March Into

International Listening Awareness Month!

'Tis the Luck of the Irish

39th Annual Convention, June 20-23, 2018; Dublin, Ireland

Our 39th Annual ILA Convention will take place from 21-23 June 2018 at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The convention theme is Listening Beyond Boundaries. Many of you are already excited at the prospect of attending a convention in Ireland. By the end of July, we will provide information on registration, accommodations, and travel at www.listen.org.  

Invite your colleagues, students, associates, friends, and family to join us. We have space for 110 participants. Registration is on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Early bird registration will open at the end of July 2017 with reduced rates for those who register early. Prices will have to increase the closer we get to June 2018. 

The Call for Proposals will go live on our website (www.listen.org) at the end of July. We are seeking listening program proposals from a variety disciplines, applied settings, arts, theoretical and methodological perspectives, as well as a variety of formats and topics. We have already begun exploring many experiential, educational, and tourist activities. We will also hold a special one-day, professional development  program on Listening, Health and Healing on 20 June 2018. 

The theme for this 39th annual convention is one that relates to us all. Healing surely is needed in political communication, but clearly many other areas in our lives are where we need someone to listen to provide the necessary healing: at work, at home, at play, with friends, co-workers, and family. We also need to learn how to listen to others. In the words of Margaret J. Wheatley, “Listening moves us closer, it helps us become more whole, more healthy, more holy. Not listening creates fragmentation, and fragmentation is the root of all suffering."

Contact the convention planner: 

Jennifer M. Grau, President

 Grau Interpersonal Communication

 517-484-5756 (Eastern time zone)
www.grauic.com

This site was created to inform others about this important event. Started by the International Listening Association (ILA), International Listening Awareness Month is celebrated each March. This upcoming year (2018) marks the 19th anniversary. This global celebration helps the ILA in promoting the critical role listening plays in all human activity.

The ILA promotes International Listening Awareness Month at social, educational, and professional events throughout the world; its membership represents 16 countries, including Canada, Japan, Finland, Germany, and the U.S., to name a few. You can learn more about the ILA by visiting its website and by reading the ILA's newsletter, Listening Post, that you can find at the ILA website.

March was chosen as International Listening Awareness Month because it provides a good lead-in to the annual ILA convention, which is usually held in March; however, this year the convention will be in the summer. This next year we are meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The 37th Annual Listening Convention will be held June 7-10, 2017. We always have a great time sharing research and insights about listening.

Do you have ideas for celebrating International Listening Awareness Month? Send them to Susan at stimm@elgin.edu, and she'll post them on the page set up for ideas. That way, we can all share our ideas with each other.

Need Ideas for Celebrating? We're here for you:

1. The Countdown to International Listening Awareness Month e-newsletters provide various ideas for celebrating this important month. You will find all of the past e-newsletters in the folder to the right entitled "Countdowns to International Listening Awareness Month".

2. Members of the ILA are available to share their insights on listening throughout the year. If you are not a member already, and therefore, unable to access the on-line membership directory, you can e-mail the ILA Executive Director Dr. Nanette Johnson-Curiskis at info@listen.org. She will connect you with the right person(s).

3. Connect with other listeners in our community forum at the ILA website: www.listen.org. You will find the blog postings on the right-hand side in a sidebar. Non-members can access the blogs.

4. Why not join the ILA and celebrate listening all year round? Find out more at www.listen.org.