Insights and enquiries by Professional Dialogue Practitioners at the Sixth Annual International Conference of the Academy of Professional Dialogue

Edited by Peter Garrett

Foreword by Harold Clarke

This is the sixth book of a series under the title The World Needs Dialogue! that records the insights, enquiries and first-hand accounts from the international conferences held annually by the Academy of Professional Dialogue.

In 2023 the theme was Your Organization Needs Dialogue! We live in an era where, from birth to death, almost everything of significance is determined in and by organizations. Yet through their structure, most organizations are inherently fragmented, with many activities determined locally but in ignorance of their inter-dependency with other activities in the organization and other organizations beyond their own. This impacts the flow of outcomes in counter-productive ways. Professional Dialogue provides a means for everyone involved to see their part in the whole.

The conference explored the kind of leadership needed to introduce dialogue into an organization, the kind of culture it creates and the impact that has on decision-making, morale and the wisdom of working together in a joined-up way. Over 200 participants from 6 continents (we have yet to find a participant from Antarctica) heard from those with rich experience in the field. They also engaged one another every day in live Participatory Dialogues to deepen the considerations and find ways to benefit from dialogue in their own organizations.

The Academy of Professional Dialogue is an educational non-profit charity that is actively seeking to make the benefits of Professional Dialogue available to all sectors of society. The work originates from David Bohm’s insight that pervasive fragmentation in human consciousness is damaging society and impacting the state of the world. Dialogue is a proven way of addressing organizational fragmentation. The many aspects of this professional practice are considered each year at the Academy’s annual conference. Please refer to the Academy’s website: Aof PD.org