Who We Are...
The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) is a private, not-for-profit social change organization. Its primary objective is to promote positive change in communities, organizations and individual lives in the US and around the world by helping people find their own solutions to problems and the means to implement those solutions.

What We Do...
The ICA uses highly participatory techniques to foster creative thinking, consensus-based decision making and team building. Its methods generate ownership, create clear goals, open lines of communication, broaden perspectives and motivate people to adapt to their changing environment while honoring the cultural traditions and diversity of all involved.

Where We Started...
Incorporated in 1973 after operating for several years as a program division of the Ecumenical Institute in Illinois, the ICA in the United States currently operates autonomously as a registered member of the ICA International (ICAI). Formed in 1977 in Brussels, Belgium, the ICAI acts as a coordinating body for the thirty-five independent ICA affiliates located throughout North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. ICAI has Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Category II) and with UNICEF.

What We've Accomplished Together...
Over the years, the ICA has helped effect change within governments, local communities, corporations, volunteer organizations and community development groups. It has demonstrated that a program’s effectiveness increases when the people it affects are part of the development and implementation process. The ICA acts as a catalyst in areas such as education, leadership training, organizational transformation, democracy building, job training, neighborhood improvement and in fostering the art of facilitating diverse groups.

What We're Proud of...
Thirty years of methods testing and refinement have enabled the ICA to create and sustain a variety of programs across the US and abroad which invoke one common principle—the desire to release the creativity of the people involved and allow them to help shape their own destiny. The ICA facilitates this creative process so that people can learn for themselves how to think, plan and lead.

The ICA’s experience in participatory problem-solving and its unique understanding of cultural diversity make it eminently qualified to work in today’s environments of change.