Chicago I and Chicago II
From AFSWiki
AFS held a National Leadership Conference in Chicago in October 2006 in the aftermath of a difficult hosting season that resulted in late arrivals for students who were not placed on time.
A second National Leadership Conference, also in Chicago, was held in September 2007.
The meeetings have been generally referred to as Chicago I and Chicago II.
Since these meetings were held before the creation of the Wiki / just as the Wiki was getting started, there doesn't appear to be any information about them on the Wiki itself. There is a wealth of information on AFS-on-Line News.
These meetings certainly will be considered the forerunners of the National Volunteer Assembly and the beginnings of the Volunteer Restructuring.
Chicago II News Release from AFS-on-Line News
Update & Background Papers for the Upcoming AFS-USA National Leadership Summit Sep 8-9, 2007 By: Joanne Yokoyama/UOR/USA/AFSIP Posted: 09/04/2007
Dear AFS-USA Volunteers and Staff,
AFS-USA is holding a National Leadership Summit the weekend of September 8-9, 2007 in Chicago, IL. The purpose of the National Leadership Summit is to bring together AFS-USA’s volunteer and staff leaders to engage in a dialogue and consensus building that reaffirms our commitment to the mission of the premier intercultural learning organization in the United States. This opportunity optimizes the volunteer - staff partnership by allowing key stakeholders to increase knowledge, agree on the key issues facing the organization and build consensus about short term and long term approaches to strengthening our business.
Attached to this posting, are copies of the background papers that will be used at the upcoming summit this weekend. Hard copies of these materials will be available to participants at the summit. These background papers include the following:
Agenda for the Summit weekend
- Recommendations made at the National Leadership Summit held last October 2006 in Chicago
- Results from the Online Volunteer Survey
- National Organizational Study Plan
- Process Review Summary Report
- List of outside volunteer based non-profit organizations we have targetted for our external research
- Copy of the online survey sent to outside volunteer based non-profit organizations
- Copies of criteria worksheets for every Team in AFS USA. These worksheets will be reviewed and discussed at the summit, and are a work in progress
A summary report and additional information about the outcomes and results of the Summit will be posted on AFS Online in the next couple of weeks.
If you have any questions about the background papers or information attached, please feel free to contact me at jyokoyama@afs.org
Regards, Joanne
Chicago I News Release from AFS-on-Line News
Organization Wide Meeting By: Joanne Yokoyama Posted: 09/12/2006
Dear AFS Staff and Volunteers:
On behalf of the Executive Team and the National Council, I am very pleased to announce that we will convene a national, organization-wide meeting in October 2006. The conference is planned to take place in Chicago on the weekend of October 13-15 with approximately 100 people—volunteers, staff, and board members who will represent all areas of AFS-USA. They will gather in a spirit of partnership and will bring with them a wide variety of knowledge, experiences, skills, energy, and understanding.
We have faced many challenges this year in both sending and hosting. While it’s clear that we can do anything we put our minds and hearts on and should be extremely proud of our accomplishments, I believe you will agree with me that we cannot continue working in the ways that we have been. While this meeting will certainly deal with hosting and sending, the purpose of the meeting is to begin a process together that will help us to create the best possible future for AFS-USA. To do that, we will be reviewing and discussing many different aspects of our organization and industry.
I believe this will be one of the most important meetings of our time at AFS-USA. Together, we will review all that has happened during the past several years—new organizational structure, strategic plan, volunteer dialogue, new programs and departments, changes in regulations that affect how we do business and more, and how this has impacted our organization. We will review how our business has changed since the events of September 11, 2001, and we will deal with some of the most important topics in our industry today, such as how to define and support the 21st Century volunteer. In other words, let’s look at every single topic that we feel is important and put it on the table. We are currently defining a core group of staff and volunteer leaders who will help to plan the agenda and further develop our objectives.
Regional Directors will work with National Council and Regional Council chairs to select volunteers who will be invited to attend. AFS-USA Vice-Presidents will select staff from their respective areas, and our Board Chair will select representativesfrom the Board. While we are currently working on the mix of attendees, we expect to have more volunteers than staff. However, regardless of who represents us at this meeting we will ensure that all volunteers and staff have opportunities to give input on key issues, and that updates and information are provided on an ongoing basis, both before and after the meeting. While we will have 100 of our leaders present, I want to assure you that this will be a meeting of us all.
We are an organization of talented and committed individuals who already possess the knowledge and expertise that we need to move this organization forward. I look forward to the wonderful contributions that I know you will make in the weeks that lie ahead. You will receive more information shortly.
With best regards and great hope for the future,
Alex J. Plinio President AFS Intercultural Programs/USA
