IAFOR conferences encourage interdisciplinary activity and its expansion in academia. Depending on the field, interdisciplinarity can face varying degrees of difficulty, ranging from discouragement to downright prohibition. Those overly dependent on fixed academic structures often see lateral thinking as a threat. None of these negatives apply in IAFOR. Its purpose is to generate new approaches that cross any disciplinary lines. The principle employed is to let the imagination permit intuitive responses to questions. There are no panels of critics. There are simply people who want to listen and reflect. The model of academic work as potholing is replaced by the metaphor of mountaineering. While respecting the need for solid and well-founded academic work, we feel the need to go beyond it from time to time to discover fresh approaches to old questions.
