The Official IODA2008 Conference Blog

Newsletter Sunday 27 July

2008-07-27T23:02:00.001Z

Newsletter Edition 1

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dear Delegate,
We want to say again how wonderful it is to welcome you to Ghana.
Today is the first edition of our daily conference newsletter. We hope
by posting this to the blog, we can keep you updated with what is
going on with everyone.

Registration
Today was our big registration day. At this time, 74 people are
officially registered. We have people from all across the world
joining us in Ghana this week.

Pre-conference workshop
Francois Breuer, who is an OD consultant in the Netherlands and a
well-known lon-time member of IODA, ran a workshop on "Story Telling
as an Interactive Invervention in Change." There were 24 people in
attendance. It was an interactive workshop that explored the potential
for storytelling as a tool in OD practice.

Theresa from Ghana felt that storytelling is part of her cultural
tradition, but she had never thought of it as a tool for OD
interventions. She appreciated getting some structure to think about
how to use stories in her practice.

Edwin from Ghana also really enjoyed the workshop. Since OD is about
building capacity, he appreciated a new tool that could help him
better do this work.

Cristin from Canada especially enjoyed working with a small group of
people during the interactive part. These people came from South
Africa, Ghana, Burma, and Chile. It was wonderful to connect with
people from around the world through stories. She was amazed how the
group could teach each other through the meanings of their stories.

Member Meeting
The IODA member meeting took place from 4-6:30 p.m. It was a very
interactive meeting where members were asked to give their input to
the Executive Committee.

The President told the members that she has posted a report on the
IODA website which looks at what IODA has accomplished so far with
regards to the vision that was established last year.

The balance sheet showed that IODA is a healthy organization, and the
budget reflected more spending to strengthen the organization.

Different themes were discussed. These were membership, communication,
IODA-China, the website, and young professionals to name a few. IODA
is looking for people to join working committees. Some of these
committees are for the Robert Beck award (for people who know the IODA
organization well), elections, the newsletter, the website, young
professionals, marketing, and journal. If you are interested in
joining a committee, please talk to an EC member or look for a signup
sheet in the mess hall. This is a member-driven organization, so your
participation is welcomed to strengthen our organization. Thank you
for any input that you have.

Also, watch out for an election again this coming year for the
position of Vice-President of IODA. There was a standing round of
applause for Ben Arikpo to show appreciation for the work he has done
as Vice-President in his current term (which is now ending, so there
must be elections).

Traditional Ghanaian Play
A nice dinner was rounded off by a lovely traditional Ghanaian play,
including dancing, telling the story of a Ghanaian wedding.

We wish you a great day tomorrow. Please contribute your reflections
and comments to the blog, too. We would love to hear from you! Wishing
you a good night and see tomorrow.

The IODA2008 Conference is ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-27T06:21:00.001Z

Greetings,

The Conference is on at last.   Gosh!!! its been three days already since the Executive Committee moved into residence at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre, in Teshie, Accra. A number of Delegates have also arrived - some of them are already touring various places in Ghana and others are here with us at the KAIPTC.   Its been activity filled already and delegates are savouring the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality!!!

Registration officially begins this morning and Francois Breuer will run his Pre-Conference Workshop on Story-Telling as an OD intervention..   you have to be there.

watch this space for more on the 23rd IODA Annual Conference.   check out www.odghana.org and www.iodaghana.net

Why dont you come in and register.
best regards

Eric

----------------------------------------------------------
The Conference Secretariat
The IODA2008 International Conference Accra Ghana July 27-31, 2008
http://www.iodaghana.net/ or http://www.odghana.org/

email: iodaghana@myzipnet.com

On the Road to Accra - A Lot is Happening!!!

2008-03-21T07:49:00.003Z

The journey to IODA2008 is progressing very smoothly as we all wish. Conference Scholarship Applications have now closed and those received are being reviewed. By April 5, the awards will be announced. We wish all applicants the best of luck

Registrations are also coming in. If you have not filed yours, please note that the Early Bird Registration opportunity will lapse on March 29th. So don't hesitate. if you require any assistance from us to get things moving, please let us know!!

The Host Country Committee is also having a great time with the organisation and the thrill of working together in partnership - in tandem with the conference theme - to bring you a great conference experience

July 27-31, 2008 are your dates to remember.

Those who require assistance for visa applications may let us know early enough. just check out the travel info pages at http://iodaghana.net/ioda08travelinfo.htm

cheers

Registration for IODA2008 Conference now open

2007-12-31T10:28:00.000Z

Greetings from Accra, Ghana.

We take this opportunity to wish you all the best as we enter a new year.

The IODA2008 Secretariat is pleased to advise that you can now register for IODA2008. Please visit the conference website at http://www.iodaghana.net/ today!! A limited number of conference scholarships are also available.

We also invite you to be present a paper, lead a workshop or run an early-bird exercise every conference day morning. Check out the CALL FOR PAPERS pages on the website.

One interesting feature of your 2008 conference is that the sessions of the IODA 2008 Conference will be woven around sub-themes that have been best described via African Proverbs. You may therefore present your proposals for a presentation, workshop, seminar on any of the sub-themes stated below:

ST1

Collaborative Paradigms for Development and Growth

Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together

ST2

Putting to Good the Resonance and Echoes from Conflict

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. So, if you want someone more knowledgeable than yourself to identify a bird you do not first remove the feathers.

ST3

Push-Pull Effects and Lessons for Tutelage, Coaching and Mentoring

Until Lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter

ST4

System Dynamics & Organisational Behaviour for Professional Development

It is the person whose child has been eaten by a witch who best knows the evils of witchcraft

ST5

Perils, Benefits and Future of Partnerships

The chief's son has to collect firewood when destiny destroys him

ST6

Diversity, Relativity and Relevance for Partnerships

The person who has eaten and satisfied himself or herself does not care for the one who is hungry

ST7

Learning Organisations and Organisational Learning : Unless organizations allow partnership opportunities to permeate their boundaries, they will not only lose innovative energies but also have reduced chances of learning from others

Due to shyness, the tortoise died in a boat

ST8

Strengths, Dominance, Common Sense & Partnership Equity

Provided no person stunts or destroys a sprouting palm kernel seedling, it will definitely grow into a palm tree

ST9

Ethics & Regulatory Issues

The hunter in pursuit of an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds

We look forward to hearing from you

With the best of Regards

----------------------------
The Conference Secretariat
http://www.iodaghana.net/ or http://www.odghana.org/

Telephones:
+233-28-8285082 or +233-28-6344264
+233-28-3139977 or +233-24-3139977

Sights of Ghana!!

2007-12-24T21:52:00.000Z

Our beautiful country, Ghana, beckons you!! One of things that you must plan to do is to see a bit of the country when you come.

There is indeed quite a lot to see and do when you are here in Ghana. Festivals, places of interest, things and activities to volunteer for, just plain travel and relaxation. oh! and there is more!!!

Everybody gets our infectious smile and a feel and taste of the proverbial Ghanaian welcome and hospitality

Remember, what I said earlier - Ghana beckons you! Don't miss the opportunity!!

Season of Greetings for IODA

2007-12-24T20:25:00.000Z

The Conference Secretariat takes this opportunity to wish all Members of IODA and the OD family as well as prospective delegates to the IODA2008 Conference Season's Greetings wherever they might be.

we look forward to your visit to Ghana in July 2008

best of wishes
from all of us at ...
The Conference Secretariat
iodaghana@myzipnet.com

IODA2008 Conference website update

2007-12-21T01:13:00.000Z

Please be advised that you can reach the IODA 2008 conference website by clicking on http://www.iodaghana.net

Please come often to the website as there will be more updates and things for you to do..!!

best regards

Eric

-------------------------
Eric N. Yankah
enyankah@myzipnet.com

iodaghana@myzipnet.com

http://www.odghana.org
http://www.iodaghana.net

Test to IODA2008 Official Blog - A new day Dawns!!

2007-12-21T01:02:00.001Z

Hi, when I heard today that there will be a conference in Ghana and that there will be a special blog to bring prospective delegates, members and friends of IODA and the Organisation Development Community, I thought wow, what a great way to share ideas before teh forum.. and what a way to follow through and up on the isues that are raised through the blog, through the IODA2008 Conference website as well as prepare for a great futre for the practice of OD

sorry but this was one opportunity I could not let pass.

Best Regards
Esi Adomaa

Welcome to the Official IODA 2008 Blog

2007-08-26T11:21:00.001Z

From the IODA 2008 Conference Planning Committee, Accra, Ghana

Greetings, dear OD friends
Akwaaba, Welcome

I am sure you are still savouring the sights, sounds, learning & knowledge sharing experiences and, of course, the pleasure of the company of the many OD faithfuls - who trooped to Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada to be a part of the IODA 2007 event.

As you settle down into your post conference mode, the Host Country Organising Committee for IODA 2008 slated for July 27-31, 2008 in Accra Ghana would like to once again follow up on the invitation extended to you all by the Ghana delegation last Friday night, August 24, 2007.

Our special IODA2008 conference website - http://www.odghana.org/ - will be fully alive with news, information on and about the conference as well as everything that you need to know about our wonderful country, Ghana, as you make your preparations to come in July 2008.

Whilst members of the HCOC are available via email (details would be available on the "Contact Us" pages of the website, our fully manned Conference Secretariat would be formally opened in October 2008 complete with telephone & fax contacts in addition to email communication

We are happy to also invite you to join us to share your thoughts about and in the theme for this conference, ahead of the event. As you recall from last Friday, the theme for the IODA2008Ghana conference is "Growing Together in Partnership" .

Consequently, dear colleagues, we have also created this special IODA2008 blog to enable all of us have and utilise a common discussion platform for contributions and suggestions in the run-up to the conference in July 2008.

We trust that you will be a part of the process of "The making of IODA2008" all aimed at making IODA2008 a very memorable one for all of us.

Welcome once again,
lets hear from you!!
many thanks and the warmest of regards

The HCOC,
IODA2008 Accra Ghana