These posts represent up a community calendar of events between cyber-systemic and adjacent communities. Also check https://rsdsymposium.org/systems-community-calendar/
The American Society for Cybernetics continues the annual conference—held early August in Ouro Preto, Brazil—online from August 24 to 27. Eight sessions in all. The link takes you directly to the ASC hub. See you online!
MONDAY, AUGUST 24 | ONLINE. Following on from RSD15: São Paulo, the group discusses how Stafford Beer’s vision of freedom, viability, and autonomy continues to resonate within Latin American experiences of social, ecological, and institutional transformation.
We are a bit RSD15 obsessed with the launch of programming starting this Wednesday. There are several event hubs—you can register for all of them at once or the ones you are interested in via Eventbrite (linked). Get rush seats for online sessions by joining hubs directly RSDX.online/join. As always PWYC/no fee community-led sessions.
THIS WED | AUG 19 | ONLINE. The RSD15 workshops series launches with the Symbiotic Design Framework, facilitated by Gonzalo Raineri. Explore the framework as a way to support a shift from extractive practices toward mutualistic configurations. REGISTER NOW (no fee to attend).
JOIN NOW. The programme for the RSD15–ESPM hub (on campus and livestream) is finalised. Sessions are an opportunity for conversations about interconnected conditions and work grounded in the particular contexts of Brazil and Latin America. [RSD15.INFO]
AUG 24–27. ONLINE. This programme brings the ASC 2026 conference, with its overarching theme of Conversational Confluences, into the context of RSD15’s Designing within a Plural World. The two meet on shared ground as both view diversity as a source of collective learning and creativity. [RSD15.INFO]
This issue acknowledges Earth Day 2026 regenerative focus and a reminder that the RSD15 intent to submit is due APRIL 24 for papers and workshops. Geographies and ecologies is one of four topics of interest. SUBMISSION DEADLINE MAY 22.
JUST IN | OCT 18–21. RSD15-Ostana focuses on systemic design for regenerative practice and makes time for deep embodied practice in a real-world design context
CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS | ABSTRACT APRIL 15 | Design and Culture: The Journal of the Design Studies Forum. Submit an abstract by email. Final manuscript deadline June 30.
Ray Ison on one complete rhythm of becoming, plus cybersystemic conferences for you calendar and other news.
Silvia Barbero, is associate professor at Politecnico di Torino (Italy), founding Chair, the Systemic Design Association, and is this year’s RSD15 Chair.
MARCH 27 | ONLINE | Forging Fridays workshop. Exploring the practice of creating a simple experimental prototype, we will spark imagination around strengthening trust in emergence through presence in relationships and trust in your own capacity within “unknown unknowns.”
MARCH 25 | ONLINE [precedes Sir John Kay] Explore, from the origins to the present day, how we’ve arrived at the unpredictable and fast-moving theoretical, technical, and business advances that will inevitably impact the future of our society.
MARCH 25 | ONLINE [follows The Split]. Around 1970 managerial professionalism went into reverse, leading to the decline of many successful twentieth century corporations, a loss of legitimacy by large business, and contributed to an erosion of professional standards in business adjacent professions, especially banking, accountancy and law.
JUNE 2026 | ONLINE. A new course from Emma Blomkamp & Co., Leading Co-Design in Complex Systems is for purpose-driven professionals who want to co-create better outcomes with their colleagues, clients and communities.
OCT 12–16 2026 | Valentino Castle, Torino, Italy. Sys_Lab (Politecnico di Torino) hosts RSD15. Pluralism foregrounds multiple ways of knowing and practising within a maturing global field, where shared challenges intersect with diverse epistemologies, methods, and vocabularies.
JAN 21 2026 Americas | JAN 22 2026 Australasia | ONLINE. Say hi to Seanna! the systems leadership program is a place for … folks who are trying to be good humans, committed to contributing to the health of the whole while taking care of, and sustaining self.
JAN 30 2026 | ONLINE. A laboratory for practising & implementing relationality—explore how to implement the five principles of relational politics (contingency, emergence, radical uncertainty, non-normativity, and heart-based epistemology).
FEB 27–28 | New York City, NY, USA. Making change through dialogue, collaboration, and relational practices in times of division. Waitlist.
OCT 3 2025 OPENS *ONLINE* *OPEN ACCESS* RSD14-RSDX is a dynamic community-led festival of systemic design, inviting us to explore with colleagues how systems interconnect and how design can contribute to more just and sustainable futures.
OCT 2025 | ONLINE. Over the past few years, Snowmelt has deepened involvement in RSD, recognising it as a vital platform for developing and refining systemic design approaches. For RSD14, they are hosting a series scheduled in time zones friendly to areas from the west side of the Pacific to east America.
Image: Snowmelt Co-Founder and Principal, Dr Tim Thompson.
OCT 2025 | ONLINE & Toronto, Canada. PETER JONES: As this year’s RSD chair, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the systemic design community and our SDA members to the 14th Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium, hosted online and at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada.
OCTOBER 3–8 2025 | ONLINE. RSDX is guided by the community-led chords that run across systemic design, connecting points that might not otherwise meet. Framing conversations, peer-to-peer discussions, and workshops—all online.
OCTOBER 3–11 2025 | ONLINE. This UTC+ time zone-friendly series starts on October 3/4 and runs through October 10/11. That’s evening for Americas East, mid-day for Americas West, and morning the next day for UTC+8 to UTC+11.
OCTOBER 8–10 2025 | ONLINE. Paper Talks feature over 90 peer-reviewed papers presented online by their authors in curated sessions that bring together related or contrasting contributions. A subject matter expert guides each session, allowing for direct dialogue and feedback, with a particular emphasis on inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to systemic design.
OCT 11, 2025 | ONLINE. A space for designers to explore the question of how we would go about designing better social worlds through our communication, relationships, and the larger systems in which we are a part.
OCT 12, 2025 | ONLINE. The cybernetic takeover begins with a speculative address on language-in-action hinged on uncertainty, moves through questions of design ethics and pedagogies, and ends with organisation and modelling of viable systems. In a world where our actions create a ripple effect, we ask: how can systemic design become a living ecology that catalyses conversation?
OCTOBER 15–18 2025 | Toronto, Canada. Returning to OCAD University as host for the first time since 2026 (RSD5), the symposium has earned a reputation as a high-quality academic forum for discussing the significant impacts and outcomes of research. However, systemic design has also evolved as a praxeology, and the programme reflects the many practices, cases, and lived experiences from which to learn.
OCT 19 2025 | Toronto, Canada. A retreat on Toronto Islands for people who design, fund, lead, and participate in systemic leadership capability-building programmes.
OCT 12 2025 | ONLINE. A full day of cybernetics at RSD14. The programme includes a range of cybernetic enactments considering how effects unfold in ever-expanding time and scale through a dynamic interplay of components with wholeness emerging from relationships.
OCT 11 2025 | ONLINE. Relational Connectedness. CMMi at RSD14-ONLINE is day for designers to explore the question of how we would go about designing better social worlds through our communication, relationships, and the larger systems in which we are a part. Check out the CMMi articles featured below.
JULY 8 2025 | ONLINE. Flourishing Enterprise Institute and Centre for Public Impact webinar on North American cities.
AUGUST 15–17 2025 | Toronto, Canada. The Association of Professional Futurists and OCADU bring together practitioners working at the intersection of futures, design, and system change to explore transformational futures.
OCT 3–21 2025 | ONLINE. Announcing two RSD14 keynotes by Gerald Midgley. #1 RSD14-RSDX (online) Beyond Systemic Design Methodologies: Systems thinking as an everyday practice. #2 RSD14-TORONTO (also livestreamed) Tackling Marginalisation in Systemic Design.
JULY 11–15 2025. But don’t worry, online tickets are available right up to July 11. The programme aims to push the boundaries of what we know about systems thinking and systemic leadership.
JUNE 30–JULY 4 2025 | Maynooth, Ireland. The 5th International Conference of Possibility Studies, held in person at the National University of Ireland. Theme: Communities of Possibility.
OCTOBER 19 2025 | Toronto, Canada. A day on Toronto Islands for people who design, fund, lead, and participate in systemic leadership capability-building programmes.
JULY 11–15 2025 | Birmingham, UK. The Birmingham Leadership Institute hosts the ISSS 2025 conference. In-person and online sessions. Of note: systemic leadership paper track and keynotes Juanita Bernal (photo) and Rachel Lilley (RSD13 keynote).
Call for case reports. In the lead-up to RSD14, there was a collective sense that now is the time to formally recognise and track case reports. Do you agree? RSD14–RSDX is planning an exploratory inquiry into case reporting, held online on October 21.
Soulprint is a monthly guided integration. The idea? Step into our highest-selves, help us to remember. Second Saturday of the month. Online with Simon Divecha.
TIPC is a multi-country initiative dedicated to achieving socio-technical system change and a sustainable future. The resource lab offers tools, actions and learnings for implementing TIP methods.
SEPT 3 & 4 2025 | Milton Keynes UK. Open call for contributions. SysPrac25 Conference organised by SCiO (Systems and Complexity in Organisation) in partnership with the Open University’s Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) group, and the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR).