Feedback on the 1st GASi Online Symposium

Dear Peter,
I couldn’t find the email asking for feedback about the GASi Online Symposium, so I’m responding directly to you with some comments

I thought the symposium was a real achievement, given that it was the first online event of its kind. Although there were anxious moments and occasional technological crises, it came together surprisingly well and on the whole had a fresh, exciting atmosphere. It was a particular delight to see so many new faces from far-flung places, brimming with youth and enthusiasm. This highlighted the absence of a large segment of the senior European group analytic establishment, who may have been wary of the online demands of the event. Although these people were missed, there was a sense of the landscape of group analysis changing quite markedly, opening up in a truly international way, embracing different cultures and peoples. My own workshop (with Gila Ofer), “Love stories”, which focused on the language people use to express being in love, was considerably enriched by a panorama of new faces bringing their own distinctive perspective to the subject. Of course, there were also tensions and hostilities, particularly as  expressed in the large group, although this wasn’t much different from large groups in general, and there was some sense of understanding and tentative movement by the end of the event. That the large group remained more or less full until the end seemed a reflection of people’s motivation and willingness to work with conflict. Much of this may have been facilitated by being online, making attendance from distant countries more possible and affordable and highlighting the advantages of large-scale online events.

If I have a criticism, it is the lack of an evaluative approach to symposium proceedings. I am not suggesting anything as formal and exhaustive as, for example, the highly structured evaluations practised by the American Group Psychotherapy conferences, but a more low-key, possibly more qualitative approach, might help to strengthen the overall value of our symposia.

I very much appreciated the effort that the organisers put into this, both on the group analytic and technological-hosting side, making this a meaningful and hopeful ‘first’. I’m aware that you played a significant role in this – so thanks.
Morris Nitsun

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

The Symposium gave me so much more than I had anticipated. During lockdown, my months of working in groups with unreliable and broken connections had sensitized my anxiety levels. In fact, my main reasons for subscribing to the Symposium were a) I thought GASI could do with the money and b) I hoped I might learn more about how to cope with Zoom as I face another year of working with groups online.

Thus, before the first session, in a spasm of panic, I contacted a Nicolas via the chat who told me reassuringly how I could join. As the sessions went on, my mental state completely changed; Kuoni was so reliable that I became excitedly expectant as I sat through the seconds countdown until I could press the green Join button and only felt worried when it was a minute or two late.

I have a huge appreciation for the whole GASi organising team as well as Kuoni. I can imagine the massive amount of work (at many levels) that it must have all involved.

The composition of my small group was a precious gift which I feel will remain internalised with me. There was someone from Rwanda, India, America, Poland, Germany, Slovenia and Spain in our first session. I learned so much from all of them; so different but so much in common.  As the only person based in the UK, I also learned more about myself ~ with a dose of humility.

I heard others appreciating the refuge and thinking space of their small groups after the turmoil of the large group. But I also re-learned something about enduring the large group and the difficulty of finding a voice. I know there were opposite views expressed ~ some loudly! ~ but I was grateful and relieved that there was no written Chat. I realise that I want to keep the psychic ~ and actual ~ family together and the Chat feels too much like splitting to me.

I enjoyed the Keynote presentations and have re-visited them. Jose Miguel’s comment, “If we don’t feel we can communicate properly…we try other ways to communicate…often based on our attachment pattern” seems pertinent to my above feelings about the Chat.

I also gained new knowledge at my chosen Workshops, but I particularly enjoyed the coming together and new connections and understanding in Dale Godby’s ‘The Language of Faith and the Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Social Pre-Conscious’. Once again, my erroneous assumptions were corrected.
Jacqueline Fogden

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

The online symposium has been my first experience and contact with GASI and I have been literally overwhelmed (and both physically as well as mentally exhausted) for some days after the symposium.  The possibility to access the platform even after the end of the symposium has been a gain for me to get a theoretical insight to some other presentations I was not able to attend live and, as a L3-learner in English, a way to stop and rewind when I realized comprehension/language problems or special expressions during the presentation to be able to look things up in a dictionary and to follow the presenters ideas in detail.

I really appreciated to be able to take personal notes while following and take a break from impressions when needed. In contrast, the idea of being recorded on video that remains in the internet does not correspond to me. Personally, I struggled to establish personal contact or relationship as there has been much of my effort put in orientation and overcoming my technical along with language challenges, which I regret as I usually enjoy discussion and personal face-to face exchange. So, I felt sometimes kind of “lost in translation” in the bigger groups.
To take part in an online social program has not been an option for me because I felt the need to move for a while outside a (virtual and real) room in a wider space after sitting and focusing on the screen for a longer time.
Although I have recognized some familiar faces and have been quite curious to get to know some people better, sometimes I didn’t know how to get in contact with others, which made me feel dissatisfied of my possibilities to express myself the way I would have liked and left a kind of sadness. Nevertheless, some connections have been made emotionally or with words and will stay in my mind.

It has been a rich, dense and really educational event for me and I am deeply grateful having participated.
It helped me to realize how precious a shared space of direct communication is for myself and how much emotion and personality can be lost when a person is being translated in another language or using other than the tongue he or she feels comfortable in.

Best regards and a warm thank you to the organizational team and the interpreters. Hoping everybody will stay safe in these days.
Christina Muller

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

The 1^st GASI Online Symposium was for me a unique experience and I would really like to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to participate in it.

The most valuable thing was that this participation itself created inside me the feeling of belonging to a great group, in an open minded and open heart family where everything could be included: even the hard and the full of intensity moments I experienced in the Large Group! I have to admit that after the Large Group, I had a headache and I wondered how so large groups can be functional in general.

Maybe the answer to this question has already been given through the Symposium.

On Saturday evening the experience was more than great: We were also many people – not of course so many as in the Large Group – but the “atmosphere” was so different! This is because we didn’t have to exchange opinions and ideas, but only to share, through art, feelings and memories. I heard such beautiful songs and music that night and besides that I also had a chance to sing and danced special dances! I really felt being, effortlessly, in a full and deep connection with all members.

The most important was that I experienced myself something that was written in my text: The one I presented on Sunday noon under the title “The Symbolic Language of Myths as a Tool of Assimilation and Inclusion/The Case of Refugees and Immigrants: Learning Greek through the Myth of Antigone”.

Let me give you the extracts that I’m referring to:

I have so many beautiful and interesting memories from the three years that I spend with this class, aiming at the simultaneous satisfaction of two wishes that seem to conflict one another but in reality complement each other: to find common customs, common points (“oh, we too do it this way”) and at the same time to communicate something that would differentiate each student, each member of our group, giving them the chance to defend a national identity that served to preserve the uniqueness of personal memory and personal myths

«Inspired by Antigone’s words and inspired by the reaction of students to the Antigone’s words (“I was not born to hate, but to love”) I asked them to bring some verses from a poem or song in their own language speaking of love. And we did a sort of a “little experiment”. We abandoned ourselves to the sound of the words to find out what feelings can be caused by an untranslated language that we don’t speak and what it can make us imagine that these words mean. And what another person, a member of our team, can tell us with words, but also beyond them.

It was incredible, but almost all of us understood what we normally wouldn’t be able to understand. Yes, we did know that the central theme was love, but we managed, for instance, to distinguish whether what we heard had to do with maternal love, a fiancé’s love or the love for one’s country… We were able, even momentarily, to “speak” many different languages because we had managed to make a code of “our group language”, “our own language”, a language related to our group, and what happened within it.

In addition I would like to express my feelings during my presentation. The attendees were very supportive, encouraging and emotionally connected to what I talked about.

In the same way, I was the receptor of those feelings as well, while I was attending the other participants. (Workshop: Walls that divide us: who are you, who am I, who are we in this space together)

All in all, I feel this Symposium offered a lot and proves the idea that “they are more to bring people together rather than separate them.”

Thank you once more for your support and looking forward to a future Symposium!
Olga Nikolaidou
Hellenic Institute for Group Analytic and Family Psychotherapy, Athens, Greece

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Mi valoración sobre la organización del evento online es muy buena, debido a lo innovador, atrevido y con buenos resultados de la organización de un evento con estas características tan novedosas y difíciles de gestionar.

Personalmente debo decir que he quedado bastante insatisfecho por la gestión de los dos trabajos que había presentado en la edición presencial que se había de realizar en Barcelona. Uno era una ponencia y otro un taller con el cual estuvimos trabajando con un equipo de seis personas durante seis meses. Cuando se trasladó el evento a la forma online se me pidió que eligiera uno de los dos trabajos presentados, y elegí el taller debido al trabajo realizado por el equipo y seguimos reuniéndonos para adaptarlo al formato online. Me sorprendió que se rechazara el trabajo con poca antelación y sin mucha explicación. Como he asistido al congreso no entendí porque esta actitud. Entiendo que se hubiera tenido que elegir, claro, pero hubiera sido conveniente por parte mía y del equipo una más cuidadosa explicación.

En segundo lugar, por invitación vuestra realicé una tarea de chair de una mesa redonda, sobre la cual en mi tarea de chair o moderador de la mesa no recibí ningún comentario por parte de la organización del Congreso de GASi. Salvo por los ponentes de la mesa, que mostraron su agradecimiento, ni tampoco se nombró mi tarea al enumerarse a las personas que se habían implicado en este tipo de tareas.

Por último una cuestión secundaria pero, importante de aclarar. He pagado la cuota del congreso presencial y al preguntar sobre la devolución de la diferencia entre el congreso presencial y el online, se me comentó que habían supuesto que lo había donado a la organización, y al comentar que no era así se me dijo en un formato automático que se me reembolsaría. Quiero dejar constancia de este hecho, que aún no se ha concretado.

Estas tres cuestiones, podría entender que se deben a la complejidad y a la situación de contexto particular que rodeó al congreso online. pero preferirá algún comentario de vuestra parte, ya que dada mi experiencia, en Congresos, Seminarios y libros escritos sobre las intervenciones y psicoterapias online, considero que se debe tener especial cuidado para que la relación online mantenga una relación vincular de buena calidad.

Quedo a la espera de algún comentario vuestro, y agradezco vuestra invitación a este intercambio o feedback.
Raúl Vaimberg
Médico Psiquiatra. Doctor en Psicología por la Universidad de Barcelona
Director del Máster en Grupos y Psicodrama por iL3-Universidad de Barcelona
Director del Grup Formació

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

First at all, I would like to thank for really beautiful, incredible  symposium. I didn’t believe that something online could be so good.

At the beginning I had experience that couldn’t enter in my small group, I asked  for  help via chat/help support/,and for minute someone was with me, and help me very much to enter in group. Lectures were very good, maybe one suggestion, Lectures on Spanish can not listen people who don’t speak Spanish on record form.

LG were very dynamic, provocative, but for me very useful.

Very,very good experience. THANKS

Best regards from Belgrade, Serbia
Jasmina Stojkovic

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Gracias Peter por esta oportunidad, como veras , ya estoy haciendo uso de la invitacion…

—La parte tecnica de incorporacion a los paneles abiertos o espacios no confidenciales, podria haber permitido mas “small talk” si se “abrian las puertas” 10 minutos antes para el “mingling” que es tan importante en estos eventos;
—Los participantes deben saber en el momento de la inscripcion quienes son los small groups conductors, el poder elegir el conductor es una base positiva e importante;
—El panell que yo dirigi, estaba programado a ser en castellano, los 5 que entraron, no hablan castellano y nos vimos obligadas a improvisar en Ingles. Lo logramos…. pero debe ser recalcado;
—El espacio que Taja creo para los conductores fue lo que me permitio contener toda la agrecion que sufri en el small group dia y medio, suele suceder que el grupo o participantes agredan al conductor, no es nuevo , pero en este caso, fue un gran error del comite cientifico o quien decidio como formal los smal groups;
—no tengo “solucion” a lo que voy a acatar ahora, pero es problematico: realizar el ultimo encuentro del small group, despues de cierre del simposyum es “raro”…. en nuestro caso fue una exelente secion, inclucive se adherio una participante de RWANDA que no lo logro hacer antes, pero es muy raro….

QUIERO VOLVER  A AGRADECER POR LA OPORTUNIDAD QUE ME DIERON Y LA CONFIANZA QUE SENTI , DEPOSITARON EN MI PARA ASUMIR LOS ROLES QUE ME DESTINARON, ESPERO QUE LOS PARTICIPANTES HAYAN TENIDO UNA BUENA EXPERIENCIA.

Hoy es Yom Kipur, yo no ayuno ya que no soy religiosa ni conservo estas costunbres tradicionalistas, pero aprovecho la oportunidad para disculparme si mis palabras son demaciado “demandantes” ni me imagino cuan complicado es realizar un evento como el que lograron llevar a cabo.

Muchas Gracias y hasta la proxima!
Yafi Shpirer

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Participar en este primer symposium online ha sido una gratificante experiencia para mí.

Sorprendentemente conseguí conectar más con mis compañeros de lo que yo esperaba.

La plataforma Onair funcionó perfectament, no tuve ningún problema de conexión.

Disfruté tanto de las actividades de grupo grande, mediano o pequeño. Aunque creo que las actividades de grupo pequeño y mediano permiten conocernos más.

El programa social no fué de mi gusto, pero entiendo que esto es muy personal.

Para próximas ediciones online mejoraría el espacio para encuentros. Era complicado el sistema para poder acordar un encuentro.

La experiencia del grupo grande fue, para mi, absolutamente equiparable a al experiencia presencial en grupo grande. Disfruté mucho con esta experiencia,.

Una última reflexión: El hecho de que el tema de este symposium era “las lenguas”, áñadido a que era online, puso de manifiesto las relaciones de poder que se establecen dentro de la GASI. Se evidenció que las personas que no hablan inglés tienen menos capacidad de participación. Lo mismo pasaba con las personas que viven en países con mucha diferencia horaria respecto al programa. Pienso que deberíamos reflexionar al respecto, porque el grupoanálisis si algo nos ha enseñado es que en un grupo todos los participantes deben sentirse incluidos. Creo que debemos pensar cómo facilitar la participación de los colegas que no viven en el territorio anglosajón, que parece ser el dominante. Debemos pensar en cómo dar voz a todos los que nos sentamos en círculo para hablar y reflexionar sobre el grupoanálisis.

Por último, agradecer el gran esfuerzo que ha supuesto la organización de este symposium. Muchas gracias a todas y cada una de las personas que lo han hecho posible. Sin duda, ha valido la pena.
Pilar Vidal Massot

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

For me all worked very well though it is an extra effort to be online several hours. Thank you for the Symposium and that you arranged it online when it wasn’t possible to arrange it in Barcelona.

The only problem I had with zoom and the platform was that I first didn’t find out how I could see the others at the seminar at the same time when the presenters shared screen. But the more we work online the more we learn so I did find out after a while.

My language is Swedish so it always take some time for me to start talk English and I thought it took longer online.

On the whole everything worked very well though it always is better to meet face to face. This was the best to do in this difficult time.
Pia Litzell Berg

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

I was glad to be able to contribute to this very special event, online symposium.

I will first of all thank you and the whole staff for doing this enormous job to mak the symposium happen.
I found both the platform and the zoom very well organized although complicated to get to learn to use, especially because  I could not open the training program when it run but had to look at it when they were released. Then all the questions were helpful.

Well, there were technical problems during presentations but we also experience that when live. When you are only a few people on the screen you can have an experience of real contact and conversation, but with many it disappears very easily and then you miss the possibility to see people during the brakes.

I didn’t have energy also to join social programs, was exhausted  after a day on the screen.

So off course a conference where we meet as usual is the best, but when it is not possible online can work alright.

Regarding the paper panel I chaired I must say we were all a bit nervous about it, both the presenters and myself, but it was very helpful to have the 20 min. before the event together with the technical host. We had a good chat getting to know each other a bit and I think this became the basis for supporting the presenters during and after their talk.

I am very impressed by the whole set up though there was much to learn to use it properly.

I can also add, that during the conference we were 2/3 colleges together in the same place, so we had the opportunity to discuss the speakers presentation and to share the experience of being at the conference. This I very much recommend!
Hanne Larsson

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

First of all, I would like to congratulate you – the organizers. You impressed me. You’ve done what seemed impossible. I don’t mean the technical side of the event here, but you created a space where a fruitful, and for me, a developmental meeting took place.

If I were to say what didn’t work – I think the human factor, not entirely related to the organization of the event. In my opinion, not all speakers were prepared for their speeches, but this is not the responsibility of the organizers. Indeed, taking into account the on-line formula, if screens with presentations were made available, it would facilitate both the understanding and greater remembering of the conveyed content (taking into account the language barrier).

The OnAir platform is excellent. The support team was on the alert and reacted very quickly.

Large Group, like Large Group – dynamic, full of different feelings, desires, disappointments, and reflections.

I cannot comment on the social program because I did not participate in it. After so many hours in front of the screen, I felt the urge to be in touch with a living human being and was returning to my family, but I’m glad there was an opportunity for a less formal meeting.

Congratulations once again.
Weronika Rybak
IAG Rasztow Poland

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

I really appreciated the opportunity to participate in this online symposium and benefited a lot. I appreciated the way we were supported from application, registration and attendance. The technology was so fantastic, despite the fact that it is a bit expensive in our developing countries. I was attending from Rwanda and I appreciated to in a small group with someone from UK, Brazil, Jerusalem/Palestine, German and Serbia. I learnt from them and they were source of psychological and emotional support despite physical distance that separated us. I also appreciated findings from different studies presented in this symposium as they were for me a source of inspiration for further learning process. What did not work well was discussions in large groups, considering the background of genocide in my country I was affected by discussions with hostility behaviours that ended always without any guidance I always felt guilt for doing nothing about it.
Emmanuel Nzabonimpa

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

I was satisfied by the process overall and it has been a rich experience for me that was not inferior compared to actually being there. I felt a part of the global society of colleagues. Especially because I could not come to Barcelona, it was important for me to attend on line. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity!

I participated in the leaderless women’s group which I found a very moving experience and the most important one. I felt honoured to be a part of that group, sharing feelings and thoughts with people I had never met before. An experience that opened up my soul and my mind…I also attended the workshop conducted by Morris Nitsun and Gila Ofer and I was lucky to do so because we were 45 people instead of 15. And above all I much appreciate the fact that I could register literally the last minute and thus, was included…
Katerina Papamanousaki
Social Worker, MA, Group Analyst

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Thank you for the online Symposium!

Of course it could be much better to have it in the reality in Barcelona but according to circumstances it was good to have it on line.

My difficulty was in timing. When I asked the organizers and got the answer that the time table in the programme is given according to time in Spain, Barcelona, I added one hour (the difference between Russia, Moscow time and Spain Barcelona).

And as a result I was late to the opening and my experiential group. It was sad to realize that though I tried to prepare everything something was wrong. There was misunderstandings. Nobody write me that programme I have received is done according to time in Moscow, Russia. And that I should not accommodate it to Barcelona time.

It was very good to include flamenco workshop it was like a fresh air for me.

Thank for organizing this Symposium!
Gizel Bakirova