History
Started in 2012, World IA Day continues to be the flagship global event in the IA community.
Born in 2012 as part of the IA Institute
World IA Day was first established in 2012 as a one-day annual event held in dozens of locations across the world and hosted by the Information Architecture Institute (IA Institute). It was started by Abby Covert and Dan Klyn.
Abby and Dan had a vision to create a one-day celebration focused on advancing the practice and education of information architecture. The key here was to create something that was for the community. Their hope was to empower emerging leaders and further the discourse of a growing and, at the time, contentious discipline.
Established in September 2019 as a separate entity
In September 2019, the Board of Directors of the IA Institute voted unanimously to dissolve the organization as a 501(c)(6) professional board of trade. With no fiscal host, World IA Day needed a way to continue to exist. A founding board for World IA Day, Inc. was selected for the sole purpose of establishing a charitable nonprofit organization and to provide fiscal support for the 2020 event to continue.
Shortly after World IA Day, Inc. is designated as a public charity, section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, the founding Board will act in accordance with section 3.2 of the bylaws working in a collaborative and transparent manner to establish policies and procedures for all future Board of Director elections and appointments.
Managing transitions towards a new identity
This transition for World IA Day as its own governing body started with the end of the IA Institute and requires a process of letting go, realigning, and re-identification before World IA Day re-emerges with its new identity.
During this transition, we'll be using this space to document those changes and share that with the community-at-large.
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