I am at the moment at the conference of the Applied Improvisation Network http://appliedimprovisation.network/. It’s a global network with over 5.000 members. People who use methods and the framework of improvisation methods in fields like education, counselling, therapy, business, facilitation, teamwork, healthcare, humanitarian sector, theater and improvisation training…

I came aware and member of this network in the time of the preparation of the congress in Amsterdam, 2010 (the congress is yearly in the USA and every three years in Europe, and I can highly van recommend to take part to that or to regional meetings of the AIN!

Im very grateful that “my university”, the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences is making it possible for me to participate at this congress. I am also supported in doing my thesis on Applied Improvisation in Higher Education (http://www.improflair.at/zum-begriff-improflair/improflair-die-dissertation/improflair-englisch-summary/). I will be part of a facilitating team, doing a workshop at the conference, applying some results from their and the topic of how to use Applied Improvisation for research.  http://ain2016.shdlr.com/conferences/talk/22555

I am often at various conferences. Since the last two years mostly in fields of Higher Education and didactics, but I also know the “feeling” of conferences on healthcare, social affairs or social media. And this conference really is special in many ways – here are some aspects of it:

• People meeting here are really happy to meet each other, more are grateful for this chance. So nobody is sitting there with a long face and waiting for breaks, big conference dinners or the seclusion of the hotel room.
• …it is a very open, sparkling atmosphere, where the spirit of “Yes, and…” is palpable in many aspects. One example: I sat together with Tomás Álvarez & Carla Vigara, http://ain2016.shdlr.com/speakers/profile/tomslvarezcarlavigara planning details for our workshops. And any idea was warmly welcome, was added by other ideas in a breath-taking constructive way. It was really beautiful and I am so much looking forward to it.
• It’s an atmosphere of mutual openness, talking about your life, dreams, hopes, fears, failures, successes – on a very intense label which uses then usual conference “how do you do” as a mere starting point. And with this new ideas, new networks and cooperations come into existence; plans are shared, enhanced, refined.
• It’s an atmosphere of mutual appraisal, no matter of origin, race, language… And if someone has a problem he / she will get offers of helps not only from the conference team but lots of attendants around
• Learning is a shared experience: The people giving input are also listening. They use multitude ways to learn in many different ways, always with room for one experiences and reflection. Its more than “giving” lectures, it’s collaborative creating and enhancing knowledge.

In the next days I will write more of the experiences here and are happy for any comment and addition!