Day 1

Host: Lindsey Godwin

A dynamic global kickoff to our event, where we celebrate who is in the Zoom room with us from around the world and talk about the upcoming three days of learning and dialogue. We will also get to know each other a little bit and engage in small group dialogue to get us grounded and connected.

Recording Link

Host: David Cooperrider

We find ourselves living in an extraordinary Earthshot moment as a global community where each action, big or small, carries profound weight. The world today craves bold transformations - sustainable energy, regenerative agriculture, and equitable cultures. It's both a challenging and exhilarating moment, calling for a reimagining of our change strategies and methodologies. Inspired by our acclaimed article, "Our Earthshot Moment: Net Positive OD for a Flourishing World," which received the prestigious "Outstanding Article of the Year" award from the OD Development Review-Journal, this session will explore how Appreciative Inquiry can answer this Earthshot call of our time. 

• Recording Link

• Slides

• Worcester Youth Video

• Halla Tómasdóttir

• Jib Ellison and Cheri Warren

Hosts: Tanya Cruz Teller & Marlene Ogawa

Breakout Session Hosts: Stephen Read, Aderonke Bademosi Wilson, Barbara Lewis, Amanda Trosten-Bloom, Cary Snow

This is our Earthshot moment - one that calls for “radical inclusion, radical collaboration, radical transparency, radical humanity” - to achieve a flourishing planet for all. Our OD and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) fields are being called to activate organizations as agents of change. What does this call to be agents of this change mean for each of us as AI Practitioners? We’ll share our story of living this call to action highlighting global processes that inspire local equity and belonging actions from our work with individuals, corporations, NGO’s, and a government agency based in 64 countries around the world. 

Recording Link

Panelists: Alex Arnold, Claudia Gross, Tojo Thatchenkery

At its heart, Appreciative Inquiry is an invitation for us to discover and expand what is life-giving in ourselves, our organizations, and the world around us. In this dynamic dialogue, we will explore the question, “What would it look like if we put life-centric practices at the heart of all we do?”  Claudia Gross invites us to remember how our words create worlds and that we can make intentional choices in our language to be more life-giving. Tojo Thatchenkery invites us to explore the concept of circular economies and how we can reduce waste and regenerate our systems in new ways. Alex Arnold invites us to explore how we can use AI to move from climate anxiety to climate resilience. 

• Link to Recording

• Tojo's Appreciative Intelligence Scale

• Alex's Podcast and Course

• Claudia's Book and Website

Hosts: Jeanie Cockell & Joan McArthur-Blair

In the best and worst times, there is grace and power in the daily practice of turning our gaze to being authentically ALIVE. ALIVE has been a powerful guide through significant life and work challenges for us and other AI practitioners. In our time together, we will explore resilience through the appreciative inquiry lens of being authentically ALIVE. We will listen to and cultivate one another’s stories of practicing resilience through our abilities to appreciate, love, inquire, venture, and evolve. 

• Recording Link

• Slides

• Navigating Privilege Using AI (AIP Article)

• ALIVE Excerpts from AI in Higher Ed (example questions)

Hosts: Jeanie Cockell, Joan McArthur, Lindsey Godwin

A time for us to reflect on the day, celebrate resonance, and get ready for Day 2. 

Recording Link