President's Message
Forming a Global IEA General Assembly of Nations
In approximately two months, the international Enneagram community will gather once more at the IEA Conference, this time in Las Vegas. With a top-quality cast of presenters, a wonderful resort hotel location, world-class entertainment attractions in town, and this being a very special moment in time for the IEA and the Enneagram world, I believe this is a not-to-be-missed event. Have you registered? You can easily do it on the IEA website.
The Conference itself is Friday, July 31st to Sunday, August 2nd. However, I strongly recommend you plan to arrive two days earlier. On Thursday, the IEA is honored to have Helen Palmer, David Daniels, Peter O’Hanrahan and Terry Saracino doing a day-long presentation on the Ecology of Transformation. And on Wednesday, July 29th, the IEA will hold a General Assembly of Affiliates (GAA), which will mark an important turning point in the history and organization of the IEA.
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The GAA is the official forum for the participation of IEA Affiliates in the IEA Global organization. Affiliates, as you may know, are Enneagram associations in different countries that are affiliated with the IEA. Affiliates work both as IEA branches and as umbrella organizations for all Enneagram teachers, practitioners and enthusiasts within their countries.
On July 29th, at the GAA, two official representatives for each IEA Affiliate will meet from 8:30am to 6pm to discuss basic issues, report on activities, suggest plans, and influence the course of action of the IEA Global. The official IEA Affiliates are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Iran, South Korea, Spain, USA, and Venezuela. Other IEA Affiliates may become official in time to join this first GAA. Processes are underway to create Affiliates in Chile, Mexico, South Africa and other countries.
This historic meeting promises to be a watershed event in the history of the IEA. The current IEA Global organization, formed and organized in the US, is changing its structure and composition in order to incorporate and be informed and influenced by the international community, represented by the GAA.
In July the GAA will elect one representative to become an IEA Global Board member. The idea is that one day, after all preliminary goals have been accomplished, the GAA will form an executive committee that will become the IEA Global Board of Directors itself, with all representatives, including those from the IEA-USA Affiliate, being elected directly by the GAA, in a more completely democratic and international process.This is a huge transformation. Everyone realizes that the Enneagram is quickly spreading around the globe and is actively taught and applied in many ways in many countries. The current IEA Board of Directors feels that it’s time for the IEA Global Board to take this revolutionary step forward to express this new reality. In other words, the IEA is gradually but steadily changing its governance to become something like “the United Nations of the Enneagram”.
Although the GAA will be held officially in English, we will make every effort to help with informal translation into different languages, to maximize inclusion of everyone. Apart from the official representatives of each affiliate, everyone is welcome to attend the event as an observer. So, when you come to Las Vegas, you are most welcome to participate and witness this historic moment of IEA history!
At the IEA Board, we are also excited about the prospect of our first Worldwide Enneagram Day, Saturday, May 30th, 2009. We will soon report on the results of this global event to our membership, and we are very happy with the fact that many free events will happen all over the world, in a synchronized movement that aims to take the Enneagram to new arenas.
See you soon in Las Vegas!