Planning for Toronto 2010 Kicks Off With a Crowd
by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA
IECA associate member Bola Adeniyi-Taiwo (Canada) made the four-hour train ride from Windsor, near Detroit, to attend the planning meeting for the IECA Conference to be held in Canada next spring. The planning meeting was held in what will be the conference hotel in Toronto. The surprising thing was that Bola was not the furthest traveler. Mike Rosson of EduNova, a consortia of colleges from the province of Nova Scotia flew in the night before.
Toronto Planning Meeting Attendees
Others in attendance throughout the province of Ontario included consultants, boarding school representatives, therapeutic program representatives, and others joined in the meeting led by IECA Vice President for Conferences, Mary Mansfield, IECA Conference Manager, Rachel Diamond, and me.
This was the first time a planning group invited such participation from non-member consultants and admission representatives, and the response by these partners was very exciting. Among the local institutions represented in the room: Carleton University, Pine River Institute, Ryerson University, University of Guelph, University of Toronto, Upper Canada College, and York University.
For some who wanted to participate but couldn’t be in the room, the three hour gathering was joined via conference call, allowing IECA member Rosa Moreno (FL) and Paola Baca, representing a consortia of colleges from British Columbia, to participate.
The group was very efficient, suggesting important topics to be addressed, including those directly dealing with U.S. / Canadian educational issues as well as those issues that span all parts of the world including autism, parent involvement, transitioning to college, and more. They also identified amazing possibilities for keynote and featured presentations that could make for a unique conference.
As a group they also came to agreement on what makes Toronto special as a way of zeroing in on themes. Diversity of the population and a commitment to a healthy sustainable planet everyone felt summed up Canada’s largest city. In addition, many ideas were floated for special events, off-site possibilities, and performances that would make attendees at IECA’s first-ever conference outside of the United States a great place to be next spring.
Related posts:
- A Timely Feature Story: “Tantalizing Toronto”
- First: Inside the Heads of Olympic Athletes. Next: On Stage at IECA Toronto Conference
- This is Early Bird Registration Week for IECA
- IECA’s First Conference Held Outside U.S. Reflects Our International Growth
- A Look Ahead to 2010: View from Educational Associations
Hi Mark,
It was a pleasure to participate and you and your team should be commended for your hard work and for having the forsight to involve local and national stakeholders. We look forward to particpating in the Conference in May 2010. Continued success.
Mark, I am trying to hone the new skills I learned from you in Charlotte. Everyone should consider going to Toronto! What a wonderful city! One can imagine that they are worlds away! It is culturally sophisticated, intellectually diverse and offers gourmet wonders. Now is the time for Toronto and it’s day in the sun. Do you remember?,