Nov 10, 2011
“A View from the Local Arrangement Committee” Review of IPA Congress – Mexico City 2011. Raquel Berman, PhD
This congress was not supposed to occur. But it did—and with great success. Though fewer IPA members attended than we had hoped (846), local attendance swelled Congress participation to 2,028. Of these, more than 600 were Mexican university students who came from all over the country. *100 Years of the IPA, 1910-2010, Loewenberg and Thompson (Karnac).*100 Years of the IPA, 1910-2010, Loewenberg and Thompson (Karnac).
Unique features of this Congress were tied to the Local Arrangement Committee (LAC), which was headed by three chairs. Two of them—Rosalba Bueno (PSM and LAISP) and Raquel Berman (MAPPTR and IPTAR)—are longtime members of CIPS. This is noteworthy and not coincidental. They are founding members of the two Mexico City societies that integrated into IPA in the l990s. These events ended the hegemony of one psychoanalytic society (MPA) that had since 1957 maintained a monopoly on psychoanalytic training in Mexico City.
The three-headed LAC model prevailed in spite of recurrent opposition to it and efforts to dissolve it. We wanted to insure horizontality and equality for the new IPA societies in the local organization of the upcoming international IPA congress—the first in Mexico although psychoanalysis has existed for sixty years—as well as to affirm the plurality of IPA societies in contemporary Mexico. Rosalba Bueno and Raquel Berman felt a great affinity with Steve Ellman, who chaired the Scientific Program committee, because of the key role he played during our Societies’ early struggles to join the IPA (see Berman, R, 2010*).
Throughout 2010, the Arrangement committee organized four Inter-Society events on psychoanalytic themes around visits from Romulo Lander, Charles Hanly, Steve Ellman, and Arnold Richards and to promote interest in the upcoming 47th Congress.
Continuous efforts were exerted by the Arrangements committee starting with the Berlin Congress (2007) to obtain official sponsorship and support from the Mexican Ministry of Culure (CONACULTA). After much struggle Raquel Berman obtained backing for cultural activities during Congress.
On August 1st and the first day of the pre-congress, PSM and MAPPTR organized a welcoming reception for a group of international colleagues attending the Congress. CONACULTA financed and organized an elegant and memorable dinner for 150 IPA members, including former and new Board members, heads of the IPA committees, and Presidents of all 6 Mexican psychoanalytic societies. The dinner was jointly hosted by IPA President Charles Hanly and the Arrangements committee, and held at the stunning Alcazar of the Chapultepec Castle.
With the financial and logistical support of CONACULTA, Arden Rothstein organized a unique live exhibit of Oaxacan master artisans who exhibited their art during the days of the Congress.
Co-sponsorship was obtained from the Mexican Cinemathique for the post-Congress film festival: “Broken Worlds, The Unconscious in Film,” which opened after the closing of the Congress at the Museum of Anthropology in the splendid Torres Bodet auditorium.
Three films, (Los Olvidados, Babel, and Pan´s Labrynth) by internationally renowned Mexican directors (Bunuel, Gonzalez Iñarritu and del Toro, respectively) were screened and accompanied by commentaries in English and Spanish by psychoanalytic film experts, Tylim Sklarew and Andrea Sabbadini. Panels with Mexican cinematographers who had worked in these films followed, including artistic director and Oscar winner Brigitte Broch, and Pan’s Labyrinth producer Berta Navarro. Gonzalez Iñarritu sent a special DVD responding to twelve questions from Tylim Sklarew. Augenio Caballero, artistic director and Oscar winner for Pan´s Labyrinth, sent a DVD about his collaboration with del Toro. There were lively exchanges with the audience. Mexican Cinemathique videotaped the two-day event in its entirety.
This was the second time an IPA post-congress Film Festival took place. The first one was the memorable Santa Monica-Hollywood film event following the San Francisco IPA Congress in l995, organized by Harriet Wrye and CIPS members from PCC and LAISPS.
An outstanding feature of the Congress were pre-Congress course offerings on basic psychoanalytic concepts designed for university students from allied professions. Analysts from MAPPTR and PSM taught a total of 9 courses to over 600 student enrollees. Steve Ellman was receptive from the start to this idea and facilitated its realization.
In the months leading up to the Congress, the LAC organized an intensive publicity campaign in universities throughout the Mexico. Newspaper, television, and radio ads targeted allied mental health professionals and the general public. Special consideration was given to promoting the Congress to college students. The small discussion groups following the main presentations during the Congress also facilitated contact between analysts and students. According to some, this contact left a deep positive impression of psychoanalysts and the field of psychoanalysis.
.
Last, but not least, it is notable that there were no incidents involving lost or stolen personal property or threats to individual safety. Many expressed enthusiasm for their Congress experience and praised its organization.
*100 Years of the IPA, 1910-2010, Loewenberg and Thompson (Karnac).
Unique features of this Congress were tied to the Local Arrangement Committee (LAC), which was headed by three chairs. Two of them—Rosalba Bueno (PSM and LAISP) and Raquel Berman (MAPPTR and IPTAR)—are longtime members of CIPS. This is noteworthy and not coincidental. They are founding members of the two Mexico City societies that integrated into IPA in the l990s. These events ended the hegemony of one psychoanalytic society (MPA) that had since 1957 maintained a monopoly on psychoanalytic training in Mexico City.
The three-headed LAC model prevailed in spite of recurrent opposition to it and efforts to dissolve it. We wanted to insure horizontality and equality for the new IPA societies in the local organization of the upcoming international IPA congress—the first in Mexico although psychoanalysis has existed for sixty years—as well as to affirm the plurality of IPA societies in contemporary Mexico. Rosalba Bueno and Raquel Berman felt a great affinity with Steve Ellman, who chaired the Scientific Program committee, because of the key role he played during our Societies’ early struggles to join the IPA (see Berman, R, 2010*).
Throughout 2010, the Arrangement committee organized four Inter-Society events on psychoanalytic themes around visits from Romulo Lander, Charles Hanly, Steve Ellman, and Arnold Richards and to promote interest in the upcoming 47th Congress.
Continuous efforts were exerted by the Arrangements committee starting with the Berlin Congress (2007) to obtain official sponsorship and support from the Mexican Ministry of Culure (CONACULTA). After much struggle Raquel Berman obtained backing for cultural activities during Congress.
On August 1st and the first day of the pre-congress, PSM and MAPPTR organized a welcoming reception for a group of international colleagues attending the Congress. CONACULTA financed and organized an elegant and memorable dinner for 150 IPA members, including former and new Board members, heads of the IPA committees, and Presidents of all 6 Mexican psychoanalytic societies. The dinner was jointly hosted by IPA President Charles Hanly and the Arrangements committee, and held at the stunning Alcazar of the Chapultepec Castle.
With the financial and logistical support of CONACULTA, Arden Rothstein organized a unique live exhibit of Oaxacan master artisans who exhibited their art during the days of the Congress.
Co-sponsorship was obtained from the Mexican Cinemathique for the post-Congress film festival: “Broken Worlds, The Unconscious in Film,” which opened after the closing of the Congress at the Museum of Anthropology in the splendid Torres Bodet auditorium.
Three films, (Los Olvidados, Babel, and Pan´s Labrynth) by internationally renowned Mexican directors (Bunuel, Gonzalez Iñarritu and del Toro, respectively) were screened and accompanied by commentaries in English and Spanish by psychoanalytic film experts, Tylim Sklarew and Andrea Sabbadini. Panels with Mexican cinematographers who had worked in these films followed, including artistic director and Oscar winner Brigitte Broch, and Pan’s Labyrinth producer Berta Navarro. Gonzalez Iñarritu sent a special DVD responding to twelve questions from Tylim Sklarew. Augenio Caballero, artistic director and Oscar winner for Pan´s Labyrinth, sent a DVD about his collaboration with del Toro. There were lively exchanges with the audience. Mexican Cinemathique videotaped the two-day event in its entirety.
This was the second time an IPA post-congress Film Festival took place. The first one was the memorable Santa Monica-Hollywood film event following the San Francisco IPA Congress in l995, organized by Harriet Wrye and CIPS members from PCC and LAISPS.
An outstanding feature of the Congress were pre-Congress course offerings on basic psychoanalytic concepts designed for university students from allied professions. Analysts from MAPPTR and PSM taught a total of 9 courses to over 600 student enrollees. Steve Ellman was receptive from the start to this idea and facilitated its realization.
In the months leading up to the Congress, the LAC organized an intensive publicity campaign in universities throughout the Mexico. Newspaper, television, and radio ads targeted allied mental health professionals and the general public. Special consideration was given to promoting the Congress to college students. The small discussion groups following the main presentations during the Congress also facilitated contact between analysts and students. According to some, this contact left a deep positive impression of psychoanalysts and the field of psychoanalysis.
.
Last, but not least, it is notable that there were no incidents involving lost or stolen personal property or threats to individual safety. Many expressed enthusiasm for their Congress experience and praised its organization.
*100 Years of the IPA, 1910-2010, Loewenberg and Thompson (Karnac).
