Making a difference in society
18–21 November 2021
Time: to facilitate participation from different time zones, we have established two pathways through each day’s conference programme.
What does it take to work together? How do we build bridges with others who we see as different, or hold different opinions? How do we get beyond the small islands of certainty that we construct for ourselves? How can our diverse ways of doing things lead to forging something new, instead of staying separate and fragmented? How can we find the courage in the face of change (locally / nationally / globally).
Creating functioning communities, living together in urban spaces, allowing biodiversity to flourish, facing up to racism and discrimination, tackling the pandemic, not ducking the challenges of climate change: all of these human endeavour depend on real collaboration. And yet so often these efforts can founder, mired in misperceptions of the other.
The purpose of OPUS, a charitable organisation, is to provide understanding in society. We conceive of this group relations conference as an attempt to “make space”. At this particular moment in time, we welcome you to explore these conference themes.
We are committed to exploring laterality and collaborative forms of leadership. We see the conference design as emergent. We don’t believe that structural forms established by a single source of authority are congruent with working with diverse voices and roles. At the same time we recognise that the invitation to find one’s own authority, and equally, when to show followership, can be challenging.
We invite you to join us.
Staff group
- Jina Barrett
- Jo-anne Carlyle
- Elyce Cole
- Angela Eden
- Lydia Hardland-Rowe
- Olya Khaleelee
- Carlos Remotti-Breton
- Matias Sanfuentes
- Tyrome Smith
- Chris Tanner
Fees
Full fee: £165
OPUS members: £145
Reduced fee: £115
