All around the world, IASCE members, plus our colleagues at the Co-operative College and the United Kingdom Co-operative Learning Network, are preparing for the conference in Manchester, England from June 20 to 23, 2002. Those of us who have never been to Manchester are looking forward to exploring the city and the surrounding areas. From reflecting on the organizational feats of Roman Emperors (Manchester isn’t all that far from Hadrian’s Wall), to hiking the peaks and lakes, gazing at old manors, tracing the haunts of favorite authors, and exploring the contemporary music and sports scene, it seems the area has something for everyone.

And the conference? January, the month the proposals for presentations were due, felt like a major holiday for Maureen (our board member from Britain) and for me. Our computers kept beeping and telling us we had mail. We received proposals from many parts of the world—reminding us that we are truly international. We received proposals from old friends of cooperative learning and proposals from voices that are new to our organizations. And the quality and variety! We predict many of you who join us in Manchester will have a hard time deciding which sessions to attend. People are engaged in such interesting work and are bringing vibrant and exciting voices to cooperative learning and to this conference. We are excited and our hearts are warmed by the passion, the commitment, and the willingness to share. And about that willingness to share—please keep in mind that all presenters and participants in the conference pay to attend and participate. In keeping with the spirit of cooperation and with the belief that everyone is a valued member of the group, that has been the tradition of IASCE.

Yes, there are many stimulating sessions planned for the conference, but a conference can be much more than the sum total of sessions. The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology conference facility gives us a chance to get to know each other in ways that staying in hotels spread throughout a city would not. The local planning group (special thanks to Maureen) is doing a creative and energetic job of planning what I think of as the most important part--the glue--of the conference. Glue is what holds things together, and for our conference the glue includes shared meals, shared snacks, weird and wild activities, plus all those little moments when—with the help of pleasant surroundings--you have a chance to finish a conversation with an old friend, follow up with a new acquaintance to hear more about their work and their world, or just take a shared walk. The all-inclusive pricing of the conference, the design of the facility, and the local planning group help make this possible; your participation helps make it a reality.

If you have had any doubts about the vibrancy of cooperative learning or to the commitment to equity and to socially responsible citizenship among educators throughout the world, put those doubts aside. There will be a lot of people traveling to Manchester in June; I hope each and every one of you will join us and that you will encourage your colleagues to join us as well. Never has spreading the ideas of cooperation and responsible citizenship been more critical.

Cooperatively yours,

Lynda Baloche
IASCE Co-President and Conference Co-Planner