The latest newsletter of IAF Europe is a great read as usual – click on the cover image (right) to download it or view it online.

I particularly enjoyed Pamela Lupton-Bowers’ reflections on last October’s IAF Europe Conference in Geneva, Facilitating Across Cultures: Unleashing the Power of Diversity. It reminded me of the many rich insights at the conference into the role and impact of facilitation in international humanitarian work, not least from our keynote speakers from the World Economic Forum, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. This is as diverse and complex a context as a facilitator is likely to meet! There’s also a great piece from Fran O’Hara on her use of graphic facilitation in conjunction with the World Cafe method at our closing plenary, and well-deserved acknowledgement and thanks to all who made the conference happen.

Gillian Martin Mehers, Kathy Jourdain and Simon Burall also contribute this issue, on ‘tinkering, making and mashing’, ‘Hosting Self’ and ‘Supporting public engagement’ respectively. And of course there is news of IAF, not least from Pamela as she retires as IAF Europe Director and from Martin Farrell as he succeeds her.

Well done and thank you to editor Rosemary Cairns, the IAF Europe team and to all involved, for helping to make Europe such a stimulating place to be a facilitator!