- The views and opinions

expressed during this podcast

are those of our guests.

No one person speaks for A.A. as a whole.

(upbeat music)

- Welcome to a very special bonus episode

of "Our Primary Purpose."

We're going to discuss

the upcoming A.A. International Convention

which takes place this

July 3rd through the 6th

in Vancouver, British Columbia.

My name is Nathan, I'm an alcoholic.

Welcome to the International Convention.

(upbeat music continues)

We sat down with four board members

and a GSO staff coordinator

to chat about A.A.'s biggest event.

What is it, why is it such a big deal?

And what it's like to

experience it for yourself.

Here's Carolyn W. and Vera

F. sharing the overall vibe.

- It is electric.

There is so much enthusiasm.

Everyone just really wants

to show people how welcome

they are and participate.

The enthusiasm for it is huge.

- You can imagine walking

into this massive arena

that's filled with tens of

thousands of sober alcoholics

all gathered together for recovery

and this overwhelming

sense of unity and joy.

From the moment that you walk in,

this energy just engulfs you.

People are laughing

and hugging old friends

and making new ones.

And the sound of 40,000 plus AA members

saying the Serenity Prayer in unison

is one of those moments that

kind of gives you chills.

- But it's not all huge

crowds and large gatherings.

- I think the amazing

thing for me personally

is just the those quiet

moments of personal connection

that you can find in this

great big place full of people.

And I don't know who that'll

be or where I'll find them,

but I know that there

will be those moments

I share with other A.A. members

who we just pause in a hallway somewhere

or randomly sit next to each

other in a meeting somewhere

and have that brief moment of connection.

It's really, really special.

- People can expect of

course speaker meetings,

there's workshops, panels

featuring A.A. members

from all over the world.

If you're interested in history

or you're interested in service

or you're just interested in

personal stories of recovery,

I think there's something

there for everyone.

There's smaller sessions

on more specific topics,

opportunities to connect with people

from different countries.

I sat in on some meetings

just to hear the language.

I sat in on a a meeting spoken in German

and I just wanted to hear the language.

And you know, besides

the official programming,

you know, there's plenty to do.

Grab coffee with some friends,

explore the whole city.

- Speaking of exploring the city,

here's Trish L. to tell us

about a popular tradition

at the International Convention.

- When the meetings

end on the Friday night

and Saturday night at

the convention center,

the convention campus in Vancouver

includes BC Place Stadium.

It's about a 20 minute walk

from the convention center

itself to BC Place Stadium.

So Walk The Walk is all of us walking

who choose, who can, walking

from the convention center

to BC Place Stadium

and the excitement

builds with every block.

In Minneapolis, I thought

I was floating on air

and I'm so excited to think

that the city of Vancouver

and our local members get

to experience Walk The Walk

at this particular convention.

- It sounds like Vancouver is

a great city to Walk The Walk.

- Oh, I really can't wait,

it will be spectacular.

- And once we get to the stadium.

- I think for most people,

you know, a highlight

are the big meetings which

will be in BC Place Stadium

and all of us gathered together

and witnessing together

and hearing together

the Old-Timers Meeting,

the saying of the Serenity Prayer

in the languages represented

but together as one voice.

- This is from the 1990

International Convention

in Seattle, Washington.

- God, grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Thank you.

- Tom H. had a favorite memory

from that same convention.

- At my first in Seattle,

and I was only a couple

years sober at the time.

And at the closing ceremony,

a blind woman was led

to the microphone to sing "Amazing Grace."

And when she sang, "I

was blind but now I see,"

there wasn't a dry eye in the place.

- Here's Trish again.

- For me, a highlight of any International

that I've ever ever been to,

and this could only happen

in Alcoholics Anonymous,

and it was the hard work of the organizers

of that convention, was

hearing a a young man

who was serving time in

the Georgia prison system

share for the first time publicly,

for the first time outside

of a jail or institution

in front of all those 57,000 people

under the dome in Atlanta,

sharing his experience,

strength, and hope.

That was extraordinary.

You could hear a pin drop.

- Another favorite is

the Old-Timers Meeting.

- The way that works is that members

with over 50 years of sobriety,

they all sit in a section

very close to the stage,

the names are randomly pulled

and we get to hear from

15 or so of them, I guess,

that come up on stage and

share for five minutes.

And again, it's just one of those things

that's extremely powerful, enlightening,

humorous to see all

that sobriety up there,

just getting a couple of minutes

to say a few things to the crowd.

- Then when we leave the meeting.

- The beautiful light will

probably be in the sky

until about 10 o'clock at night.

That means that as people

leave BC Place Stadium,

having had this amazing

collective experience together,

they're going to be walking

out into this lovely gloaming

of a long, long summer night in Vancouver.

It will be unforgettable.

- Carolyn, do you keep

in touch with anyone

you've met at past

International Conventions?

- I actually have a

couple friends I've met

from out outside of Canada

that intend to be there,

one from Rwanda and one from Iran.

We'll see if they make

it, but I'm sure hoping

to get to see them at that meeting.

- I have some friends that I know

that are coming from as far

away as Japan, South Africa.

I know some folks in

Australia who are coming.

I think it's going to be a

real global gathering and-

- An excellent way to

enhance one's experience

at the convention is to do service.

That opportunity is open to anyone.

And Trish, who heads

the Volunteer Committee,

told us about the volunteer kickoff event.

- There were, you know,

between 750 and 800 amazing,

totally energized members of

Alcoholics Anonymous there

for this kickoff event.

And I think they blew

the lid off the building.

And the energy, but it's

not just the energy,

it's the love for Alcoholics Anonymous.

- What kind of volunteer

positions are available?

- Most of them involve greeting

in some way or another.

Some don't, there are marathon meetings,

so there's a specific committee

for the marathon meetings

that will be going 24/7

starting on the Thursday night

of the convention.

There's a Guest Headquarters

Committee that again,

that's greeting though,

it will be sort of the nerve

center for the volunteers

and for us during the convention itself.

Even a committee like Global Languages,

which is there to make sure

that anybody whose first language

is not necessarily English

or even French or Spanish,

has a way of communicating with us.

It's you know, we're going to be able

to connect them we hope with technology

as well as other people.

But even that is a form of greeting

because you know, it's

called Global Languages,

but the theme of this convention

is the Language of the Heart

and that's what we all speak.

- There are many things to

do at the convention and yet.

- There's no way you

could look at the program

and know what your experience is gonna be

because it just doesn't allow

for the random lunch you ended up having

with the group of people

who were there from Poland.

That happened to me in Atlanta,

and you know you can't plan for that.

That's just not in the program.

- Carolyn, for someone who's

never visited British Columbia

or the West Coast of Canada,

what would you tell them that

makes the area so special?

- Oh my goodness, there is so much.

Of course, the outdoors

and we have some fantastic

accessible outdoor spaces.

The convention site itself

is right on the ocean.

You can quite literally

walk 10 minutes to a beach.

Lots of trees in Stanley Park.

So, there's lots of that

type of excitement to be had.

And if you're interested in,

you know, museums, history,

galleries, Pacific

Northwest, indigenous art,

I mean, we just have so much.

I am so excited for people to

get to see what we have here,

in addition to just the big-hearted spirit

of our A.A. community.

- what kind of questions do you get?

- People who aren't familiar

with traveling to Canada

have had questions about

things like currency exchange.

A lot of people don't

know the Canadian dollar

is about a $1.35, $1.40 US.

So whenever you see something

in US dollar prices,

it's actually like 35 to

40% less than it looks like.

- Some folks might have some

challenges crossing the border.

- People have asked a lot of questions

about how to enter Canada if

you have a criminal record.

And I'm so glad that the

General Service Office

has done such a great job

on those frequently asked questions

'cause there's links there

on the aa.org website

that go right to the correct information

for like the official information

so people don't have to guess or Google.

You can go straight to the facts.

- Patrick, the International

Convention Staff Coordinator,

had a friendly reminder.

- The key date to keep

in mind is April 15th.

That's when our pre-registration will end

and the registration price will increase.

So, if you're thinking about going

to the International Convention,

then now's the time to make those plans.

- We're here with our arms

open wide, and our hearts open

and we're just waiting for the privilege

to welcome all of you here to host this

on behalf of Alcoholics

Anonymous in the US and Canada.

- If you've never been,

then I'd say you are in for

an experience like no other.

(upbeat music)

- The 2025 A.A. International Convention,

Language of the Heart,

celebrating 90 years of

Alcoholics Anonymous,

July 3rd through the 6th in

Vancouver, British Columbia.

Information about the convention,

registration, housing, volunteering,

and more can be found at aa.org.

We can't wait to see you there.

(upbeat music continues)

- Thank you for listening

to "Our Primary Purpose,"

a podcast produced by the

General Service Office

on behalf of the Fellowship

of Alcoholics Anonymous

in the US and Canada.

(gentle music)