As today’s headlines from around the globe remind us -- now more than ever -- we need to explore new ways to organize, collaborate, and strengthen our communities. With these lofty, but essential, goals in mind, I am thrilled to invite you to join with me – and hundreds of people across the globe – as we explore together how we can Create A Positive Revolution for Sustainable Change at the 2009 World Appreciative Inquiry Conference! We are planning this exciting conference for November 16-19, 2009 in picturesque Kathmandu, Nepal, at the foot of the Himalayas. Why Nepal? This small but extraordinary country represents a region where Appreciative Inquiry has taken root in dozens of nationwide programs, empowering its citizens--including tens of thousands of women from over 100 ethnicities. I cannot imagine a more appropriate or inspiring setting for us to come together as a community of practitioners and scholars to learn from each other and advance the field of strength-based work together. With this setting serving as our inspiration, we will explore the cutting edge work being done around the world in Appreciative Inquiry and other strength- based methodologies that we can take the positive revolution for change to the next level together! I hope to see you there!

David L. Cooperrider
Honorary Chair for the 2009 World AI Conference
Professor, Case Western Reserve University