International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry
There was no better place to be this year in February than Nice, France. The World Appreciative Inquiry Conference, brilliantly organised by the Institut Français d’Appreciative Inquiry and supported by the David Cooperrider Center at Champlain College, was a combination of great energy, thought-provoking plenary sessions and engaging workshops. It was my first WAIC as the Managing Editor of AI Practitioner, and meeting so many people who’ve supported AI Practitioner over the years was wonderful.
A particular highlight was the presentation at the Villa Massena of medals from the city of Nice to David Cooperrider and Ron Fry for the work they have done over the years.
AI Practitioner shared a stand with the David Cooperrider Center. Lots of people stopped by to say hello. The AI Practitioner daily draw for a free annual subscription drew people to the stand.
The opening plenary session, given by David L. Cooperrider and Lindsey N. Godwin, was on 8 Steps for Leading P.O.S.T.I.V.E. Change, an evolution of the article that they wrote for the AI Practitioner in June 2015, was a practical, entertaining and appreciative discourse on non-deficit, life-centric and full-spectrum strengths-powered change.
Other plenary sessions included Appreciative Living and Healing Conversations, led by Jackie Kelm and Tony Silbert; Prospecting for the Positive; and the first-ever plenary session given in English and Spanish, One-ness toward common good, led by Circe Peralta Huerta from Mexico, Lorena Merino Naranjo from Ecuador, Miriam Subirana from Spain and Felix Viloria from Columbia. The sessions were brilliantly documented by visual minuters.
Topics of the workshops ranged from Appreciative Inquiry and T’ai Chi (Eberhard Belz and Varje Sommerhage from Switzerland) through Appreciative Inquiry Questions to Bring out the Best in Families (Dawn Dole and Diana Whitney, USA) to Generative Journalism (Stijn Govaerts, Bavo Wouters and Hans Vanderspikken, Belgium) and so many more.
The November issue of AI Practitioner, to be edited by a team from the organisers of WAIC, will be a re-evaluation, re-visioning and sharing of what has come from this 2019 conference. For those who were there, a reflection on their experiences. For those who weren’t, it will be a sharing of the rich and generative dialogues begun at WAIC2019.
We are looking for thoughts, reflections, photos and responses to keep the generative dialogue started at WAIC2019 going. To contribute, please go here.