Development

The first U.S.G.L.-sponsored Kaaba Colloquium was held in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was expressly authorized through the Electoral College—who have "full control over the affairs of the Men of Earth"—and the U.S.G.L. Kaaba Committee was chaired by an Electoral College member from 2002 - 2012, and maintains at least one Elector as a member of the team by custom. 

The Kaaba effort got off to a brisk start with two "and a half" sessions that first formal year. The Kaaba event at NOTOCON IV was a half-day sampler (also known as "Kaaba Lite") that represented less than a third of the material typically included in a two-day weekend seminar. From 2003 - 2019, Kaaba Colloquia were conducted twice per year, in deliberately varying regions of the country, until interrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.

The Kaaba Colloquia in 2003 and 2004 based their content primarily on a survey of local officers regarding the topics they most desired to be addressed. Another factor was the particular expertise and interests of the Committee members and guest presenters. In 2005, the Kaaba Committee held a major planning session in Salem, during which a more ambitious approach was undertaken: to meet the expressed desires of local body officers and to provide a comprehensive range of information that U.S.G.L. governing officers considered helpful and/or necessary for local officers. This change provoked other essential modifications. There would be too much material to cover in the allotted time, especially when providing for important Q&A sessions, so "double-tracking" was introduced, under which two presentations would run simultaneously in separate rooms. At this point, a shift was also inaugurated to move responsibility for funding the meeting spaces and administering attendee registrations to the Kaaba Committee. In contrast, they had previously been handled by the local hosting bodies. 

The "double-tracking" shift was a complete success. Still, the Kaaba Committee further refined this approach after the Kaaba Colloquium held in Philadelphia, to form what is called "Kaaba 3", which incorporates "double-tracking" based on the attendee's experience level on the first day and the local body's developmental level on the second day.  This refinement had really enabled bodies to get the most out of their Kaaba experience by splitting their attendees between the two tracks based on their needs.  

Exceed!  Exceed!

After many successful years, the Kaaba Committee of the Electoral College became an independent program of U.S.G.L.. However, both continue to work in conjunction to support the officers of the local bodies and those who aspire to the leadership path.