At Victoria Falls: Witnessing the Global Impact of ToP Facilitation
From October 27 to November 1, 2025, the 9th ICA Global Conference was held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. As the first major global reunion since the pandemic, it brought together ICA colleagues, ToP practitioners, partner organizations, and community representatives from over 20 countries across multiple sectors.
Over five days, participants explored the theme:
“Linking Sustainable Development to Key Issues of Our Time.”
Across plenaries, theme groups, consensus workshops, and field visits, the conference highlighted how ToP methods continue to shape conversations, decisions, and collective action around the world.
A Global Community, Connected by Purpose
From the opening circle to the closing reflections, the conference carried a strong sense of shared purpose and global solidarity. Colleagues shared how ToP facilitation is helping communities address climate challenges, strengthen youth voice, advance gender inclusion, innovate in education, build resilient organizations, as well as support businesses in building effective teams, navigating complexity, and achieving sustainable results.
Each day began with a Focused Conversation, allowing participants from diverse cultures, languages, and professions to arrive, settle, and connect. Very quickly, a shared feeling of: “We can think and work together.” was created.
Six Key Themes Guiding Global Learning
Participants engaged deeply in six theme groups designed for the conference. Using some simple ToP tools such as Focused Conversation, Consensus Workshop Method, and action planning, each thematic group identified challenges, surfaced best practices, and developed insights for future collaboration.
I. Addressing the Impact of Climate Change Locally
Community strategies for adapting to heat waves, droughts, flooding, and other climate impacts.
II. Innovations in the Application of Participatory Processes
Using participatory wisdom to shape decisions, shift mindsets, and enable meaningful change in our work.
III. Innovations in Social Media for Education
How social media and networks are transforming learning and social engagement.
IV. Health in a Globally Connected World
Post-COVID reflections and new approaches to community and global health.
V. The Role of ICT in Sustainable Development
How digital tools and ICT support development and strengthen ICA work globally.
VI. Localising Sustainable Community Development
How community participation drives sustainable development, employment, and human growth.
Marketplace of Ideas & Field Visits
The Marketplace of Ideas brought together stories, case studies, posters, and drawings made by groups to summarize discussion results and action plans — creating a vivid picture of the creativity and commitment within our global ICA network. 
Participants also visited a local school, local hospital, an ecology company, and a community innovation centre, experiencing firsthand how storytelling and community engagement strengthen learning, hope, collaboration, and development.
Innovation Spotlight: ToP & Neuroscience
In the conference, ICA Nepal shared inspiring work on integrating neuroplasticity concepts into ToP facilitation practice. Their presentation highlighted that:
• Applying neuroscience principles helps individuals and groups build new neural pathways, supporting deeper insight and adaptive thinking.
• ORID’s natural sequence — objective → reflective → interpretive → decisional — aligns closely with core cognitive processes.
• Novel learning experiences and cognitive training can enhance flexibility, attention, and collective responsiveness.
This reminded us that ToP’s effectiveness is grounded not only in structure and participation, but also in how the human brain naturally makes sense of the world.
Returning to the Roots: Science Behind ORID
This connection between science and ToP is also reflected in The Art of Focused Conversation, which discusses:
• Neuroscience and the ORID process
• Social psychology and group reflection
To deepen our understanding of this connection, we invite you to revisit a key section from B. Stanfield and J. Nelson’s The Art of Focused Conversation. Chapter 4 provides a clear explanation of how neuroscience, social psychology, and cognitive processes underpin the ORID framework, and why structured dialogue consistently supports deeper thinking and better decisions.
For those who wish to explore the full richness of this resource, the complete book is available directly from the publisher.
Carrying the Momentum Forward
Standing beside the roar of Victoria Falls, surrounded by colleagues from around the world, we felt the power of people coming together with courage, curiosity, and respect.
This year’s conference reaffirmed that ToP facilitation is not simply a set of tools— it is a global movement for meaningful participation and sustainable development across diverse sectors — both long-established and newly emerging.
We look forward to continuing this momentum together into 2026.