#APOIinternationalguest: an added value in the formation of APOI

Being responsible for international relations for our Association is a passion that I have been enthusiastically cultivating since 2014, when with the APOI Board of Directors we discussed the importance of facing the world of Professional Organizers beyond national borders.

While waiting for the growth of the profession in Italy to mature, in November 2020, we initiated a series of webinars with foreign colleagues to provide an opportunity for Associates to engage with outstanding professionals.

These exchanges allow people to get to know successful and often culturally diverse professional realities, and for this reason they are always moments of great professional and personal growth.

That's how the #APOIinternationalGuest project was born: a series of webinars with outstanding guests, allowing us to touch on the development of the profession abroad, to treasure their different experiences, and to shorten the distance to the vast world of the profession.

The added value of storytelling: how webinars are conducted

The meetings open with evocative storytelling from our guests, during which we find out how and when they entered the profession, what their career path is, and how they came to embark on this path as Professional Organizers.

After this important sharing, our associates are invited to ask questions by actively confronting each other . It is from this exchange that strong stimuli, new inspirations and a positive, dare I say propulsive, drive to do more and better both as individual professionals and as associates arise.

The example of foreign colleagues, although they come from different backgrounds, is a strong inspiration for dealing with our work and the Italian market.

The webinars close with a useful time of exchange to understand how other EO associations around the world operate, how they have evolved, and how volunteering and networking are the main ways to spread the word about the Profession.

Colleagues who are guests at our webinars, while internationally renowned, are always extremely generous in meeting APOI members free of charge, which is rare abroad.

In this regard, I once again thank on behalf of APOI Associates all those who have been and will be among our guests at #APOIinternationalguest!

Because in addition to being speakers, our guests remain connected to APOI, becoming part of its network of international contacts, they will be our partners in the Association's future projects.

The pioneers of our project: our international guests

It is a great satisfaction to see our project grow, from year to year we have met EOs from the United States, Canada, England, Brazil, Holland, Mexico, and soon France and Australia! An added value for the members of our Association, an important source of growth!

To date we have had the pleasure of dealing with outstanding professionals, here are the names:

• Dorothy Breninger - USA
• Alison Lush - Canada
• Ingrid Jansen - GB
• Cristiane Belfiore - Brazil
• Barry Izsack - USA(packingmovingunpacking.com/about)
• Marianne Winter - Netherlands(maryregelthetwel.nl/)
• Nacho Eguiarte - Mexico

More outstanding guests await us in 2023:

The program continues again this year and our guests are no less than their predecessors, so here is who we will have the pleasure of meeting:

• Amy Tokos, outgoing NAPO-USA president - February 3.
• Pauline Levasseur, President FPPO-France - June 16
• Sarah Cottman - Australia - Oct. 6

I will not tire of repeating it: I believe deeply in this project of exchange and sharing, and I begin this new year dedicated to APOI members and the evolution of the profession with a renewed desire to grow through comparison with our international colleagues.

The international webinars are held live and are a valuable and unique event for APOI Members only, and it is with our presence and enthusiasm that we repay the generosity of our incredible speakers from around the world.

For those of you who want to join, here is another important reason to join APOI, for APOI Associates...I look forward to seeing you all at the first meeting of the year, mark the date on your calendar next Feb. 3!