Metaphorum 2025: Collective intelligence, agency and resilience.
Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK July 3rd - 5th 2025
Following Berlin, we were working to create an interactive, participatory experience where presentations, workshops and opportunities to exchange ideas are nicely balanced.
2025 year’s conference will focus upon the way that Stafford Beer’s work affects our understanding of the broad theme of the conference (originally called: ‘Humans at risk? Applying the Viable System Model and Team Syntegrity for steering Towards Agency and Resilience in the Age of Alien Intelligence and Instability’).
Given the emerging contributions from participants, we have renamed the conference title as: ‘Collective intelligence, agency and resilience‘.
The main selected themes were:
- Theme 1: VSM meets AI for Navigating the Unpredictable – The Cybernetic Bridge: Managing identity through surprise.
Lead: Stephen Brewis - Theme 2: Organisational Resilience in Action: Enhancing Viability in Dynamic Systems. Lead: Ayham Fattoum
- Theme 3: Developments of the Viable System Model and Team Syntegrity: incorporating innovation in science, methodology and applications. Lead: Allenna Leonard & Juliana Alves
In addition we did run two workshops:
- Workshop 1: A Viable System Model (VSM)’s Master Class.
Lead: M Pfiffner, J. Perez-Rios (t.b.c.), A Espinosa - Workshop 2: A Team Syntegrity (TS) experience,
Leads: A. Leonard & J Alves
Recorded presentations
Schedule
Thursday, July 3 |
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09:00 BST |
Onsite Registration and Networking Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 |
10:00 BST |
Official opening and welcome by the organizers team Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Angela Espinosa, Jon Walker, Allenna Leonard, Ayham Fattoum |
10:15 BST |
Problem Jostle Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Jon Walker, Angela Espinosa, Ayham Fattoum, Allenna Leonard |
11:15 BST |
Coffee break Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 |
11:30 BST |
Raul Espejo – Welcome to the Conference on ‘Collective Intelligence, Agency and Resilience” Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 |
11:45 BST |
Observing interactions- a project background
Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013
Speakers: Igor Perko
Designing for Regeneration: Activating Collaborative Intelligence in Living Systems Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Jan De Visch |
12:45 BST |
Lunch |
13:45 BST |
The Viable System Model for Strengthening the Resilience of Rural Communities in Mexico City’s Water and Tourism System
Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013
Speakers: Zeltzin Pérez Matamoros
Workshop: A Blueprint for a ‘state of the art’ (VSM) Environment for Decision Making Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Steve Brewis, Angela Espinosa, Martin Pfiffner, Jose Perez Rios, Jon Walker |
14:45 BST |
Viable Sustainable Missions (2VSM): Toward Recursive Governance for Systemic Sustainability Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Pedro Pablo Cardoso, Nirvia Ravena de Sousa |
15:45 BST |
Coffee break |
16:00 BST |
Climate Change and three models of governance to deal with it: Polycentricity, Experimentalist, and the Viable System Model
Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013
Speakers: Brian Lederer
The Viable System Model as a Framework for National Sustainability: Insights from the UAE’s Governance Structure Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Dr Iffat Sabir Chaudhry |
17:00 BST | Closing of Day 1 Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 |
19:00 BST | Informal gathering – Later in the bar Location: TBA |
Friday, July 4 |
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09:00 BST |
Designing Adaptive Governance for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Viable System Approach in the Face of Systemic Risks Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Juliana Mariano Alves, Jon Walker |
09:30 BST |
How might system science improve human wellbeing? Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Shann Turnbull |
10:30 BST |
Coffee break |
10:45 BST |
Protocols for Change
Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013
Speakers: Ivo Velitchkov
Workshop: Enhancing VSM: Integrating Resilience and Human Values for System Viability Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Stephen McGibbon, Ayham Fattoum, Andrew Basden |
11:45 BST |
Transduction and Identity: process and dynamics of adaptation in Viable Systems. Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: camilo osejo bucheli |
12:45 BST |
Lunch |
13:45 BST |
VSM Master Class (I)
Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009
Speakers: Angela Espinosa, Martin Pfiffner, Jose Perez Rios, Wolfgang Lassl
Integrating Diversity of Meaning into VSM Diagnosis and Design Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Andrew Basden |
14:00 BST |
‘Feeding the model’: field methods for the novice VSM practitioner Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Michael Lingard |
14:15 BST |
An endeavour towards efficiency for discussion at the VSM Masterclass Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Laura Joanne Donovan-Holmes, Laura Donovan-Holmes |
14:30 BST |
What is an effective VSM ‘elevator pitch’ to audiences unfamilar with Systems Thinking? Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: James Brewer |
14:45 BST |
VSM for Segmenting a UK-Wide Multi-Stakeholder Project
Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009
Speakers: Taiwo Alaje
From Alien Intelligence to Systemic Coherence: Toward Viable Human–AI Collaboration through VSM, GHAS, and the Science of Fit–Form–Function Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Gary Smith |
15:00 BST |
Navigating the Wild West: Applying the Viable System Model from the Margins of Power Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Malik Radwan |
15:15 BST |
VSM Master Class (II) Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Angela Espinosa, Martin Pfiffner, Jose Perez Rios, Wolfgang Lassl |
15:45 BST |
Coffee break |
16:00 BST |
The final clue of viability … Is it hidden in Dorian Gray’s picture?
Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009
Speakers: Wolfgang Lassl
The Process Industry Neurology Project Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Chris Hamlin, Penny Hamlin |
17:00 BST | Movement, music and perception” – a multimedia exploration of how technology changes perception, and what perceptual change means for viability Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Mark Johnson |
19:00 BST | Later at the bar, informal gathering Location: TBA |
Saturday, July 5 |
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09:00 BST |
AI as a Catalyst for Democratic, Bottom-Up Viable System Design: From Collective Intelligence to Orgn’l Resilience Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Peter Tuddenham, Jonathan Huxley, Jon Walker |
09:30 BST |
“From green to smart buildings: towards a Multi-Level Cybernetic Perspective (MLCP) of Built Environment Transition Intermediaries (BETIs)” Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Tom Chan |
10:30 BST |
Coffee break |
10:45 BST |
Fostering human intelligence, system intelligence and human accountability within the operations room – Eudemony as a measure of success.
Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009
Speakers: Ian Stokes
Team syntegrity taster – A Leonard, J Alves Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 Speakers: Allenna Leonard, Juliana Mariano Alves |
11:45 BST |
Cybernetic Leadership for AI Agents: A Viable System Model (VSM) Approach to AI Governance and Autonomy Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Dr. Jan Wehinger |
12:45 BST |
Lunch |
13:45 BST |
Team syntegrity New Developments – Joe Truss
Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013
Speakers: Joe Truss
Bridging VSM and AI: Reviewing Progress, Shaping Futures with the Metaphorum AI Special Interest Group Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Margeret Heath, Panos Panagiotakopoulos, Peter Tuddenham, Krishan Mathis |
14:45 BST |
Coffee break Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Coffee break Location: Metaphorum Room 2 is Manchester Business School Room 4013 |
15:00 BST |
‘Beer’s legacy – its impact on organisations, education and society: “What do we tell the grandchildren?”’ Location: Metaphorum Room 1. is Manchester Business School Room 4009 Speakers: Allenna Leonard, Angela Espinosa, Jon Walker, Ayham Fattoum |