Letter From the IEA President, December 2011

As the year winds down it is natural to take stock of what has passed and think about what is to come.   I’d like to share with the IEA membership a little bit about what happened in 2011 and what is in store for 2012

For starters, we had a very successful international conference in Ft Lauderdale. In addition to hosting a variety of great speakers, the feeling of community was palpable. One of the founders of the IEA commented that the sense of collaboration and sharing was finally approaching what was envisioned at the beginning of the IEA in the mid-1990s. Excitement is already building about the 2012 conference in Long Beach, CA. A number of format changes are in store that we hope will make the conference more varied and interactive. Zen teacher Cheri Huber will be the keynote speaker and the endnote speaker will be social neuroscience researcher Dario Nardi; both will talk about how the Enneagram influences their practice of their disciplines.

There were other gatherings as well, including conferences in Colombia, Hong Kong, and Mexico.   Regional conferences for 2012 are planned in Madrid (February) and Santiago (October). Many people are not aware that the Enneagram has deep roots in Chile, so having a Latin American conference in that country’s capital has historic significance and IEA Chile is already hard at work to make it a success.

Our affiliates continue to expand and thrive. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend affiliate functions in Spain, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina this year and hope to get to others in 2012. New affiliates were formed in Belarus, France, and Sweden, and there are discussions occurring in three or four other countries at the moment. The 3^rd annual General Assembly of Affiliates was held prior to the Ft Lauderdale conference, and preparations are already underway for the 4^th.   That meeting will be held just prior to the 2012 conference and while active participation is limited to affiliate delegates, all IEA members are invited to attend all or part of the day-long event.

In other news, the IEA is improving its accreditation program. The accreditation program is an important step toward the IEA’s vision of a world where the Enneagram is widely understood and constructively used. The accreditation program is not an attempt to regulate Enneagram theory, it is a communal effort to adhere to standards of training and ethical practice. It is an opportunity for Enneagram practitioners to become a self-regulating group committed to increased professionalism in the field. Further details on the accreditation program will be arriving soon.

Finally, there is a governance issue that I have the pleasure of announcing: the IEA board has named Maria Jose Munita to be president-elect. Maria Jose, the current IEA vice-president, will assume the office of president in January 2013. In January 2012, CJ Fitzsimons will begin serving as IEA vice-president and Lynda Roberts will assume the role of IEA secretary. Gail Barber will continue as the IEA’s treasurer.

It was a great year for the IEA and we believe that 2012 will be even better. On behalf of the whole IEA board, I wish you all the blessings of the season and a healthy and happy new year.

Mario Sikora
President, IEA Board of Directors
mario.sikora@internationalenneagram.org
1-215-825-2501