Sponsored by the Tavistock Institute
This series is organised by Partners in Confronting Collective Atrocities (PCCA)
At a time of increasing uncertainty and instability, fear of difference is fuelling a rising tide of racism, polarisation, hatred and violence – at individual, group and societal levels.
In response to these trends, PCCA is hosting a series of three online experiential conferences, each focusing on a different aspect of exclusion and othering in contemporary society.
These events offer an online space to explore how these dynamics are experienced - internally, in relation to others, and collectively.
Come to one, two or all three conferences!
Event 1: Antisemitism and Otherness
11, 12 & 14 September 2025
Antisemitism is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of collective hatred. It mutates across time and place, taking on new language and symbols - yet remaining rooted in enduring projections of fear, envy, and blame. The Jew as outsider, scapegoat, invisible infiltrator or global manipulator: these archetypes are deeply embedded in the cultural and unconscious fabric of many societies, including those that pride themselves on openness and diversity.
Historically, antisemitism has been striking in its contradictions. Jews have been hated for being too poor and too rich, too radical and too conservative, too insular and too assimilated. In the Middle Ages, they were persecuted for their religion; in the 19th and 20th centuries, for their supposed race. In recent years, the focus has often shifted to the existence and actions of their nation-state, Israel - raising difficult questions about the point at which reasonable political criticism crosses the line into a kind of irrational demonisation.
Event 2: The Double-Absence: Despair, Displacement, and Hope in Migration
5 – 7 December 2025
Across continents and centuries, people have always moved - pushed by danger such as war or natural catastrophe, pulled by promise for a better life, or stirred by an inner call to widen their horizons. Yet for many migrants the journey is shadowed by what French psychoanalyst Abdelmalek Sayad named the double-absence: leaving one place but never fully arriving in the next. A piece of home is lost, while a part of the new land remains out of reach. Long after the borders are crossed, yearning and fragmented identity keep travelling within.
In our postcolonial, hyper-connected age, migration has taken on fresh intensity. Where once European white powers imposed themselves on darker nations, we now witness a counter-flow: peoples of colour entering white-majority societies - yet doing so not as conquerors but as under-resourced underdogs. Modern passports, walls and visa regimes turn ancient human movement into a high-stakes test of belonging.
Event 3: Islamophobia in an Upside-Down World
30 January – 1 February 2026
The history of Islamophobia is complex and deeply rooted in centuries of political, religious, and cultural conflict. Islamophobia has evolved significantly over time from historical religious rivalries and colonial attitudes into a modern-day phenomenon shaped by geopolitics, media, and extremist actions, as well as by social anxieties. Islamophobia is the fear, hatred or prejudice against Islam or people who are perceived to be Muslim, Arab or both. Islamophobia often stems from ignorance, misinformation or political agendas. It is a form of racism.
Islamophobia manifests in various ways today, ranging from discrimination and hate crimes to institutional biases and political rhetoric.
About the organisers
PARTNERS IN CONFRONTING COLLECTIVE ATROCITIES works towards developing strategies to engage with the legacy of past and present atrocities so as to open up possibilities for a more hopeful future.
Its aim is to work through the lingering effects of conflict, collective trauma and societal challenges that lead to destructive escalation, with the goal of fostering better understanding among groups and communities worldwide.
PCCA began by exploring the legacy of the Holocaust and has since expanded to include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Europe’s shifting identity, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising threats to democracy, the human factor in the self-imposed atrocity of climate change, and more.
In 2019, PCCA received the Sigourney Award for its work in pioneering community-based psychoanalytic/social interventions to address the residual effects of trauma and atrocities, which was recognised as an outstanding contribution to psychoanalysis and its ability to reduce human suffering and understand human affairs.