IAF North America Blog

Each IAF Region hosts an annual Conference. These typically attract members from around the world, who take advantage of the opportunity to travel and share in professional development workshops, networking, social events, and local activities. Up-to-date information on our annual Conferences is available on the IAF global web site.

North America 2009 – Vancouver
(April 20 – 25)
While both the individual workshop and overall evaluations are still being tabulated, I shall go out on a limb and report that the 2009 Conference in Vancouver was a great success. We received consistent praise for the quality of the workshops and content-oriented plenary sessions, the overall on-site flow and organization, the registration system, the food, and just about every other aspect of the event.

There will no doubt be areas identified as needing improvement (or that just did not work). But the success of the Conference was due to the efforts of the Steering Team and their working groups.

The Canadian members of that Team were: Angela Sealy, our Conference Chair, who also headed up the local Vancouver support group and the Conference’s Community Outreach project; Taralee Hammond and Coleen Davidson, co-Chairs of the Program Team; Kimberly Bain, Sponsors and Exhibitors; and, Wendy Hassen, Communications.

As well, we received exceptional service from our Conference planner, Advance Group. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend and lend your support. And a fi nal thank you to our Conference sponsors: ICA Associates Inc., MGR Consulting, Intersol, and Jossey-Bass.

Looking Ahead ……. North America 2010 – Chicago
(April 20-25)
Jan Means, our 2010 Conference Chair, David Spann, IAF US Regional Representative, and their planning team (which includes Coleen Davidson,
Taralee Hammond, and others from the 2009 group) are already hard at work on the design of the Chicago Conference. The theme is “The Art and Mastery of Facilitation: Collaboration in Action.”

The Call for Proposals for professional development workshops can now be downloaded from the Conference web site (www.iafna2010.com). Submissions are due June 19. There will be a host of innovative features at the Chicago Conference that have not been tried before at a North America event. And Chicago is one of North America’s most vibrant and interesting cities. The site at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place will situate delegates in the city’s downtown. So please mark the dates and plan to join us there.
Asia – Taipei
(August 28 – 31)
The 12th Annual IAF Asia Facilitators Conference will take place in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 28 – 31. A certification event will be held on August 26 – 27.
The Conference theme is “GEAR up for the future!” GEAR stands for Grounding, Evolution, Alignment, and Recharging. The Conference program
will be designed to help participants develop the methodologies and spirit to keep moving forward and to help others to make the changes that must be made. The Conference web site is accessible through the IAF home page.

Europe – Oxford
(September 18 – 20)
2009 is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. As a result, the theme of this year’s IAF Europe Conference is “Get Inspired.” The Conference will be held at Keble College in Oxford, United Kingdom, on September 18 – 20 (with an accompanying IAF professional certification event and pre-conference seminars on September 16 – 17).

More information is available either directly from the IAF web site’s home page, or by clicking on the IAF Europe Regional web site and following the thread.
Latin America and Caribbean – Barbados
(September 24 –26)
The First IAF Caribbean Facilitators Conference is being planned for Barbados on September 24 – 26, with a professional certification event on
September 22, and pre-conference workshops on September 23. The theme of the Conference is “The Art and Mastery of Facilitation: Pathway to Integration.” It will focus on the role that facilitation plays in addressing the financial, environmental, and social challenges faced by the Caribbean. Until the Region’s web site is complete, more information on the Conference is available by writing to the conference contact.

Africa – Cape Town
(October 28 – 30)
Cape Town in October, at the Ocean View Hotel, just outside the city, will be a wonderful experience. The 4th IAF Africa Facilitators Conference and the 2nd Africa Facilitator Certification Event will take place on October 28 – 30. Conference organizers are now sifting through the workshop proposals received at the end of April. You can access the Conference web site directly from the IAF home page.

Australia/New Zealand – Nelson
(November 23 – 27)
If you have not yet visited the Nelson region of New Zealand, you should know that it is one of the most beautiful and interesting areas in a country that is supremely beautiful and interesting. Nelson will host the Australasian Facilitators Network Conference 2009 on November 23 – 27. The Conference theme is “Creating a Bow Wave for Facilitation.”  The call for workshop proposals will be out soon. The Conference web site is accessible via the IAF home page (click on the “IAF Australia & NZ web site”).