Plenary and Networking Sessions

Tuesday, April 21

Conference and New Member Orientation, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Are you new to IAF? Is this your first IAF Conference? Want to know more about what to expect over the next few days? Come for a short introduction to IAF and our unique Conferences. Meet members of the IAF Board and the Conference Week 2009 Steering Team, and get all your questions answered.

Workshop Leader and “Speaker Buddy” Orientation, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Meet your colleague workshop leaders for a short briefing and “question and answer” session on the format and logistics around your Short Workshop. Meet the volunteer “Speaker Buddy” who will be supporting you in your workshop. This session will ensure that the next days’ workshops get off to a smooth start, and that you have everything you need to make your workshop a success.

Networking Reception, 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm

Meet colleague facilitators from around the world who have been attracted by the outstanding Conference program, and by our beautiful and cosmopolitan host city, Vancouver. Tour our sponsor exhibit area, and browse in the Conference bookstore.

Opening Celebration, 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

We begin our Opening Celebration with a First Nation’s Prayer.

Our keynote speaker is Dr. Brian Little. An award-winning psychologist and university professor, who has taught at Carleton, Oxford, Harvard, and McGill, Brian is the ideal person to open a Conference whose theme is “Explore Diversity”. His own explorations are around personality types - the most fundamental and pervasive aspect of diversity that any facilitator encounters. Dr. Little’s presentations are wonderful reflections on how specific types of personalities react to certain situations, how different personalities work together, and how a better understanding of these differences can improve and enrich all of the important relationships in our work and personal lives. Dr. Little was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia.

Following Dr. Little’s presentation, Jo Nelson, a Past Chair of IAF, will lead an interactive plenary session to enable participants to explore further among themselves some of the key issues and learnings raised by our opening presentation.

Wednesday, April 22

Large-Group Facilitation, 8:30 am - 10:00 am

Following a continental breakfast in the Exhibitors Hall, we return to a plenary large-group session led by Sylvie Lapointe and Tony Nash. Both Sylvie and Tony hold the designation “IAF Certified Professional Facilitator”, and are Assessors with the IAF certification program. Tony is also a Process Manager with the program. Sylvie and Tony are experienced with large-group facilitation. Together, they will work with delegates to demonstrate a large-group technique, while also enabling our continuing exploration of diversity in the world of facilitation.

“Focus on IAF,” 12:00 noon - 1:15 pm

During our lunch, members of the Board of Directors of IAF will lead presentations and discussion groups around IAF’s programs, services, and future directions. Meet the Board, find out more about what IAF does, and be open to the many volunteer opportunities that your professional association offers.

Sponsor Symposium, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Our sponsors and exhibitors are key partners in the success of any IAF North America Conference. Come and meet our major Conference sponsors in an exclusive Symposium. Learn more about the special products, services, and resources that our sponsors offer to support the practice of facilitation.

IAF Members-Only Event, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Membership has its rewards! This is an opportunity to participate in charting the future of IAF. Colleague members have met in similar sessions at IAF’s other global conferences over the past year. You will be able to speak and share with other IAF members, including the Board, in a more intimate setting, and to exchange views on where IAF should be going to remain the preeminent international organization of professional facilitators. This will be an occasion to acknowledge each other and to learn more about what we do.

Networking Reception, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

This is another opportunity to “meet and mingle” with other delegates, to share thoughts on the day’s workshops and plenary sessions, to continue to join our sponsors and exhibitors at their Conference booths, and to browse in the bookstore.

Dinner and Entertainment, 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

No speeches! No presentations! This is our time to dine, to dance, to be entertained, to be with friends, to laugh, and to relax. This evening is a highlight of every IAF North America Conference. We begin with a wonderful meal. Then delegates can dance through the evening with the Caribbean band, the Tropitonics.

Thursday, April 23

“Birds-of-a-Feather” and “Share-a-Method”, 12:00 noon - 1:15 pm

These perennially popular sessions during our lunch today allow delegates to learn and share in small table groups. Delegates post the topics they would like to discuss on the Conference notice board. Then people with shared interests get together over lunch at designated tables. “Birds-of-a-Feather” sessions are open, un-moderated discussions of a specific issue in facilitation. In “Share-a-Method”, delegates make short presentations on a particular tool or technique that they find particularly effective in their practices, or that they wish to further test and refine through discussion with colleague facilitators.

Closing Celebration, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

All IAF Conferences are intense experiences. Here is our chance to synthesize and share our learnings, experiences, and feelings from the previous days through some focused conversation facilitated by our Conference Chair, Angela Sealy. We shall also enjoy a short play by the MOSAIC Multicultural Youth Group. Our final Celebration together closes with the official hand-off to our 2010 Conference Week Steering Team. The rest of the evening is yours - to enjoy a night out in one of the fabulous nearby Vancouver restaurants, a walk around the downtown, or a relaxing time with friends new and old.