1.1 SIETAR Europa October Board Meeting
Highlights and decisions

Members of the SIETAR Board met October 17-19 at the Chateau Agecroft in La Napoule, France. Here os a brief report of the principal discussions and decisions taken. Full minutes when approved will be posted on the SIETAR Europa site.

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Klara Falk Bano (Hungary) and Francien Wieringa (Netherlands) at work

The board meeting began with a discussion of the organizational status of SIETAR Europa. Being registered as an association with an office in France and Europe wide affiliations has shown us that there are a lot of unanswered questions about how to operate a transnational society despite progress in the EU. We will be researching and pursuing the best options for this.

The Budapest Congress goes on. The board discussed and supported the many initiatives of individuals and groups stemming from the work done in Budapest. Documentation on video and flipchart of the discussions and ideas will continue to provide a rich source of progress for SIETAR. Raw versions of the videotapes of the entire conference are now in the SIETAR office and Monica Armour will be shortly delivering an organized report of the discussions recorded on paper. The board worked on guidelines for how to maximize the use of these resources and, at the same time, preserve the privacy of the participants to the degree they would prefer.
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Lunch  overlooking the Mediterranean. Left to right: George Simons (France), David Walsh (Ireland) Klara Falk Bano (Hungary) Jan Verhoeven and Francien Wieringa (Netherlands), Nathalie Lorrain (France), Maria Jicheva (UK) and  Christine Longé (SE Office Secretary)

The board discussed the relationship among the SIETARs both within Europe and worldwide. Particularly it is important to remind the membership to think in terms of how we implement the principles of the new statutes. SIETAR Europa is no longer just one SIETAR among many, but a coordinating body that, while it continues to serve some direct members, represents, supports and coordinates efforts for all the European SIETARs. Now that the board members fully representative all our regional groups, it can function more effectively in pursuing the interests of SIETAR and the intercultural professions. As the SIETAR Europa office continues in the role of Global Hub for SIETAR, we will be making efforts to improve communication with SIETARs worldwide and with Young SIETAR.


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David Walsh (Ireland) organizes ideas


George Simons (France) delivered a report on his recent visit to Istanbul to support the development of SIETAR Turk and further explore the possibility of holding the 2005 SE Congress there. The group in Turkey is organizing quickly and has formuilated some fresh ideas about membership for groups in developing countries that you can read about in other articles in this issue. We are suggesting to worldwide SIETARs that the 2005 Congress in Istanbul be an international one, not just a European meeting.

The next SE board meeting will be held in Istanbul 6-8 February 2004 hosted by SIETAR Turk. Members are encouraged to come early and stay late in order to learn more about the SIETAR Turk group and their environment and to make preparations for the 2005 Congress. Jan Verhoeven will be making a preliminary visit to work with SIETAR Turk members and he has been appointed to facilitate the next meeting of the board.

The Saturday morning session of the board meeting at La Napoule centered on the future of European SIETAR. Now that the new structure is in place we created a working plan for revisiting the mission of SIETAR and the services it provides its members and its status as a professional organization in the world of intercultural affairs as well as its efforts to serve organizations and individuals with intercultural expertise, learning and research. An agenda was created for doing this work between board meetings and creating a set of actionable items for both immediate and long range implementation.

Francien Wieringa and George Simons will work on the consolidation of the vision, mission, aims and objectives, while the board will lay out a structure to deliver the services and meet the objectives of our professional organization and strenghten the work of the Funding, Membership, Marketing/PR and Communication/Newsletter committees.


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"La vie en rose"     : Jürgen Henze (Germany) & Ida Castiglione (Italy) listen to chanteuse Gabriella at dinner.
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