The ACT Stream was faced with the challenge of quickly building cohesiveness among 100 participants from twelve countries. To accomplish this the ACT stream utilized a storytelling circle game developed by Community Performance, Inc. out of Chicago, Illinois. We were randomly paired to tell a personal story of community transformation through the arts. The pair then selected one story to share with a foursome, and the foursome selected one story to act out for the whole stream. Out of these final stories the stream selected the story best demonstrating the transformative power of art. This story was used for the Friday evening vignette. Through this process that took less than two hours, everyone shared a story from their life's experience and became participants in the stories of others. While we didn't know the details of everyone's story, the emotional intensity of transformational art, as demonstrated by storytelling, reverberated through out the Stream. Storytelling, personal, traditional and visually, was a constant unifying element throughout the stream process.

After the storytelling process, we self-selected into five eddies, each focusing on an aspect of arts transformation identified as challenge areas from input from stream participants prior to the conference. The eddy format allowed more intimate working groups and a greater breath of discussion.

Eddy One: Giving form to an international movement of transformational artists.

Eddy Two: Inspiring effective approaches in arts-based community revitalization.

Eddy Three: Delivering the educational power of art to the classroom.

Eddy Four: Deepening and expanding the use of community arts training resources.

Eddy Five: Organizing and financing an arts infrastructure in local municipalities.