2017 World TA Conference on “Boundaries: A Place ... to Meet ... to Develop ... to Define Identity

27-29 July * Berlin, Germany

Organized by EATA, ITAA, and FTAA and hosted by the German Association for Transactional Analysis (DGTA)

In Berlin, peace and war have been close neighbors, and people know that boundaries can mean limits, challenges, and chances. For more than 25 years, Berliners were starkly faced with the Cold War, represented by the Berlin Wall and the fact that people could be shot because they wanted to be free. Even so, Berliners experienced the support of many people all over the world, as they did when John F. Kennedy said, “Ich bin ein Berliner!”

In Berlin, boundaries and borders have played a vital role as both a source of limitations and protection. Creating, maintaining, and finally opening a border is part of the history and memory of the city. As we celebrate more than 25 years after the fall of the Wall, we are now faced with the challenges of a world in which rich and poor people are increasingly separated, where places to meet are often virtual, where identity and the search for it is hard work. Our challenge is to help people develop the ability to be safe in managing the uncertainty of today’s world. How do we as transactional analysts respond to these challenges and take social responsibility? What are the answers, ways, and perspectives we can offer? How can we use our theory and practice to build a safer world? What are the meaning of borders and boundaries to us? How do boundaries help us to define our identity and contrast ourselves with others or establish contact with them? Is it possible to define identity without borders, by crossing borders?

These and many more questions will be taken up during the 2017 TA World Conference. We as transactional analysts can contribute to answering them as individuals and communities. We invite you to meet and to express your enthusiasm for TA and excitement about transactional analysis in the world. Welcome to Berlin!