This message is a seed for a self-organizing, collaborative initiative in raising the level of collective intelligence in a chosen field of social and business practices, called "communities of practice".

Why that choice? Because since the mid-90's, communities of practice (CP for short) and their many variations gradually became one of the fastest-growing socio-economic life forms, carrying the seed principles of organizing work and developing knowledge in the 21st century.

The vitality of this phenomenon is reflected in the rapid growth of webpages addressing it, that has reached 54,600, as of today (03.03.09). Other signs include the steadily growing number of CP-friendly organizations in business, government, education, in all areas of social life. Paralleling that trend, there?s a growing number of scientific disciplines and doctoral dissertations dedicated to CP, and also professional conferences where CP practitioners from a wide variety of industries meet. One of the most significant of events, is CPweek May 19-22, in Santa Cruz, California.

So, what are communities of practice? There are dozens definitions but the one which speaks to me the most is this: ?Communities of practice are groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and to interact regularly to learn how to do it better.? (Etienne Wenger) Where can you find them? Look at the tips of the iceberg, right below.

Why do they matter?