconscious pictures of these institutions. In order to understand through actual experience the dynamics that take place in institutions based on these pictures-in-the-mind, the task recommended for this event is to study the picture of the Conference as an institution as it unfolds.

This event also provides opportunities to explore (a) the picture of management that one holds in the mind, (b) the relatedness and relationship between groups and (c) the nature of delegation and the problems encountered in giving and taking of authority to be exercised on behalf of others.

Territories will be made available to members to deploy themselves in any way they choose for engaging with the task of the event. Staff will be present in the role of collective management and a consultancy sub-system to provide consultancy on request to members’ territories for engaging with the event’s task. The IE opens in a plenary to introduce the event and closes in another plenary in which the task will be to reflect on the experience of the IE as it has unfolded.

Role Consultation Event (RCE): Time slots will be made available to the membership to receive individual consultation on specific organisational problems in which they are currently involved. The methodology followed by the consultants will be based on socio-analytic approach, which utilises psychoanalytic insights, organisation theories, systems theories and behavioural science theories.

The stance of the Conference is one of learning and developing a spirit of enquiry into the realities of one’s experience in the here and now through attention, reflection and exploration. The staff of the Conference are neither in the role of teachers, nor are they what is commonly known as the “faculty”. They participate in the Conference through taking responsibility for managing such Conference boundaries as those of task, time and territory. To that extent they constitute the Collective Management of the Conference. Individually they also take the roles of Co- Director, Administrator and Consultant to offer hypotheses and other forms of interventions relevant to the primary task, on the basis of their here and now experience.

Staff of the Conference :

Co-Directors:

Gouranga P. Chattopadhyay : M.Sc. & D.Phil.Sc. in Anthropology (Calcutta University), FASc.&T (West Bengal), FRAI (London), FAISA & FCSA (Melbourne), Professor Emeritus, Academy of HRD (Ahmedabad), CEO, Chattopadhyay Associates: Organisational Consultants & Personal Counsellors (Kolkata), Karma Sannyasin Tattwaratna of Bihar School of Yoga.

Rosemary Viswanath : B.Sc. Hons. (Maths), PGDM (IIM Bangalore), Professional Member, Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science, Member Orientation Committee IFSI France, Founder-Director, Learning Network (Bangalore), Chief Functionary EQUATIONS, .

Director of the Entry Sub Conference: Gouranga P. Chattopadhyay

Director of Ongoing Sub Conference: Rosemary Viswanath

Consultants will be chosen from the following:

Ganesh Anantharaman : M. Phil. Political Science (Mumbai University); Dean, Professional Development, Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science; Principal Consultant, Organisation & Alternatives Consulting, Bangalore;

Dipankar Banerjee : B Mech E.(Jadavpur University); PGDSW (Calcutta University) ; PGDM (IIM Calcutta); Fellow, SUMEDHAS, The Academy for Human Context; Trustee & Professor, Eastern Institute of Management, Calcutta.

John Bazalgette : M.A. Dip. Ed : Senior Organisational Analyst & Director, Professional Development Programme, The Grubb Institute, London, UK.

Gouranga Chattopadhyay :

Louise Edberg : Psychologist, CEO VISAVI AB, Sweden; Member of AGSLO (Sweden) and IFSI (France); Member of Praxis International Network (France)

Zahid Hoosein Gangjee : B.SC. Psych. Hons, M.Sc. Applied Psych. (Calcutta University), Fellow (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad), Chief Executive, Zahid Gangjee and Associates, Kolkata

Anuradha Prasad : PhD (Agricultural Extension, IARI, New Delhi) Facilitator of group processes and change processes in a wide variety of development organisations. Professional member, Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science; Certificate course on depth psychology, Jung Center, India. Executive Director of Human and Institutional Development Forum, Bangalore.

Gagandeep Singh : PGDM (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad), works with organisations in the realm of OD, Alignment and Transformation. Director, Sumedhas Academy for Human Context, Principal Consultant, FLAME TAO Knoware.

Rina Tagore : BA (Hons) Psychology, MA Applied Psychology (Delhi University); Associate Member, Centre for Socio Analysis (Melbourne); Committee Member, Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association, Auckland Chapter; Senior Community & Social Policy Planner, Auckland City Council, NZ.

Rosemary Viswanath :

Administrator:

Gautam Bandyopadhyay : B. Mech E. (Hons), M.Mech.E. (Jadavpur University), PGDSW (Calcutta University), PGCGM (IIM Calcutta); Member, National HRD Network; General Manager-Personnel, ABP Pvt. Ltd.

Administrative Information:

Language: English.
No of Membership places available : 36
Conference Venue :
The Kenilworth Hotel,
Utorda , Salcete
Goa 403 713, India.
Ph: +91 832 2755555
Fax: +91 832 2754183
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Web: www.kenilworthhotels.com

The Conference venue will also be the venue for accommodation and board.

Goa is well connected by airline services to most major cities in India. All flights, national and international, to and from Goa, operate from the Goa Airport at Dabolim. The airport is about 15 kms from the conference venue and 30 kms from the capital city of Panaji.
The high-speed Konkan Railway has a daily train which takes around 8-9 hours to reach Margao Station in Goa from Mumbai. Other trains between Mumbai and Goa take around 10-12 hours. The rail route also has trains which travel past Mumbai to other northern areas of India right upto Delhi as well as down south to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. National Highways NH4A, NH17 and NH17A connect Goa to the neighbouring states and bus services are reliable.

Schdedule

Conference Fees:

Conference fee for applicants from India and SAARC countries: Rs. 60,000.00 per member for single occupancy basis. A few double occupancy places may be available for Rs.40,000.00 per person. Early bird discount of Rs.3000.00 will be given to those who apply before July 15, 2008. Fees are payable in full by cheque/demand draft in favour of ABP Pvt Ltd and to be sent with the application form.

A few bursaries may be available to deserving candidates on double sharing basis. Please apply for bursary giving reasons in detail.

Conference fee for other overseas applicants: US $ 1400 / Euro 900 per person on single occupancy basis. Payments by overseas participants are to be electronically transferred in favour of ABP Pvt. Ltd. to American Express Bank Ltd., 21, Hemanta Basu Sarani, Calcutta-700 001, West Bengal, INDIA. Account no. 410101569. The SWIFT CODE(for US $ : AEIBUS33 & for Euro : AEIBDEFX) is to be sent along with the application. Credit is to be made in favour of AMEX, KOLKATA- AEIBINDXCAL. Purpose of such money transfer is to specified as ‘To attend 4th IGRC’.

Registration Timings :
The Conference starts on September 14, 2008. Members are to register and receive their Conference folder between 11.15 AM and 12.45 PM on that day.The Conference begins punctually at 1.45 PM. The Conference fee includes all meals from the lunch on 14th to lunch on 20th September, 2008, lodging and reading material. All other expenses incurred will be borne by the participating members.