The ILA Listening Times April 2024

 1. We now have an official landing page for the 45th ILA Annual Convention. Visit ILA Convention landing page  - everything you need to know about the convention, the schedule, keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and more. Whether you are a first-time attendee or a seasoned veteran, you can find all the details to make the most of your Convention experience. Have questions about registration, accommodations, or transportation? You can find answers to all of these questions and more on this page. And if you don't see the information you're looking for, you can easily connect with our team for assistance. Stay tuned for updates and announcements. Thank you for joining us on this journey - we can't wait to connect with you at the convention!

 2. Did you know that if you miss one of our ILA Online events that they will generally be made available to ILA members for a limited time on our website listen.org/ILA-Member-Event-Recordings.

We have enjoyed some great sessions recently – you won’t want to miss these!

3. We are delighted to announce that we have a new ILA Web Editor, Vito Foggia. Vito provided tech support at the 2023 ILA Annual Convention in Mainz. He is a pleasure to work with and handles tech challenges with grace and ease. Vito will be working with us part-time while he works on his PhD in Theology. He is passionate about Listening and looks forward to learning more through our ILA Online programs and annual ILA Conventions.

Welcome Vito! Email: ilatechsupport@listen.org

4. ILA Board Member Alexandra Perl is managing a wonderful Listening Cities initiative (link to website) beautifully illustrated as follows: “The pauses, the silences, the way of moving or standing still. The distance between bodies. The timbre, the tone of the voice, the rhythm of the words that follow one another quickly, or one at a time, and you could feel the rush, the dance or the weight, the fall. The gaze, straight in the eyes, fixed on the floor, or looking for something in the air. Listening is the art of interpreting how all these signs combine with each other and with the meaning of the words that are spoken. Meanings that each culture only partially codifies. The art of Listening does not involve immediate reactions but the ability to make space, to tune into the other person’s world and discover their needs, fears, desires”.

5. ILA member Theresa Caldwell has been promoting her book ‘Safety Seal’. This is the perfect book to help early readers start learning how to keep themselves and others safe as they experience more of the world around them. Let’s learn how to talk to our kids so that they will Listen about staying safe away from home: Safety Seal (link to Amazon)

 6. ILA members are invited to join Marva Shand McIntosh as she presents about Listening at a fundraiser hosted by the Sangha for Ukraine on May 16th, which is ‘I Love to Listen Day’ from 11am to 12:30pm US Eastern Time. The event includes an audio-visual exploration of Ukrainian music and landscapes and a Buddhist meditation.

More information, and the Zoom link for the event: Ukraine Tonglen  or on I Love to Listen

7. ILA member Anu Viljanmaa has been organizing a wonderful conference for the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication at the University of Tampere, Finland – a great success.

8. A warm ILA welcome to all our new members this month. We look forward to seeing you at any, or all of our online events and in person at our 45^th Annual ILA Convention in Minnesota, USA. If you need access to our ILA resources, check out our website listen.org or, for personal contacts, join our ILA Buddy Program details from Lisa Athearn at ilabuddycoordinator@listen.org .

9. Check out our five-session online series ‘Listening to Nurture Happiness’ in preparation for the ILA’s 9th annual International Week of Listening in September 2024.

Queries to sandra.bodin-lerner@listen.org

10. ILA member Mike Humphrey is working on research podcasts at Colorado State University interviewing people whose vocations spur them to Listen for the stories of their clients, patients, sources, in order to serve them better.

He says that our sense of Self is created through the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we tell about ourselves and the stories we hear back.

Check out their experience of Narrative Listening here: Link to podcast

11. Marva Shand McIntosh represented the International Listening Association (ILA) at the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Listening garden at the University of Maryland, USA.  The prominent features of the garden are several benches with words that are germane to Listening: Go to website Listening-garden-dedication

12. The ILA is a global organization and the responsibilities of the ILA Board are increasing. A new ILA Sustainable Growth Team, co-led by Marva Shand-McIntosh and Dr. Annie Rappaport, are examining ILA needs to sustain future growth and will make recommendations at our 45^th Annual ILA Convention in June 2024. Meanwhile, the ILA Executive Board has decided to prototype a new role of Director of Operations for 6 months and we are happy to introduce long-standing ILA member and Past President, Lori Joubert as our ILA Director of Operations. Her main responsibilities are digital transformation management, website, membership management and communications. Our Executive Director, Nanette Johnson-Curiskis, will also continue in her role with her main responsibilities relating to all financial matters, contracts, convention, and institutional memory. Nan has been a key member and an invaluable asset for over 40 years, contributing her expertise, dedication, and resolute commitment to the ILA.