Identity · History · Purpose

The Society

A home in Geneva for the continuity of knowledge, communities and living capabilities.

Our mission

The Society’s mission is to understand complexity and facilitate the adaptation of the people, communities, organisations and systems facing it. It is independent, non-partisan and non-confessional.

Its three fundamental objectives are to develop new capabilities, preserve essential capabilities and document the provenance of knowledge and practices to ensure fair attribution and help restore value to their communities of origin.

Three complementary objectives
Develop
New capabilities
Preserve
Essential capabilities
Document
Provenance, attribution and return of value

Understand complexity and facilitate adaptation.

The meaning of our name

Integral

Bringing together diverse actors and knowledge with respect, responsibility, integrity and attention to the long term.

Management

Building frameworks for action and trust suited to each context, through sensitivity, diplomacy and clear responsibilities.

Society

Serving the communities of practice and traditions of exploration from which the institution emerged.

History and continuity

The continuity described concerns earlier activities, archives, heritage and capabilities. It does not imply that the Swiss association existed as a legal person before 2024.

  1. 1898

    La Bola de Oro brings together jewellery, watchmaking, optics and other crafts in Papantla, within a history of workshops, hospitality and the circulation of knowledge associated with Posada Humboldt.

  2. 2005

    The contemporary re-foundation, under Formación Integral, connects this heritage of practice with capabilities in education, information systems and distributed mobility.

  3. 2014

    The name The Integral Management Society is adopted and the Nueva Perspectiva manifesto is formulated, developed internationally as Perspective Beyond.

  4. 2024

    The Swiss association is constituted in Geneva.

  5. 2026

    The General Assembly ratifies the consolidated text of the statutes on 3 August.

Historic façade of La Bola de Oro with the silversmith shop sign and people near the doors
La Bola de Oro. Historical photograph preserved in the Instituto del Totonacapan website archive.
La Bola de Oro — silversmithing, jewellery and optics workshop advertisement. Papantla, 1904. Historical archive of La Bola de Oro.
La Bola de Oro — silversmithing, jewellery and optics workshop advertisement. Papantla, 1904. Historical archive of La Bola de Oro.
La Bola de Oro — greetings card, jewellery and silversmithing by Genaro Vargas. Humboldt 7, Papantla, 1913. Historical archive of La Bola de Oro.
La Bola de Oro — greetings card, jewellery and silversmithing by Genaro Vargas. Humboldt 7, Papantla, 1913. Historical archive of La Bola de Oro.

Documented history

The Integral Management Society documents and preserves the memory of the practices, projects and communities that have contributed to its work. The archive follows two periods. Part I covers the contemporary history from 2005 to 2026. Part II is devoted to the historical background from 1898 to 2005.

Read Part I · 2005–2026 →

Founding capabilities

The statutes identify master–apprentice transmission of tacit knowledge; the articulation of communities of practice; long-distance networks; active capability preservation; and research and innovation when ordinary resources and frameworks are insufficient.

Jewellery, watchmaking and precision repair reveal a shared requirement: maintaining the knowledge, quality criteria, access to tools and relationships that enable a practice to remain alive.

Discover Instituto del Totonacapan

Nueva Perspectiva / Perspective Beyond

The founding manifesto of the contemporary re-foundation proposes that a situation may remain insoluble as long as the framework that produced it remains unchanged. Adopting a new perspective allows the existing elements to be related differently, revealing previously unseen capabilities and possibilities for action.

This orientation informs the Society’s research and practice. The statutes define its institutional scope.

Governance and documents

Perspective Beyond / An entrance to the thought Atlas

Ideas in conversation with this page

The Society

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