General News
WOSC 18th 2021 Congress
WOSC 2021 congress was organised online in cooperation with the Russian Academy of sciences under the title:
Systems approach and cybernetics, engaging the future of mankind - The significance of systems and cybernetics in the future of societies
four themes were addressed:
1. Philosophical and methodological foundations for the development
of the systems approach and cybernetics
2. The cybernetics of society, ecology and governance
3. Technology and humanity: co-developing a hybrid reality
4. Transdisciplinarity of systems sciences and cybernetics: developing areas of knowledge
Bringing together 141 contributions, presented and discussed by researchers from all but one continents of the globe. More on the discussions and publications can be found here.
WOSC 2020 on-line event
WOSC, in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences will run an online event of conversations about the already proposed manifesto for WOSC 2020, as well as of its planned themes and sections. The conversations should provide to all of us an option to connect with our section co-coordinators and also among ourselves. In particular, we think that the COVID 19 pandemic should give us new perspectives about Crisis and post-crisis viability and governance.
The on-line event live streaming will take place on the 16th and 17th of September on https://www.wosc2020.org/, nevertheless several videos, which are part of the on-line event are being uploaded throughout September. You are most welcome to have look and provide valuable comments to the videos in Youtube. We do expect for the authors to reply on a short notice.
ASC 2020 Global Conversation
The ASC invites you to participate in “ASC 2020 Global Conversation,” September 12-13 2020. This event will consist of a series of live online conversations running across two days and various time zones.
WOSC 2020 moves to 2021
Due to the effects of the pandemic, the 18th WOSC Congress will take place from 27. to 29. September 2021
During the original Congress dates 16. to 18. September 2020, an on-line event will take place. Additional info: https://www.wosc2020.org/
Congratulations to The UK Cybernetics Society
for the 50th Anniversary!
You may find the invitation to the 50th Anniversary Conference in the upcoming events
WOSC 2017 Keynote videos
Step by step, we are publishing WOSC 2017 keynote videos. The are eye-opening, stimulative, and actually provide methods that might help us improve the world, we live in.
WOSC 2017 Follow -up
WOSC 2017 Congress was a great success. Over 170 participants from all over the world discussed on three major themes:
- People, Technology and Governance for Sustainability
- Democracy, interactions, and organisation
- Cyber-systemic thinking, modelling and epistemology
The keynotes speeches have inspired us to rethink our perception of the world and instructed us to use systems thinking in our efforts to understand the society complexity.
The results of the Congress are multiple. Besides from exchanging views on their research achievements, the participants created valuable bonds with their peers. They can multiply their research using several publication outcomes:
The proceedings of the Congress will be published in the first Volume of the Book Series on “Systems Management” by Giappichelli-Routledge.
WOSC 2017 related papers can be submitted to the following journals.
- Kybernetes with the special issue Cyber-systemic thinking for a smart society
- Futures. The journal of policy, planning and futures studies with the special issue Futures of Society: The Interactions Revolution
- Sustainability Science with the special issue People, Technology and Governance for Sustainability: the contribution of Systems and Cyber-systemic thinking
- Journal of Knowledge Management
- Journal of Management and Governance
Many thanks to all of the highly engaged participants and the organisers, that made the congress possible.
WOSC 2017 Early Bird Registration
In case you are not yet registered, please consider that by registering
before the 15.11.2016, you will benefit from the early bird discount.
To participate in the WOSC 2017, please login at: http://wosc2017rome.asvsa.org/index.php/paper-submission/login-menu and complete the Congress registration process.
WOSC 2017 abstract submisson deadline extension
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Thanks to all of you who have submitted an abstract to the WOSC 17th Congress. For those who were not able to hit the August 30th deadline, we have extended it to September 30th. In the meantime, the acceptance process will be in progress and we would appreciate receiving your abstracts as early as possible. Continue reading
WOSC 2017 Call for abstracts
Dear Friends and Colleagues We are happy to invite you to join us at the WOSC 17th Congress: Science with and for Society – Contributions of Cybernetics and Systems WOSC 2017, the 17th Congress of World Organisation of Systems and … Continue reading
May, 2016
We welcome the Russian “Centre of Interdisciplinary Research of Reflexive Processes and Control of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (CIRRPC)”.
Its main purposes are: Intensification and coordination of scientific research and development connected with a socio-humanistic perspectives of system analysis and control (cybernetics) in the following directions:
- reflexive processes and control;
- reflexive mechanisms of control of complexity; philosophical and methodological bases of the third-order cybernetics (post-non classical cybernetics of self-developing reflexive-active environments);
- integration into the third-order cybernetics of certain areas of modern knowledge (synergetrics, management of complexity, personal knowledge, ethics of strategic subjects, etc.);
- development of transdisciplinary approach in the context of the third-order cybernetics;
- development of socio-humanistic technologies of the organization of self-developing reflexive-active environments;
Tasks of the Center
- organize (time in two years) the international interdisciplinary scientific and practical symposiums “Reflexive Processes and Control” (ten symposiums are organized);
- publication of the international journal “Reflexive Processes and Control” (it is published since 2001).
Head of the Centre: Vladimir Lepskiy.
| It will be an active contributor to WOSC 2017
Call for abstracts: Business Systems Laboratory - 4th International Symposium “Governing Business Systems: Theories and Challenges for Systems Thinking in Practice” August 24-26, 2016 | Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania |
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Publication of selection of papers presented at WOSC 2014
Raul Espejo was the Guest Editor of Vol 44, Issues 6/7 of the Journal Kybernetes, published at the end of September. This double issue included 23 of the contributions to our last Congress. Copy of this editorial is in the file below:
Governing the Anthropocene: Cybersystemic Possibilities
Professor Ray Ison, the President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, extended an invitation to WOSC to participate in the event “Governing the Anthropocene: Cybersystemic Possibilities” at the Herrenhausen Palace, Hannover Germany, last July 30th and 31st. Funding support for this event was given by the Volkswagen Stiftung (Foundation) through collaboration with the Berlin Workshop in Institutional Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems based at Humbolt University in Berlin. WOSC was represented by Professor Jose Perez Rios, Dr Igor Perko, Mrs Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek and Professor Raul Espejo.
Problem statement
The prevailing paradigm in the governance of the relationship between humans and the biophysical world is characterised by commitments to scientism and linear, causal and dualistic thinking. Currently governance, if understood as enacting cyber-systemic processes that maintain the quality of relationships between humans and the biosphere, can be seen to be failing on many fronts. The Anthropocene has emerged as a conceptual framing for this issue, but to date little cyber-systemic understanding and praxis (theory informed practical action) has meaningfully informed the unfolding discourse.
Link to the related blog: http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/govan/
The Cybernetics of Governance: Chile 1971-1973
Last December Raul Espejo gave a talk about Cybersyn at the University of Westminster, London. Video recording of this event is now uploaded in YouTube:
The talk highlighted Cybersyn’s governance approach in contrast to current approached as well as its methodological and epistemological strengths and weaknesses. The talk was followed by a lively debate.
WOSC 2014
New link to video in Spanish with the Launching of WOSC 2014 at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, the 14th of October, 2014. See Posts.
A view of the plenary sessions at WOSC 2014
The plenary sessions at WOSC 2014 offered varied reflexions of systems thinking and cybernetics. Entrepreneurship, the Cybersyn project and big data, disruptions and reparation of social issues in the light of the Viable System Model, wicked problems, self-organisation, requisite variety, Luhmann’s autopoiesis, second order cybernetics and technology learning, the cybernetics of policy-processes and zero-time cybernetics were topics discussed in these plenaries. The attached document offers a reflection and their summary. They offer much to think about. Reflexions about WOSC 2014 (2)
WOSC Congres 2014 is concluded
Basic statistics
In Ibague, Colombia, attendees from 26 countries around the word gathered.
10 keynote speakers presented backgrounds, current issues and future perspectives on system thinking and cybernetics.
First WOSC 2014 keynote speakers videos are freeely published.
| The wicked problems remain wicked: has the craft and science of transforming whole systems moved forward, and how could we do better? | Requisite Variety, Autopoiesis, and Self-organization | Autopoiesiss |
| Future energy system development depends on past learning opportunities | From disruption to reparation | Self-Organisation and Policy Processes: Recursive Structures and Self-Reference |
| Fernando Flores | Eden Medina | Geoff Mulgan | Carlos Gershenson | Allenna Leonard |
| Clas-Otto Wene | Raúl Espejo | Dario Rodriguez | Humberto Maturana | Ximena Dávila |
WOSC distinguished Professor Dr Humberto Maturana with the Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold Medal
Papers were presented in 9 themes:
You may find more details on the Congress homepage wosc-congress.unibague.edu.co.
Prize and Commendations to papers
| Congress Theme | Paper Title | Authors | Resolution |
| Networks of influence: systems dynamics | A system dynamics model of the nutritional stage of the Colombian population by socioeconomic status | Jose David Meisel, Olga L. Sarmiento, Camilo Olaya & Roberto Zarama | Kybernetes prize for the Outstanding Paper of the Congress |
| Digital Society & Business Ecosystems | Sharing business partner behavior | Igor Perko, Andreja Primec & Robert Horvat | Highly commended paper |
| Power, Citizenship and Democracy | Towards a Non-trivializing Education | Germán Bula | Highly commended paper |
| Computer modelling, power and the management of complexity | Modeling and Simulating Moral Emotions in Organizations: exploring its impact on collaboration | Oswaldo Terán, Christophe Sibertin-Blanc & Benoit Gaudou | Highly commended paper |