Ottawa ICSAA 2028 Bid
Recovery Without Borders
Le rétablissement sans frontières
Bid vision
A Canadian gathering place for secular recovery.
Ottawa is a city shaped by crossings: of rivers, languages, cultures, histories, and people. Situated along the Kichi Zìbì (Ottawa River), Canada's capital has long been a meeting place where different communities gather, connect, and share their stories.
The Ottawa ICSAA 2028 bid envisions a conference rooted in openness, inclusion, and human connection. Inspired by the meaning of the Inuksuk, a marker of guidance, presence, and safe passage, Recovery Without Borders / Le rétablissement sans frontières reflects the spirit of secular AA: people from many backgrounds and perspectives finding common ground through shared experience.
Why Ottawa?
As a bilingual and international city bridging Ontario and Québec, Ottawa reflects the diversity of modern recovery communities.
The conference would celebrate recovery across borders of language, culture, belief, identity, and geography while remaining grounded in the Canadian values of compassion, dialogue, inclusion, and respect.
A place for stories
The bid imagines events and gatherings taking place at Ādisōke, Ottawa's new joint facility for the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada.
Meaning “storytelling” in the Algonquin Anishinābemowin language, Ādisōke represents the sharing of voices, histories, and lived experience: a fitting symbol for a fellowship built on honesty, connection, and hope.
Land acknowledgement
Ottawa is located on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.
For this bid, reconciliation is not only a formal acknowledgement. It is a commitment to listen, to learn, and to build a conference culture rooted in respect: with Indigenous peoples, with our communities, with our friends and families, and with ourselves.
From river to gathering place
From the waters of the Kichi Zìbì to the gathering spaces of Ādisōke, Ottawa offers a uniquely Canadian setting for an international gathering where recovery transcends borders and people who might never otherwise meet can come together in fellowship.
What the bid should stand for
- Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the land where we gather.
- Reconciliation within our recovery communities, friendships, and families.
- Reconciliation with ourselves through honesty, service, and shared experience.
- A bilingual welcome in English and French, with space for many cultures and identities.
- Practical recovery programming rooted in AA experience, strength, and hope.
- Accessible venues, hybrid-friendly rooms, and clear wayfinding.
Help build the bid
We will need practical help before there is anything to vote on: research, calls, spreadsheets, venue visits, accessibility notes, program ideas, and people willing to do quiet service work.