Symposium: 7th May 7pm-9pm

Stephen Bantu Biko was killed by the SA apartheid police is September 1977. As an African existentialist he explored the paradoxes of freedom and responsibility, particularly inner freedom, and how this could/would affect the liberation of black South Africans. More recently his work has influenced political movements around decolonisation, Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall.

Julia will be exploring Biko’s understanding of inner freedom and its application to existential psychotherapy and coaching. Links will be made to the work of Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Jaspers and Fanon as well as more contemporary existential Afrikana philosophers such as Derek Hook, Achille Mbembe, Mapogo P. Moore, Lewis Gordon and others.  Julia will take a practical approach and illustrate the value of Biko’s theories to psychotherapy and coaching by grounding the philosophy in a practical exercise.

Julia Kukard

Julia is an existential coach working with Aephoria Partners (www.aephoria.co.za) mainly in the corporate sphere in South Africa, the US and globally. She has recently submitted her doctorate at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC) in which she used the work of Biko to understand the mechanisms of leadership stuckness and release. She was grateful to have been supported in this by a scholarship from the Hans W. Cohn Fund. Julia brings with her almost 30 years of experience in training and development, including leadership development, teaching leadership on MBA programmes and coaching. She has a BA Hons MA MBA and hopefully a doctorate by the end of 2021.

Join our Zoom Symposium for a get together to discuss different ideas on topics that are of equal interest and liking. Get yourself a drink, a meal or your favourite snack, sit comfortably and simply show up.

Our Zoom Symposiums take place every month from 7 pm to 9 pm. A host will introduce the topic and present a question for the first 10 to 15 minutes to start the symposium but the discussion belongs to all attendees.