ASSOCIATIONWORLD Adds US Chapter with its New Association Forum in Washington

After the success of the recently-held Brussels International Association Forum (BIAF) in March and prior to the second edition of the Geneva International Association Forum (GIAF) taking place on 27-28 June, Brussels-based ASSOCIATIONWORLD announces the launch of the first edition of WIAF, the Washington International Association Forum, set to take place on September 27-28, 2022.

Gathering representatives of international and North American Associations, Non-Profits, Federations, Societies and NGOs, WIAF aims at establishing an international leading platform and knowledge sharing event in one of the world’s flagship host destinations for professional associations and non-profit organisations. 

WIAF’s primary mission in its inaugural edition is to bring together international and North America-based international / American associations and non-profit organisations to provide knowledge transfer, enable peer-to-peer exchange, share best practices and design joint initiatives which tackle common challenges and help achieve better results and greater impact.

Washington D.C., much like Brussels and Geneva, is an institutional, political and advocacy hub and a central location for international diplomacy, innovation and professional expertise. The city’s unique ecosystem of public, private, non-profit, academic and political players provides a fertile ground for fostering an impactful dialogue and expertise sharing. Building and extending the community amongst international and North American associations and non-profit organisations is the essence of WIAF; designed for the association community, by the association community.

Kai Troll (right photo), President of ASSOCIATIONWORLD says: “With the launch of WIAF, the ASSOCIATIONWORLD movement is expanding its xIAF brand event property to a third global association hub. Many of our over 12,000 community members are based in North America and we are following their recommendation to bring premium education opportunities and experiential learning at affordable prices to the international associations community in North America. On top of our all-year-round activities of hosting virtual events and regular in-person workshops primarily in other global association hubs such as Brussels and Geneva, the first edition of WIAF seeks to gather in person approximately 50-60 association leaders at the event.

Associations in Europe and North America are often governed very differently. We are very much looking forward to hosting the first edition of WIAF for association leaders who are interested in gaining a more global perspective of international association management, not only from a governance, but also from a cultural point of view and to help create more positive impact around the world”.

The WIAF association advisory committee has already started to identify and define relevant themes and topics to be discussed by international and North American-based association representatives at WIAF. The programme combines keynote speakers, a masterclass, peer-to-peer exchange and workshops, panel discussions related to the topic pillars of Good Governance, Leadership, Organizational Culture, Membership and Communities, Advocacy, Campaigning, Media, Communications, Marketing, Event Development, Innovation, Resource Development. Themes related to well-being and healthy minds will also find their place at the event.

The WIAF team are inviting international and North American associations to get involved in the co-creation process, to design an event of great interest and relevance.

Registrations open on May 15. More information and pre-registration already available here