World IA Day Connects The World Through Information Architecture

OUR DRIVING PRINCIPLES

World Information Architecture Day is a one-day annual conference hosted by the Information Architecture Institute and held in dozens of cities across the world. We are a community of like-minded professionals and enthusiasts who share the common goal of teaching, learning, and shaping the future of Information Architecture. Our driving principles serve as the foundation both of the global event itself and of the local communities that grow from it.

WE BELIEVE IN COMMUNITY BUILDING

Our focus is on building local communities of practice within a global network. We recognize that our best chance at reaching our common goals is to foster participation from anyone who may benefit from a better understanding of Information Architecture. To this end, we hold an open-door policy that encourages our greater community to get involved. We hold open planning meetings that anyone may attend, get local businesses involved through targeted event sponsorship, and hold each other accountable for maintaining our spirit of inclusivity. Please read our Code of Conduct.

WE BELIEVE IN EMPOWERING LEADERS

We have a deep understanding that leaders are created when people are given permission to lead. We remember that we were all new once, and we make space for those that are new today to have the opportunity to succeed. Small or inexperienced communities are enthusiastically welcomed to hold events in their cities, and we provide the support they need to flourish. First-time organizers, speakers,and volunteers are championed as the potential leaders who will carry our event in the future.

WE BELIEVE IN GROWING TOGETHER

Humility is our cornerstone, and we recognize each of us as individuals, as well as the field of Information Architecture itself, always has room to grow. We share our thoughts, ideas, and work freely within a framework of openness, with the understanding that advancement depends on collaboration. The content we create is freely available to the public and we invite conversation around the work we’re doing. We seek opportunities to learn from those outside of the field, and ensure that everyone feels welcome to have their voice heard.

WE BELIEVE IN GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING

Our community was and continues to be grown from the bottom up. We’ve proven that participation can be achieved through humble means and determination, and that limited resources do not constrain our success. Our accomplishments are dependent on the hard work of volunteers and the generous donations of sponsors. Because we do not rely on luxury, our events will always be free and open to anyone that can attend, and we will always put back into our community what we’ve been given.

OUR HISTORY

In early 2011, Abby Covert asked an important question: how can we bring together a disparate world of Information Architects to create a truly global community of practice? From this question the seeds of an idea were born. Through Abby's vision and with tremendous help from Dan Klyn, Andrea Resmini, and other invaluable members of the Information Architecture Institute, those seeds grew to what we know today as World Information Architecture Day.

Originally called Idea Stream, the goal of World IA Day has always been the same: to join together the global community of information-lovers and sense-makers in order to foster ideas about and advance the practice of Information Architecture.

Since its inaugural event in 2012, World IA Day has been held in over 50 cities in 29 countries on almost every continent in the world. Thousands of Information Architects, aspiring practitioners, and interested community members all over the globe have come together to share their knowledge of and excitement for the field.

Each year, a new theme is selected, new cities are added, and our community continues to grow as more people from all across the world join this truly global celebration of Information Architecture.

OUR THEMES

2015: Architecting Happiness

2014: Making the World a Better Place Through Information Architecture

2013: The "Architecture" Part of IA

2012: Designing Structures for Understanding

THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE INSTITUTE MISSION

The world is dealing with a “mess made out of information” the size and complexity of which has never been encountered before. Information Architecture is a design practice dedicated to bringing understanding and order to the chaos that is the information that we produce in our everyday lives.

If we are going to be ready to make sense of this mess, we are going to need an army of people able to practice and teach information architecture. To properly equip that army of sense makers, we need a preserved body of IA work and thought.

In pursuit of that goal, the Information Architecture Institute:

Empowers local communities to shape the global practice of information Architecture
Provides opportunities for leaders of information architecture to bring knowledge of the practice to their local community
Promotes excellence within our field and builds bridges to related disciplines and organizations through research, education, advocacy and community service

"World IA Day is tricksey - its importance and impact is easy to miss due to how accessible and non-complicated the thing is from an attendee's standpoint. It's free. It's not too far from where you live and work. You show up on a Saturday morning and there's coffee and you settle in for the first couple of talks. And yet: in just three years of being a thing in the world, there's been 51 instances of World IA Day. There've been more free, public, full-day conversations about IA since 2012 as a result of WIAD than the sum of all prior conversations in the history of the discipline. I think it would be difficult to overstate the importance and impact of this critical and outlandishly-accessible mass of participation, interest in and content about IA on the discipline."

Dan Klyn Co-founder, Information Architect The Understanding Group @danklyn