IFSR Newsletter 2012 Vol. 29 No. 2 December
Yoshihide Horiuchi
Bela H. Banathy and others organized the first design conversation in 1982 in Fuschl am See in Austria near Salzburg. It was soon called the IFSR Fuschl Conversation. It has been held biannually until 2008. In 2010 for various reasons the Conversation was moved to Pernegg, near Vienna, a former monastery and in 2012 we held the Conversation in St. Magdalena on the outskirts of Linz, Austria. We now call it the ‘IFSR Conversation’ for not being associated with a specific location. There have been other Conversations held in Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California, and other places, in total some 40 Conversations have been held.
It is a six-day long systems design conversation to answer the question: “How can we use the insights gained from systems science for the improvement of the human conditions?” (Banathy, 1996, p. 219). According to Banathy, the two purposes of the design conversation are the specific knowledge it generates and the participation in the design conversation. “(Dialogue) aims to create a common frame of reference, a shared worldview among the parties of the dialogue.” (Banathy, 1996, p. 214)
Banathy summarizes findings of Ditterle et al. at the Fifth Asilomar Design conversation about the power a design conversation has, with its collective intelligence and shared meaning: “Does design conversation need a goal? Is the design conversation journey directed to a specific result or is it an adventure that has as its goal the adventure itself? …. Does design conversation aim at discovering attributes/manifestations of the group’s shared view of the world? Or should it create a practical, action-oriented plan? … (I)n a design-oriented design conversation instead of an either/or choice, both aims should be chosen.” (Banathy, 1996, p. 221)
Reference: Banathy, B.H.: Designing Social Systems in a Changing World, Plenum Press, New York, 1996, pp. 372, ISBN 0 306 45251 0,
The four Fuschl locations (below): Hotel Seewinkel in Fuschl, 1982 – 2002, Hotel Schlick, 2004 – 2008, Kloster Pernegg, Pernegg, 2010, St. Magdalena, Linz, 2012
Hotel Seewinkel in Fuschl, 1982 – 2002, IFSR Newsletter 2012 Vol. 29 No. 2 December
Hotel Schlick, 2004 – 2008, IFSR Newsletter 2012 Vol. 29 No. 2 December
Kloster Pernegg, Pernegg, Austria, 2010, IFSR Newsletter 2012 Vol. 29 No. 2 December
St. Magdalena, Austria, IFSR Newsletter 2012 Vol. 29 No. 2 December