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Conferences
are listed in chronological order from most recent.
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TRANSFORMATIVE
DIALOGUES - A TI Summer Workshop
Institute, June 24-29, 2007
The Taos Institute held its first ever TAOS INSTITUTE SUMMER WORKSHOP INSTITUTE [for
specific information regarding the conference: click
here]
The Summer
Workshop Series brought together academic
leaders and outstanding practitioners from diverse
professional fields for Transformative Dialogues
with an international array of over 100 participants
from 18 countries. Each morning began with a
thought-provoking plenary followed by a day of
workshops. The participants told us it was the best
learning gathering they had ever attended.
*********************************
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Social Construction and CARING Relationships:
Moving
beyond diagnosis and medication in therapeutic practices
at the
Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano,
Switzerland,
18-19 May 2007
Taos Institute
worked in collaboration with Centro Formazione al
Dragonato and Taos Associate Christina Meier to present
this conference. Taos presenters included: Kenneth Gergen, Harlene Anderson,
Imelda McCarthy, Tom Strong
The
conference focused on central ideas and practices emerging within the
dialogues on social construction. What are the central
ideas of social construction? What new ideas emerge
about the nature of self, relationships, meaning, and
knowledge? What is the relationship of social
construction to constructivism, cognitive behavioural
therapy, and systemic approaches? What is shared? What
is different? What new ideas emerge about the nature of
human problems, suffering, and therapeutic practice? How
can constructionist practices provide an alternative to
drugs and diagnosis? How do practices of narrative
therapy, brief therapy and reflecting teams fit into the
picture? How do constructionist ideas and practices
relate to issues of
global conflict and its reduction?
To
illustrate and amplify, the conference featured
significant developments in therapeutic practice. Centre
stage was given to:
-
Postmodern
Therapy
-
Collaborative
Counselling
-
The
Fifth Province Approach
-
Buddhist Applied
Psychology
for
more information on this conference email: Chrismeier23@bluewin.ch
»»
 Social
Construction: A Celebration of Collaborative Practices
October 6-9, 2005, Taos, New Mexico
Conference Description
Conference Highlights
and Pictures
(right-click - Mac users ctl-click - to download a PDF)
Program (right-click
- Mac users ctl-click - to download a PDF)
Contributors
(right-click - Mac users ctl-click - to download a PDF)
 »»
Transforming
Dialogues: Changing Practice
April 10-13, 2003. A special conference, co-sponsored
by the Houston Galveston Institute and the Taos Institute
was held in League City, Texas.
Over 100 participants engaged in transformative experiences
that informed their practices. It was truly a collaborative
learning conference that challenged and extended our
current practice through exploring social constructionism
and dialogical experience.
There were plenaries by: Harlene Anderson, Ken Gergen,
David Pare and Stan Witkin; and theme sessions run by:
Harlene Anderson, Saliha Bava, Adrienne Chambon, Robert
Cotter, Sharon Cotter, Jose Bayona, Ken Gergen, Mary
Gergen, Thelma Jean Goodrich, Sue Levin, Sheila McNamee,
David Paré, Sally St. George, Stan Witkin and Dan Wulff.
Not only did this conference bring together social
constructionist theory and practice, it also was a special
celebration of the 25th anniversary of HGI and the 10th
anniversary of TI.
You can visit our website for more information at www.taosinstitute.net/dialogues.
Or email hgi@neosoft.com
for more information.
»»
Dialogue & Deliberation
October 4-6, 2002. The Taos Institute joined with the
The National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation,
Alexandria, Virginia, USA, to bring together dialogue
and deliberation leaders in a welcoming, respectful
and informal atmosphere in order to work towards five
goals:
1. defining and clarifying our work and our field
2. knowledge-building and sharing information
3. building skills
4. meeting and getting to know our colleagues in the
field
5. initiating collaborative projects.
Meeting these goals has the potential to greatly strengthen
the dialogue community and, eventually, the practices
of dialogue and deliberation. There were 44 organizations
that have committed to helping ensure that these goals
are met - before, during and after the conference. For
more information see: http://www.thataway.org
»»
Systematic Social Constructionism In Action: An International
Conference Celebrating Hope through Dialogue
July
1-3, 2002. University of Luton, England. This shared
venture between the KCC Foundation of London, the University
of Luton and the Taos Institute was a gathering of original
thinkers and practitioners to explore the perspectives
and practices in understanding the way we create our
social worlds through relational practices.
»»
Performing The World: An Exciting Conference for All
October
12-14, 2001. Surprising, Synergetic, Fun, Touching,
Philosophical, Political – These are some of the
words used to describe our sold-out fall conference:
Performing the World, held October 12-14, 2001 at the
Montauk Yacht Club, Long Island.
The conference was co-sponsored by Performance of a
Lifetime, a New York based training and consulting firm
with a performance approach to personal, professional,
and organizational development and the Taos Institute.
The program emphasized diverse forms of interaction
and participatory performance, as well as plenary sessions
with dialogue among conference presenters. Ken Gergen,
Director of the Taos Institute, and Fred Newman, founder
of Performance of a Lifetime led off with a joint presentation
called "Performance: Act before you think".
Mary Gergen, a Taos Institute founder, joined several
others, in a plenary session on performance in everyday
life. Mary and Ken also teamed up for a workshop entitled
Relational Realities: Performing Theory. Other founders
of the Taos Institute included Harlene Anderson, who
presented a workshop entitled Performing Therapeutic
Realities and Sheila McNamee, whose topic was Educational
Performance. Frank Barrett, Taos Institute associate,
made music with the audience in a plenary session entitled
"Improvisation and Organizational Life."
Taos Institute invitees included Jonathan Shailor from
the University of Wisconsin who created a Theater of
Empowerment with members of the audience, Kay Picart,
Florida State University, who invoked dance traditions
as part of the "body politic" and Osvaldo
and Raquel Romberg of Philadelphia. Osvaldo presented
his video, "Besame Mucho: A hypertext on love"
and Rachel gave a session "Healing as Performance"
from her anthropological work with Puerto Rican healers.
Performance of a Lifetime personnel, including members
of the "All Stars Talent Show Network" and
the "Castillo Theatre troupe also were heavily
involved in the production and presentations of the
conference. Conference planners were Ken, Mary and Sheila,
as well as Lois Holzman and Fred Newman from Performance
of a Lifetime.
»»
The First AI International Conference -- A Landmark
Event
September 30 - October 3, 2001. The Taos
Institute was one of the many sponsors of the First
International Conference on Appreciative Inquiry: Accelerating
Positive Change, that took place in Baltimore, September
30 - October 3, 2001. This conference, which took place
just three weeks after the terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center in New York City and the US Pentagon, brought
over 500 people together from around the world. The
topic of inquiry for the plenary sessions took on new
meaning as participants explored how business might
serve as an a gent of world benefit.
This conference brought together Taos Institute’s
founders David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, Ken and Mary
Gergen, and Suresh Srivastva. Taos associates presenting
at the conference were Frank Barrett, Jane Watkins,
Jim Ludema, Barbara Sloan, Anne Radford, Bliss Browne,
Bernard Mohr, Jane Seiling, Marge Schiller, Amanda Trosten-Bloom,
Miriam Rickets, and Jim Willis. Warren Bennis was there
is spirit through a video presentation due to travel
difficulties. As Robert Quinn, from University of Michigan,
writes in his recent book Change the World, "Appreciative
Inquiry is revolutionizing the field of organization
development".
See the new AI Commons website at http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu
for summary, pictures and slides of the conference.
»»
Harboring Hope in a Sea of Change: Transforming Families,
Communities, Organizations and Education
June
12-17, 2001. This was a conference and intensive courses
on Constructionist Resources for Hope and Transformation
presented by The Taos Institute, The University of New
Hampshire and The Portsmouth Family Institute on the
beautiful campus of the University of New Hampshire.
»»
Conflict and Transformation: Constructionist Resources
for Viable Families, Communities and Societies
March 9-11, 2000. The Taos Institute in conjunction
with the Instituto Mexicano de Terapias Breves, in Mexico
City, held a conference for therapists, educators, organizational
consultants, scholars and others who share the desire
to be effective in transforming conflict into creative
growth.
»»
Social Construction and Relational Practices Conference
September
16-19, 1999. The Taos Institute joined forces with colleagues
at the University of New Hampshire to sponsor a second
international, interdisciplinary conference on social
constructionist practice, theory, and research. The
forum explored current developments in social constructionist
thought and practice. The conference theme placed emphasis
on the relational practices that create and transform
cultural life. Dynamic presentations by leading voices,
symposia, roundtable discussions, social activities,
and a casual setting created a venue for three days
of engaging inquiry and exploration. Throughout the
conference, emphasis was on bringing social constructionist
theory and practice into mutually enriching dialogue.
A few comments following the conference:
"What an incredible and inspiring four days! The
conference was wonderful. I felt truly and well fed,
and can feel the opening effects of it as I go through
my week. My clients and students are benefiting, as
am I in my own attempts at writing."
"We want to thank the organizing committee for
bringing together such a powerful community of learners.
We noticed new thoughts being poetically shaped. We
entered into a community of gentle conversation and
generous listening. It has brought us deeper connections
to our lives and the lives of others. With deep appreciation..."
"I just want to say thanks for a wonderful conference.
It was all that I'd hoped for, and I learned much more
than I expected. My own workshop (on alcoholism) was
very helpful, and I couldn't get over that there is
a "home" for those of us interested in social
constructionism. How wonderful...I look forward to future
Taos Institute and/or UNH meetings."
"The conference was the best one I've ever attended.
There is no question. It wasn't so much the papers;
it was more the random conversation with others 'with
similar interests'."
»»
The Spirit of Social Construction: Spirituality in Organizations,
Therapy, and Social Construction
April 8-10, 1999.
Guest Presenters included: Rev. Fred Burnham, Trinity
Church in N.Y.C. Editor of Postmodern Theology, Christian
Faith in a Pluralistic World. Dr. James Day, Center
for the Psychology of Religion, Catholic University
of Louvain, Belgium. Author of articles on narrative
and moral development. Carleton Dallery, Ph.D. MSW,
and Harvard AM in Theological studies, therapist and
Buddhist practitioner.
The following Taos Institute Founders were there in
full presence leading, facilitating and participating
in this spiritual experience: Harlene Anderson, David
Cooperrider, Kenneth Gergen , Mary Gergen, Sheila McNamee.
There will be no tapes or papers available after this
conference due to the nature of the conference.
»»
Change Practices: Constructing the Future Through Relational
Inquiry
November 1998. This conference was co-hosted
by The Taos Institute and the Institute for Creative
Change of Phoenix, AZ. Participants, therapists, organizational
consultants and others, explored social constructionist
ideas and change as it emerges within relational contexts.
It was an interactive, experiential format which invited
participants to transform theory into practice. See:
www.changetalk.com/conf.htm
»»
Creating the Appreciative Organization: Social Construction
In Organization Development
November 1997. The
Taos Institute partnered with Benedictine University
in Naperville, IL. to host a two-day conference. Participants
joined together to explore the powerful potentials of
the appreciative organization.
»»
Organizing in a Multi-Voiced World: Social Construction,
Innovation and Organization Change
June 1997.
The Taos Institute partnered with the Dept. of Work
and Organizational Psychology in Leuven, Belgium and
the European Institute for Advanced Management to sponsor
a three-day conference. Over 150 participants from ten
nations came together to share ideas and practices.
»»
Pro/fusions of Practice
April 1996. A four-day
conference for some 50 organizational consultants, managers,
family therapists, graduate students, and others concerned
with expanding the range and efficacy of practices of
personal and organizational change. Taos, New Mexico.
»»
Leadership and the Global Challenge: A Radical Relational
Approach
October 1995. A four-day conference for
40+ high level managers and organizational consultants
was held in Taos to explore new forms of leadership
adequate to conditions of rapid change and global expansion
of organizations.
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Relational Practices: Social Construction in Therapy
and Organization Development
April 1994. A four day conference that expanded
the range of social constructionist ideas, with special
emphasis on relational theory, to some 130 practitioners
and scholars in the management, family therapy, counseling,
and educational fields. Taos, New Mexico.
»»
Inquiries in Social Construction
June 1993. A
three day conference coordinated by Sheila McNamee bringing
together some 120 scholars, graduate students and practicing
professionals to explore various theoretical departures
in social construction and their application to wide-ranging
cultural practices. New England Center, Durham, New
Hampshire.
»»
Realities and Relationships: Social Construction in
Therapy and Organization Development|
April 1993. A four day conference that introduced
a broad range of social constructionist ideas to some
130 practitioners and scholars in the management, family
therapy, counseling, and educational fields. Taos, New
Mexico.
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