The 2015 International Conference on the Science of Dialogic Design: Symposia for Scientists and Practitioners

Conference Dates: May 4-8, 2015
Post Conference School: May 9 May, 2015

Place: Limassol, Cyprus

Venue: Cyprus University of Technology^[1], Amphitheater 2, and Workshop Rooms 1 & 2 at the Tasos Papadopoulos Building

Format: The format is not the standard for a typical conference. Every day will have the same structure but a different focus. ; Many sessions will use the Structured Dialogic Design Process (SDDP) Methodology; some presentations; very short presentations for specific tasks; contributions to be sent before the actual symposion.

Five Minutes of Fame	Five individuals every day give 5-min TEDx-like presentations about themselves and their key work.
Keynote Lecture	Senior members of Global Agoras introduce the Theme and the challenges of the day.
Symposion	Symposion on the Theme of the day; A few speakers and a lot of discussion.
Co-Laboratory	Members of the Global Agoras will have a closed-door Co-Laboratory on the Theme of the day; Other conference participants may have the same Co-Laboratory in a parallel session.
Evening Lecture	Lecture given over dinner; anecdotal and informal in nature. Memories and Reflections from an event related to focal subject of the day (By a senior member of Global Agoras)

Participation Fees:

Local and International participants €200 (€175 if prepaid before 31 Dec 2014 )
Students €125 (€100 if prepaid before 31 Dec 2014 ); Or €25/day
SDDP School €45/daily session (€35 if prepaid)

Payment:
Name of Account Holder: Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute
Address of Account Holder: 5 Promitheos, 1065 Nicosia, CYPRUS
Account Details
IBAN CY09 0020 0128 0000 0001 0186 1900
SWIFT CODE: BCYPCY2N010
Name of Bank: Bank of Cyprus, Branch 128
56 Corner Makariou and 1 Demofontos , Nicosia
Tel. 22127500
Fax 22750590

Organizers: The conference is co-organized by:

Organizing Committee:

Aims:

Create an opportunity for scientists and practitioners of the Science of Dialogic Design (SDD) from across the world to get together for a whole week and engage in structured democratic dialogues that would help us all not only advance the science and plan its future, but also to get to know each other and become friends.
Offer a unique opportunity for younger colleagues and people interested to learn more about the Structured Dialogic Design Process (SDDP) to engage in the science and/or the practice, to meet and interact with world pioneers, as well as to attend specially designed SDD Facilitators Training Schools that lead to Certification.
Combine international efforts to achieve global consensus towards conscious evolution of the required social transformations.

Accommodation

Participants should take care of their own accommodation. The conference will take place in conference rooms that belong to the Cyprus University of Technology located at the center of the Limassol Old City. Limassol is a culturally rich city that offers visitors and tourists quality and plentifulness of options. Prices in the beginning of May are lower than during the tourist season. There are many Hotels inside the city and also along the shore for up to 10-15 Km East of the city. There are easy-to-get buses connecting the tourist zones with the centre.

You may opt for a Hotel close to the City Centre (using the filter in Booking.com) or an apartment even outside the city (much cheaper) to combine business with some vacations. The organisers will try to assign whenever possible Local Assistants to international visitors to help them with their transportation and moving around.
Participants are strongly advised to make their arrangements before the end of the year to benefit from best prices.

Financial Support and Student scholarships

All participants will pay fees. The fees will be used towards supporting visiting scientists and practitioners who come from far away and may need some financial support.

Justification of the Need

The need for far-reaching social transformations in our world is now widely acknowledged. All stakeholders recognize the fact that social change requires participatory, democratic processes. The Structured Dialogic Design Process is positioned as a powerful tool in this context. The purpose of this timely international gathering in Cyprus is not to revisit the history of the past 40 plus years but to create the history of the future. The community of scientists and practitioners of the science of dialogic design has now expanded to include people from all parts of the world and a variety of languages and cultures. This dedicated community of scientists will gather for a whole week to deliberate formally and informally on how to evolve the process and retain its scientific credibility together with its cultural sensitivity.

We recognize the fact that our third millennium world needs new methodologies and new tools capable of harnessing the collective wisdom of people from all walks of life in order to protect its sustainability and foster up harmony into its evolution. The event will include sessions dedicated to identifying needs, recognizing challenges and exploring options for new features and new solutions. Each day will include a Keynote Lecture, a Symposion, a Co-Laboratory and a an Evening Lecture all focusing on the same challenge. Some sessions will be parallel offering opportunities for senior members of the Global Agoras to deliberate on their own and to other participants to present and attend a classic-type conference.

No claim is being made abour the superiority of the Structured Dialogic Design Process, even though there is substantial empirical evidence, from more than 1,000 applications in the arena, to this effect when dealing with the management of complexity. SDDP belongs to the Third Phase of Science, and as a consequence it is meant to be complementary to other methodologies originating from First and Second Phases of Science.

A Glimpse into the Design Aims of the Program

1. Get to know each other and what everyone is doing At the launch of ever day's program, five people will be invited to present themselves and their key work. We called it Five Minutes of Fame because we expect participants to make VERY short, TEDx-style, presentations. The presentations will be videotaped using quality systems. To prepare for the preparation people should be offering answers to questions like who s/he is, what s/he is doing, what are hers/his major interests, vision for the future, the ONE most important message to leave with the group for the theme of the day, etc. To be allowed to present, one should submit a video 3 months ahead of time. This is to ensure that people have truly prepared for such a short, but very rich presentation and not come unprepared.

2. Define future features of wisdom harnessing tools We plan to use the Structured Dialogic Design Process Methodology and Cognicope analogous software to define requirements and future features of wisdom harnessing tools as reflected by practitioners and students of the science. An analogous virtual SDDP was organised more than 4 years ago and has driven developments since then. The vision is for a new process to kindle developments for the next 3-4 years using the authentic needs, ideas, and wishes of the community of scientists and practitioners.

3. Scaling-up the dialogue to engage thousands or millions The next frontier. An SDDP on the challenges of scaling up and engaging thousands or millions in social change processes adhering to the laws of the science of dialogic design.

4. Coordinating and aligning our efforts Challenge: How do we coordinate our efforts in organising dozens, if not hundreds, of SDDPs around the globe, letting people world-wide know about the potentials of the Dialogic Design Science.

Positioning Dialogic Design Science within the framework of other systems science methodologies and approaches Important questions:
questions such as the following:

Is Dialogic Design Science the appropriate response at this time and necessarily the preferred over others?
Can Dialogic Design Science contribute towards reaching a global consensus?
When and how is Dialogic Design Science complementary to other approaches offering other insights?
How can we best interrelate complementary approaches, each with a tendency to consider that it is of primary value -- especially in seeking to reinforce that perspective through the gathering

-- Supposing that significant support for Dialogic Design Science emerged as a consequence of the exercise, how is it assumed that the cases for marginalizing other approaches (considered to be of lesser relevance) would be undertaken

-- How best to deal with advocacy of competing approaches and their constituencies

-- if it is possible that "different strokes are required for different folks", how is this consideration to be recognized and integrated, especially if those marginalized by SDD strenuously object in some way

-- What questions remain unasked in framing the SDD initiative -- as they are in the framing of initiatives by others -- and how do such questions constrain the wider appreciation of the outcome

The deliberations at the gathering will address all four domains of the DOSM, i.e., the Foundation, Theory, Methodology, and Applications, in order to ensure the evolution of the science in accordance to the tenants of this model, as described in the referential transparency paper posted at the link: www.dialogicdesignscience.wikispaces.com

Preliminary Program

Day 1 Monday May 4

Main Theme: Contemporary Global Challenges

8: 30 - 9:00 Networking over coffee

9:00 - 9:30 Five Minutes of Fame

Person 1: Norma Romm
Person 2: Janet McIntyre
Person 3: Aleco Christakis
Person 4: Charalambos Solonos
Person 5: Eleni Michail

9:30 - 10:00 Keynote Norma Romm: The Epistemological Grounding of Structured Dialogical Design

10:00 - 10:30 Interactive Session with Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00 Networking Time

Parallel Session

11:00 - 13.00 Symposion 1: Contemporary Global Challenges

11:00 - 13.00 Subject: Contemporary Global Challenges

Reserved for members of the Global Agoras Group
Open to all participants

11:00 - 12.00 Three presentations (Conference style) Marios Michaelides

12:00 - 13.00 Training in the SDD Methodology

13:00 - 14.00 Free Light Lunch

14:00 - 18.00 Co-Laboratory of Democracy: Contemporary Global Challenges

Evening Lecture: Memories and Reflections from an event related to Contemporary Global Challenges (By a senior member of Global Agoras)

Day 2 Tuesday May 5

Main Theme: The Challenges of Scaling-up

8: 30 - 9:00 Networking over coffee

9:00 - 9:30 Five Minutes of Fame

Person 1: Katerina Fotiou
Person 2: Paul Hays
Person 3: Alda Rosa Roxana Cárdenas Esparza Farías
Person 4: Constantina Spanoude
Person 5: Maria Kakoulaki

9:30 - 10:00 Keynote: The Challenges of Scaling up - Yiannis Laouris

10:00 - 10:30

10:30 - 11:00 Networking Time

11:00 - 13.00 Symposion 2: The Challenges of Scaling up

11:00 - 13.00 Subject: The Challenges of Scaling up

Reserved for members of the Global Agoras Group
Open to all participants

11:00 - 12.00 Three presentations (Conference style)

Katerina Fotiou

Paul Hays: Thoughts on scalability

Yiannis Laouris: Local micro SDDs resulting into global consensus

Kevin Dye: Actual Variety and Its Discontents: Techniques for Eliciting & Articulating Participant’s "Perfect Dissatisfaction" with Transitory Social Networks of Engagements

12:00 - 13.00 Training in the SDD Methodology

13:00 - 14.00 Free Light Lunch

14:00 - 18.00 Co-Laboratory of Democracy: The Challenges of Scaling up
Triggering Question: What requirements should be satisfied in our effort to design SDD-type of engagements of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people?

Evening Lecture: The Power of the Image; Experiences and Examples - Maria Kakoulaki

Day 3 Wednesday May 6

Main Theme: Next Generation Tools

8: 30 - 9:00 Networking over coffee

9:00 - 9:30 Five Minutes of Fame

Person 1: Jeff Diedrich
Person 2: Kevin Dye
Person 3: Gayle Underwood
Person 4: Chrysoulis Zampas
Person 5: Savia Christou

9:30 - 10:00 Keynote: From Facebook to an SDD Social Media Application

10:00 - 10:30 Interactive Session with Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00 Networking Time

11:00 - 13.00 Symposion 4: Defining Features of Idea Prism

11:00 - 13.00 Subject: Defining Features of Idea Prism

Reserved for members of the Global Agoras Group
Open to all participants

11:00 - 12.00 Three presentations (Conference style)

Jeff Diedrich

Kevin Dye

Constantina Spanoude

Gayle Underwood: We All Have Special Needs

Elina Antoniou: How we can use creative thinking processes taugh by kids, during an SDDP process.

12:00 - 13.00 Training in the SDD Methodology

13:00 - 14.00 Free Light Lunch

14:00 - 18.00 Co-Laboratory of Democracy: Defining Features of Idea Prism
Triggering Question: What features are ideally required by a tool that will enable the participation of millions?

Evening Lecture: Memories and Reflections from the development of 20th Century Cogniscope tools - Kevin Dye

Day 4 Thursday May 7

Main Theme: Navigating Complexity using diverse Systems Methodologies

8: 30 - 9:00 Networking over coffee

9:00 - 9:30 Five Minutes of Fame

Person 1: Nikitas Assimakopoulos
Person 2: Kenneth Bausch
Person 3: Marios Michaelides
Person 4: Gerald Midgley
Person 5: Sotos Shiakides

9:30 - 10:00 Keynote by Gerald Midgley: Navigating complexity using diverse systems approaches.

10:00 - 10:30 Interactive Session with Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00 Networking Time

11:00 - 13.00 Symposion 5: TBA

11:00 - 13.00 Subject: TBA

Reserved for members of the Global Agoras Group
Open to all participants

11:00 - 12.00 Three presentations (Conference style)

12:00 - 13.00 Training in the SDD Methodology

13:00 - 14.00 Free Light Lunch

14:00 - 18.00 Co-Laboratory of Democracy: Navigating Complexity using diverse Systems Methodologies.
Triggering Question: "What would be the requirements for achieving a transformation to more systemic policy-making, decisio- making, and acting at all scales, from global to local?”

Evening Lecture: Engaging Systems Scientists Worldwide - Nikitas Assimakopoulos

Day 5 Friday May 8

Main Theme: 21st Century Problématique and Global Democratic [R]evolution

8: 30 - 9:00 Networking over coffee

9:00 - 9:30 Five Minutes of Fame

Person 1: Heiner Benking
Person 2: [[]]
Person 3: Yiannis Laouris
Person 4: [[]]
Person 5: [[]]

9:30 - 10:00 Keynote Aleco Christakis

10:00 - 10:30 Interactive Session with Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00 Networking Time

11:00 - 13.00 Symposion 6: TBA

11:00 - 13.00 Subject: TBA

Reserved for members of the Global Agoras Group
Open to all participants

11:00 - 12.00 Three presentations (Conference style)

Tom Flanagan: Deliberation: a path to catalysis, catharsis, or chaos

Sotos Shiakides, [[]]

12:00 - 13.00 Training in the SDD Methodology

13:00 - 14.00 Free Light Lunch

14:00 - 18.00 Co-Laboratory of Democracy: 21st Century Problématique and Global Democratic [R]evolution.
Triggering Question: What Challenges do we face in addressing the 21st Century Problématique and Global Democratic [R]evolution?

Evening Lecture: The Club of Rome replayed: The triumph of technocracy over democracy. - Aleco Christakis

Day 6 Saturday May 9

SDD Facilitators Training School: Hands-on Training Opportunities for advanced and beginner SDD Facilitators to advance their skills through practical training. Interested individuals should register well in advance. The organisers will assign to them roles (i.e., Broker, Sponsor, Member of the Design Team, co-Facilitator, Lead Facilitator etc.) and mentor them throughout the process.

Day 7 Sunday May 10

Day trip

A Historical Perspective: From the Club of Rome to the Digital Era

For the last 40 plus years there have been probably more than 1,000 applications of SDDP in Co-Laboratories of Democracy staged in a variety of settings around the world. For example in Cyprus, the location of this Symposion (it is a Greek word meaning drinking together), we have a history of more than 20 years of applications and more than 70 Co-Laboratories^[2] with government agencies, such as the Ministries of Finance, Transportation, Interior, and many others, as well as bi-communal colabs involving Greek and Turkish Cypriots addressing issues of conflict resolution and peace building on the island of Aphrodite.

The first test of the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) algorithm, developed by John Warfield^[3] in 1971, was conducted by Dave Malone and Aleco Christakis on the table top of Warfield’s office at the Battelle Columbus Laboratories in Ohio, USA. The first application of ISM with real people was conducted by Brother Raymond Fitz, who later on became the President of the University of Dayton, with the City Council of Dayton in 1973. There is a video of this ISM session with the members of the city council deliberating on setting budget priorities for allocating the city revenue. The first Center for Interactive Management was established by Warfield and Christakis at the University of Virginia in 1982, and was moved to George Mason University in 1984. The first consultancy employing the Interactive Management methodology, a predecessor of SDD, was established by Christakis in Philadelphia in 1989, and it worked for 25 years with more than 50 clients in government agencies, corporations, foundations, and NGOs. The Institute for 21st Century Agoras was founded by Dr. Ken Bausch and Aleco Christakis in 2002, in preparation for the 2003 International conference of ISSS (www.ISSS.org) in Crete, when Christakis was serving as President of the systems society met Yiannis Laouris for the first time. Soon there after Laouris established the Future Worlds Center who emerged as a leader in the evolution of SDD.

The purpose of this timely symposion in Cyprus is not to revisit the history of the past 40 plus years, but to create the history of the future on the foundation of past history. The community of scientists and practitioners of the Dialogic Design Science has now expanded to include people from all parts of the world and a variety of languages and cultures. This dedicated community of scientists will gather for the first time in this symposion for a whole week, and will deliberate formally and informally on how to evolve the process and retain its scientific credibility together with its cultural sensitivity.

The Framework of their deliberations will be the Domain of Science Model (DOSM) developed by Warfield and shown graphically here.

Examples of analogous efforts

Currently consideration is being given to the process of argumentation on the web and the only too evident weaknesses of current methodologies. Examples are documented below.