Introduction:
So, what is the International Alliance without Walls? Albert Einstein once said “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.” That quote describes perfectly what we have accomplished within TWA and why the International Alliance without Walls came into being.
TWA was challenged with using it’s imagination to figure out how to reach out to women around the globe. By using TWA’s collective imagination a new program was born, whose focus is to remove boundaries, encourage understanding of different cultures, encourage personal and professional growth, expand networks and friendships and grow TWA membership globally. At last year’s conference, what TWA had imagined became the coming attraction.
In 2009, IAWW saw a year-over-year increase in attendance in our meetings, with a total of over 600 attendees, in person or virtual, from 3 countries (the United Kingdom, Canada and the US), including people from 5 Canadian provinces and 24 of the United States. Our programs covered such diverse, yet timely topics as Dealing with Stress and Change; Health and Nutrition, and Protecting your Children on the Internet.
We experimented with new ways to present the meetings, with varying degrees of success. Fortunately, our audiences (both virtual and live), were patient with us and we learned what does and doesn’t work when dealing with large numbers of virtual attendees. Imagination certainly came into play with meeting formats as well. As a result, our 2010 coming attractions will be fraught with fewer problems and be filled with more excitement as we move onwards and upwards in our primary goal of removing boundaries and reaching out across borders and cultures.
The energy we are building collectively, around the world, is contagious! Help us spread that energy! Put your imagination to work, send us your ideas, become part of the coming attractions. This is an exciting time to be a part of TWA!
Goals:
Removing Boundaries
Encouraging understanding of different cultures
Topics to encourage personal and professional growth
Expanding networks and friendships
Exploring new ways to present material
Growing TWA membership globally
Removing Boundaries:
IAWW will strive to include interviews and forums with Xerox women globally, to discuss challenges/issues faced on a day-to-day basis, regardless of where you live or your job function. Sharing these perspectives from many different countries will enable us to grow our understanding of each other on a global front and will encourage TWA membership, as more and more participants see the value of joining.
In order to encourage understanding of different cultures, IAWW will sponsor forums which include interviews, panel discussions, and yes, even "chats" with Xerox women globally to discuss the challenges/issues faced on a day-to-day basis, regardless of where you live or your job function or your life status. From these discussions (both formal and informal), we will discover the right topics to encourage personal and professional growth and from which we will grow a better understanding of this "flat" world in which we live. By reaching out, we will each be expanding networks and friendships.
Not only will we explore and expand a variety of subject matter, we will continue to explore new ways to present material, expand ways to present these exciting and relevant topics. We will continue to use methods which are tried and true, such as live speakers, podcast interviews, brainshark presentations, and we will also explore the use of new, innovative technology such as second life. Our goal is to present the subject matter in such a way that will both captivate and capture the audience.
And, as another way to present material, IAWW has established the IAWW Lending Library. Any TWA member (around the globe) may check out any of the books or tapes on file, free of charge (except for return postage). At present, we have the following in our inventory:
Books:
Balancing Act by Mary LoVerde
Beyond Juggling by Kurt Shadholtz
Finding your North Star by Martha Beck
Humor Us by Anne Barab and other Humorists
I used to have a Handle on Life, but it Broke by Mary LoVerde
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, PhD
Leading the Way to Success by Bennis, Ganfield, Willis, and Kouzes
Stop Screaming at the Microwave by Mary LoVerde
The Big Moo by a Group of 33
The Control Trap by Barbara Sullivan
The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey
The Women's Alliance Cookbook by Xerox and TWA Contributors
Who Moved my Cheese by Spencer Johnson
Why Can't a Man be More Like a Woman? by Sandra Beckwith
DVD and CD:
I Had a Life Plan, but the Magnet Fell off the Fridge by Anne Barab
The Power of Connection by Mary LoVerde
TWA 20 Years DVD
You Can't Make Me Change Anything but My Underwear by Anne Barab
To check out any of the above, send an email to Irene.Hickey@xerox.com
We are excited to say that IAWW has already begun building an international footprint. During the past couple of years we have reached an average virtual audience of over 100 per event. This audience included women from Canada, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Great Britain, and the US! Additionally, we are now reaching out to Xerox women in Asia and Australia. This is an exciting time to be a part of TWA! The energy we are building collectively, around the world, is contagious! Help us spread the energy!
How can you Get Involved:
Check the TWA Calendar of Events regularly to see what is going on in your area.
Send us ideas for speakers and topics that interest you.
Host an IAWW event.
Share information you know or find on topics pertaining to women.
Reach out to Xerox women in other countries.
Encourage others to join TWA.
Contact the IAWW Program Chair, Irene Hickey to learn more about this exciting program. Together, we can grow TWA membership globally!