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ALI 2026
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ALI 2026 – AUTHORITY LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION
26th International Group Relations Conference in Italy
ALI 2026 offers participants a temporary institution in which to explore, through direct experience, the tension between authority and freedom that runs through every collective context. Understanding and changing institutions means first and foremost understanding and changing the way each of us participates in them—how we exercise or suffer Authority, how we build or deny Freedom. In the here and now of the Conference, it will be possible to observe and understand the processes that animate institutional life, learning from one’s own participation and experience how forms of authority and belonging are constructed, defended, or transformed in the organizations to which we belong.
The 26th edition of ALI will be held in Brisighella, Emilia Romagna, in a simple and welcoming location that offers adequate space for work and shared reflection. It is a sober setting that encourages concentration on the experience and, by putting excess aside, allows us to rediscover what is essential in the life of groups and institutions.
Authority and Freedom
Understanding and Changing the Institutions in which we live
Director Giovanni Foresti
Vice Director: Francesco Noseda
Dear Participants,
Experience has shown that group dynamics cannot be understood simply by reading books. Books provide readers with many ideas, of course, and very useful ones; but in order to understand group processes, and above all to learn how to work with what they stir up in us, we need to experience group life. To be precise, we need to experience the life of groups and the institutions that “contain” them.
ALI is an international residential seminar that will reach its 26th edition in 2026. The acronym that designates it summarizes in three words the issues that the tradition of “group relations conferences” (Institute Tavistock in England, AKRI in the USA and IL NODO in Italy) has long identified as indicative of the most frequent problems: authority, leadership and innovation.
The 2026 edition will have the following title: Authority and freedom. Understanding and Changing the Institutions in Which We Live.
The words that make up the title were chosen because we felt it was necessary to reflect (reflect as we do within the framework of this methodology: that is, to reflect while immersing ourselves in group processes) on the conceptual pair that constitutes the first part of the title. Authority and freedom are always more or less in conflict on a logical and ethical level. But in times of crisis, when authoritarian temptations arise and social conflicts become more acute, these two concepts become dramatically antithetical. This applies not only to those who work in institutions but also to citizens who observe and take part in what is happening in national and international politics, public life, the press, state bodies and cultural events.
The stakes are high: it is a question of (re)building hope as workers and as citizens.
ALI 2026 offers participants a temporary institution in which to explore, through direct experience, the tension between authority and freedom that runs through every collective context. Understanding and Changing Institutions means first and foremost understanding and changing the way each of us participates in them — how we exercise or suffer Authority, how we build or deny Freedom. In the here and now of the Conference, it will be possible to observe and understand the processes that animate institutional life, learning from one’s own participation and experience how forms of authority and belonging are constructed, defended or transformed in the organizations to which we belong.
The 26th edition of ALI will be held in Brisighella, Emilia Romagna, in a simple and welcoming location offering spaces suitable for work and shared reflection. A sober setting that encourages concentration on the experience and, by putting excess aside, allows us to rediscover what is essential in the life of groups and institutions.
We invite you to come and live/reflect with us.
The Directorate of ALI 2026
Crediti ECM: evento in corso di accreditamento
Limited number of partecipants
FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
Administrators:
Federica Belosi (+39 349 7813278),
Stefano Rambelli (+39 347 1323483),
Laura Ravaioli (+39 333 1412747)
ali@ilnodogroup.it
THE PRIMARY TASK
To explore, in the here-and-now of the temporary organization of the Conference, the conscious and unconscious processes that emerge when leadership and followership encounter and negotiate the tension between authority and freedom, as it takes shape in the institutions of which we are part
WHO IS THIS CONFERENCE FOR?
Participation in the Conference is valuable for those working in business or service contexts, whether public or private, who are interested in understanding, managing, and improving organizational and group dynamics while enhancing their effectiveness in addressing them.
All organizational processes include an emotional, irrational, and unconscious dimension.
When this component is not recognized and addressed, a system’s effectiveness diminishes, proportionally increasing both the emotional and financial costs to the organization. Participation in the Conference enables participants to observe, recognize, and manage this dimension, which is essential to the functioning of any system or organization.
The Conference is especially effective when two or more people from the same organization participate, particularly during major changes, crises, mergers, or acquisitions. For this reason, the participation fee includes discounts for multiple participants from the same organization.
METHODOLOGY STRUCTURE
The approach adopted for the action research on these themes is rooted in the systemic-psychodynamic tradition of group relations conferences – a methodology that, after nearly seventy years (dating back to the first Leicester conference in 1957), remains highly effective. The design of the Conference and the activities offered to participants facilitate experiential learning, an educational process based on direct experience of group and organizational dynamics that fosters self-reflection and encourage a spirit of inquiry. Participants, together with the staff, will critically explore various experiences and behaviors, as well as their own approaches to assuming and interpreting leadership and followership roles. Beginning with general plenary sessions and concluding with review and application groups, ALI 2026 will feature a progression of small and large group sessions, social dreaming processes, inter-group dynamics, and an extended, intensive organizational event. This form of learning is not intended to be therapeutic and may, at times, be stressful. Therefore, individuals currently facing significant personal challenges are advised to consider postponing their participation to a future edition.
SCHEDULE
The Conference begins at 11:30 a.m. on February 19, 2026, and ends at 5:30 p.m. on February 22, 2026.
Welcoming and registration will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. on February 19, 2026.
The conference is residential. For a comprehensive learning experience, participants are required to attend the entire conference program.
STAFF
Director: Giovanni Foresti
Vice Director: Francesco Noseda
Training Group Director: Antonio Samà
Training Group Vice Director: Juiet Scott
Administrator: Federica Belosi
Administrator: Stefano Rambelli
Administrator: Laura Ravaioli
Consultants selected from:
Anna Frank
Claudio Cassardo
Jolita Buzaitytė-Kašalynienė
Marco Valerio
Maxine Dennis.
Rossana Schiavo
REGISTRATION AND FEES
Early Bird participants: €1,160.00
Early Bird Node Members and sponsoring organization members: €1,010.00
Price for participants after January 20th: €1,400.00
Early Bird T group participants: €1,400.00
Early Bird T group Node Members and sponsoring organization members: €1,300.00
Price for participants after January 20th: €1,586.00
ECM: accreditation pending for a minimum of 39 ECM credits
Cancellation of event registration will incur the following penalties.
FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
Administrators:
Federica Belosi (+39 349 7813278),
Stefano Rambelli (+39 347 1323483),
Laura Ravaioli (+39 333 1412747)
ali@ilnodogroup.it
HOW TO REACH THE SITE
By car: Take the A14 motorway and exit at Faenza. Follow signs to Brisighella, then to the Fagnano area: Istituto Emiliani, Via Emiliani 54.
By train: Trains depart hourly from Bologna to Faenza. Bologna Airport is connected to Bologna Centrale railway station by bus or high-speed train. Upon request, a transfer service will be available from Faenza station. Other nearby airports include Milan, Venice, and Forlì.
PARTNERS
Con il patrocinio di :
Akri (A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems) – For over 50 years, AKRI has helped individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. understand the complexity, beauty, power, and importance of groups. Its mission is to support and promote the study of group relations through educational initiatives. Utilizing a model originating at the Tavistock Institute in London, AKRI facilitates learning through experiential Group Relations Conferences that help participants identify often hidden, unexplored, and unconscious aspects of groups and organizations. It also provides certification programs to train professional consultants in this field. The ALI 2025 Group Relations Conference is approved by AKRI as consistent with its educational standards for training in group relations within the Tavistock tradition.
The A.M.H.P.P.I.A. is an association of psychoanalytic psychotherapists focused on the care and psychological well-being of children, adolescents, and families. It serves as a hub for networking, exchange, training, and continuing education among professionals trained at the Martha Harris Study Center. The A.M.H.P.P.I.A. is part of the European Psychoanalytical Federation, which includes the European societies affiliated with the International Psychoanalytical Association. Founded in 1997, it addresses the needs of professionals who specialized in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents, following the Tavistock model, to continue their training through in-depth study and the exchange of theoretical and clinical experiences in psychoanalysis.
IPA (International Psychoanalytical Association) is the world’s leading accrediting and regulatory body for the psychoanalytic profession, comprising about 70 constituent organizations and 12,000 members. It was founded in 1910 by Sigmund Freud at the suggestion of Sándor Ferenczi, with Carl Gustav Jung as its first president and Otto Rank as its first secretary. The IPA’s mission is to ensure the vitality and advancement of psychoanalysis for the benefit of patients in psychoanalytic treatment. Its objectives include fostering new psychoanalytic groups, stimulating scientific dialogue, promoting research, and improving training procedures
OFEK – Organization, Person, Group – is a public non-profit association for the study of group and organizational processes, founded in Israel in 1986. OFEK develops and applies psychoanalytic and open systems theories in the Tavistock tradition of group relations. Since its founding, OFEK has held annual international group relations conferences in association with the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, London. It also organizes biannual Hebrew-language conferences, thematic conferences, customized conferences and workshops for organizations, scientific meetings, professional development courses (Touch OFEK courses and seminars), and other activities
Solco Ravenna is a social cooperative consortium that promotes human development and social integration by managing personal services and employment opportunities for vulnerable populations.
SIPRe: Since 1976, the Society for Relational Psychoanalysis has been engaged in research and revision of psychoanalysis aimed at developing an open theoretical-clinical model capable of keeping pace with the evolution of knowledge and the transformations of the times. Over the years, the SIPRe model has been applied to various areas of clinical intervention, including group therapy. It shares an interest in constructing a general theory of the human being that focuses on the idea of the subject and the relationship, paying close attention to the coherence between theory, method, and technique, and the need to make psychoanalysis available to the needs of today’s society. In 2000, the Institute for Training in Psychotherapy with a focus on Relational Psychoanalysis was recognized, and since then it has been training psychotherapy candidates in Milan, Rome, and Parma.
The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a non-profit organization that applies social science to contemporary issues and challenges. Formally established as a charity in 1947, its research and study activities began after World War I alongside those of the Tavistock Clinic. www.tavinstitute.org
