What is ICYPAA?
International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous

ICYPAA was founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a setting for an annual celebration of sobriety among young people in Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a weekend event that occurs once per year and consists of panels, workshops, and speaker meetings where recovering alcoholics can share their experience about getting and staying sober. Attendees of all ages come from across the globe to experience this truly remarkable gathering.

Young People’s Groups in Alcoholics Anonymous began appearing around 1945 in Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, and now they can be found all across North America. In 1958, a meeting of young AA’s from across the U.S. and Canada started what is now the International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA), and it has met on an annual basis ever since. At the 1960 AA Convention, Bill W. noted that the age of new members was much lower than when he and Dr. Bob founded AA 25 years earlier. In a letter to ICYPAA dated June 15, 1969, Bill wrote “… in recent years I have found nothing for greater inspiration than the knowledge that A.A. of tomorrow will be safe, and certainly magnificent, in the keeping of you who are the younger generation of A.A. today.”