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What is Italypaa?
The name ITALYPAA stands for Italian YPAA, where YPAA means Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous.
The term "young people" refers to anyone who is willing to grow. Alcoholism knows no barriers, including age. ITALYPAA is an AA event whose sole primary purpose is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous.
This way of naming such events is common throughout the world. In Europe, similar events include SCANCYPAA (Scandinavia YPAA), IREYPAA (Ireland YPAA), UKYPAA (United Kingdom YPAA), as well as the well-known EURYPAA (European YPAA). EURYPAA was held in Rome in 2015 and will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2025.
Previous EURYPAA conventions have been hosted in Vilnius, Lithuania (2018), Barcelona, Spain (2019), Warsaw, Poland (2022), Berlin, Germany (2023), and Ljubljana, Slovenia (2024).
Like ITALYPAA and all other YPAA conventions, EURYPAA moves to a different city each year in order to carry the AA message wherever the convention is invited by the local AA community to share its experience, strength, and hope.
This AA event originated from the American experience of ICYPAA (International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous), which was first held in 1957.
Bill W., co-founder of AA, was familiar with ICYPAA and wrote a letter to the 12th International ICYPAA Conference, held in Philadelphia in 1969, stating:
"...in recent years I have found no greater inspiration than knowing that tomorrow's A.A. will be safe, and indeed magnificent, in the hands of you who are today's younger generation of A.A."
The next ICYPAA conference will be held in Michigan from September 3rd to 6th, 2026, and will be the 66th convention.
Around 1945, the first YPAA groups began to emerge in the cities of Los Angeles, California; Cleveland, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, YPAA groups can be found throughout the world, including Europe, in countries such as Sweden, England, Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania.
YPAA groups are no different from any other AA groups. They carry the fundamental AA message embodied in the Responsibility Declaration: I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.
YPAA: YOUNG PEOPLE IN AA
The term "young people" refers to anyone who is willing to grow—young in age and young at heart—because alcoholism knows no barriers, including age. Anyone can achieve sobriety, recover, and become a vital part of AA as a whole.
The illustrated version of the Third Tradition in our Conference-approved literature explains that: "It is always possible to form a group, or a collection of groups, with a particular interest, whose members may be young people, all men, all women, clergy, or members of any other specific category."
ITALYPAA is an event whose primary purpose is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is organized by members of Alcoholics Anonymous living in Italy, many of whom are also actively involved in the AA Italy service structure.
ITALYPAA is organized with the intention of celebrating the sobriety of AA members who are young in age and young at heart, and who take on service responsibilities while respecting the Traditions and Concepts of AA.
We warmly invite all AA members to attend the convention. The number of people suffering from alcoholism and seeking help through AA—especially among younger people—continues to grow. ITALYPAA is, and will remain, committed to carrying AA's message of recovery to alcoholics of all ages.
The ITALYPAA convention is a bilingual event, conducted in both Italian and English. It provides an opportunity for AA members from Italy and abroad to come together in unity and share their experience, strength, and hope.
BILL W.'S LETTER TO THE 12th ICYPAA CONFERENCE (1969)
In a spirit of cooperation with AA as a whole, ITALYPAA is tangible proof that people of any age can achieve sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. The Responsibility Declaration and AA’s Three Legacies—Recovery, Unity, and Service—guide ITALYPAA meetings just as they guide every other AA group and event.
ITALYPAA strives to cooperate with AA groups and the AA service structure in Italy in the Areas where the convention is held, and it regularly contributes to the General Service Office. ITALYPAA participants are often actively involved in service within their home groups and local AA service structures.
At the 1960 AA International Convention, Bill W. observed that the average age of new AA members had decreased compared to when he and Dr. Bob founded AA twenty-five years earlier. Below is the letter he addressed to the 12th International ICYPAA Conference on June 15, 1969:
“To my younger friends in A.A.,
On the occasion of your 12th International Conference, please accept my warmest greetings and congratulations.
‘In recent years I have found nothing of greater inspiration than the knowledge that the AA of tomorrow will be safe, and indeed magnificent, in the keeping of you who are the younger generation of AA today.’
With deep affection for all of you, may God bless you and AA, forever.
Ever devoted,
Bill W.”
Bill W.’s statement, together with more than sixty years of YPAA history around the world, reassures us that ITALYPAA continues—and will continue—to carry the life-saving message of Alcoholics Anonymous.
LETTER FROM THE AA WORLD SERVICE OFFICE (WSO) TO ITALYPAA (2017)
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, New York April 25, 2017
To Michela P., Coordinator of the ITALYPAA Advisory Committee*
“Dear Michela,
I am sorry that another AA commitment will prevent me from attending your convention this year. I look forward to rotating out of my current service position so that I can attend more AA events, and ITALYPAA is definitely on my wish list.
As you know, I was very active in the International Conference of Young People in AA (ICYPAA), serving on both the Host Committee** and the Advisory Committee*. It was through learning our Traditions and Concepts in those committees that I was inspired to continue serving in General Service.
After being involved with ICYPAA for many years, I learned that it does not separate me from AA. On the contrary, it taught me a great deal about the Unity described in our Traditions.
Without ICYPAA, I would not be a trustee today.
Congratulations on your convention, and please give my regards to your committee.
With love and in the spirit of AA service,
Billy N.”
General Service Trustee
Chair of the World Services Committee
* Advisory Committee: The service committee whose trusted servants serve five-year terms. It is made up of members from previous Host Committees that organized earlier conventions. Drawing on their experience in organizing past ITALYPAA conventions, they support the new annual Host Committees. The Advisory Committee acts as the guardian of the convention and, during the annual convention, votes on the next host city where a new Host Committee will be formed.
** Host Committee: The local service committee in the host city responsible for organizing the convention. A new Host Committee is formed each year to organize all services related to that year's event and completes its service commitment at the end of the convention. Before rotating out, the outgoing Host Committee elects three of its members to join the Advisory Committee, using AA’s Third Legacy Procedure.
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