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Present:
Rudolf Meyer (Vegetarier-Bund Deutschlands)
Henrik Hedegard (Dansk Vegetarforening)
Krystyna Chomicz-Jung (Polish Vegetarian Society)
Ksavera Vaistariene (Lithuanian Vegetarian Society)
Arne Wingquist (Vegan Föreningen i Sverige, Sv. Vegetariska Föreningen)
Sigrid De Leo (Schweizerische Vereinigung für Vegetarismus)
Marcel & Diane Hebbelinck (Belg. Vegetariersbond, auditors)
Erwin Lauppert (Österr. Vegetarier Union)
Maxwell G. Lee (Vegetarian Society of the U.K.)
Francisco Martin (Spanish Vegan Society)
José Serra Blasco (Federacion Naturista Vegetariana Española)
Edwin Heller (Arbeitskreis f. Lebenserneuerung)
Kathy Silk (Vegetarian Society of the U.K.)
Heinz Kottkamp
Hildegund Scholvien (president)
The agenda for the meeting was as follows:
- Opening by the president
- Minutes of the last meeting (in Amsterdam, 1994)
- Secretarys report 1994
- Financial report by the treasurer and secretary for 1993, financial
report by the treasurer for 1994
- Auditors report
- Vacancies according to the constitution and the rotation system, the
following persons are due to stand down:
- Hildegund Scholvien president
- Kim Hebbelinck deputy secretary
- Annemieke Poutsma treasurer.
- All are standing for re-election.
- Rob Snijders secretary is also standing down but is not standing
for re-election
- Election of auditors
- Report from organisations present. All organisations present wishing
to report to the meeting on their activities must prepare written reports.
Due to time constraints, not more than five minutes per organisation
will be allowed. The reports can also be included in EVU News.
- EVU congress in Bratislava 1995: preparation, organisation, participation,
finances. Preliminary balance.
- Future congresses: Italy 1997. Interval between congresses.
- Annual General Meeting 1996
- Activities of the EVU: preparation of the Bratislava congress, meeting
in Brussels, Internet, World Vegetarian Day, new EVU leaflets, EVU News,
EVU seminars, Brussels office, local registration officers
- Annual subscription and minimum contribution for 1995, as agreed with
IVU
- Motions
- Relationships with other organisations
- Any other business.
1. Opening by the president
The president opened the meeting at 4.5 pm and welcomed all the delegates.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes were agreed. The financial report would be dealt with later.
3. Secretary's report
The president read out the report submitted by Rob Snijders, who had resigned
three weeks earlier after eight years as secretary and was unable to be
present.
4. Treasurers report
The previous treasurer had produced inadequate information. The current
treasurer had then taken a long time to produce figures and no explanations
were included. The outgoing secretary had worked out a new balance sheet
and the figures seemed reasonable, but they were not formally agreed as
they had not been audited.
5. Auditors report
This was not available as the accounts had not been produced in time.
6. Vacancies
The president, deputy secretary and treasurer were standing for re-election.
Candidates for secretary and deputy president were also needed. Igor Bukovsky
was proposed for deputy president. Heinz Kottkamp, a retired German banker,
was prepared to stand as a new candidate for treasurer and Sigrid De Leo
from Switzerland was willing to stand as secretary with help from her
colleague Renato Pichler, who was a computer expert. The deputy secretary,
Kim Hebbelinck, would be able to devote more time to her duties in the
autumn. Other nominations were invited but none were made.
The problem of replacing an officer who resigned during the year was
discussed. If possible, the post should be filled by someone who would
be available to serve for a year or more if elected. This was the case
with Heinz Kottkamp and Sigrid De Leo.
Rob Snijders was prepared to continue editing the newsletter temporarily,
but it was thought that there could be problems with the transfer of information,
despite computerisation. Sigrid De Leo was willing to take on the job
straight away. The Internet address had been paid for, but it was thought
that it could be transferred at a small additional cost.
The president thanked all the outgoing officers, especially Rob Snijders.
The new candidates for secretary and treasurer were given time for a short
presentation. Rudolf Meyer stressed the importance of fostering contacts
throughout the wider Europe and of recruiting members for the EVU. Sigrid
De Leo said that she was more experienced in attracting donations than
in recruiting new members. The president hoped that she would be equally
successful in attracting donations to the EVU. Maxwell Lee suggested that
recruitment should be undertaken by member organisations. Heinz Kottkamp
said that he would like to make a fresh start on the financial side. He
had worked with an international aid organisation helping countries in
eastern Europe. He had become a vegetarian relatively late in life, so
it was important not to regard older people as a lost cause.
Marcel Hebbelinck took the chair for the election of officers. There
were no further nominations and an open vote by show of hands was agreed.
The following were elected:
- President: Hildegund Scholvien (unanimously)
- Deputy president: Igor Bukovsky (unanimously)
- Secretary: Sigrid De Leo (one against)
- Deputy Secretary: Kim Hebbelinck (one abstention)
- Treasurer: Heinz Kottkamp (unanimously)
The president thanked those taking on these difficult tasks. Rudolf Meyer
said that the demarcation of responsibilities between the EVU and IVU secretaries
should be clearer. The president suggested that this could be discussed
at a subsequent board meeting.
7. Election of auditors
Marcel and Diane Hebbelinck were re-elected unanimously.
8. Reports from member organisations
In view of the time, this was deferred to the end of the meeting.
9. Report on the congress in Bratislava
Igor Bukovsky said that it would be better to ask the participants than
the organisers. He hoped that people would use the suggestions box to
provide feedback. The congress had attracted some 250 people from three
continents and more than 20 countries.
Relations with the media were very good, with articles and interviews
in the press, radio and television every day. There would be an hours
coverage on satellite television that night and further coverage on breakfast
TV in the morning. Local FM stations were also providing live coverage
several times a day.
The financial situation was not yet clear due to a computer failure
and some extra hotel charges might not have been paid as a result, but
all should be clear by Thursday.
The question of advance publicity and the need for simple booking procedures
was discussed. The large number of Germans compared with British and others
might also be due to geographical reasons.
The Slovakian organisers were warmly congratulated on their achievement.
10. Congress in Italy in l997
Nothing had yet been fixed and no Italian delegate was present at the
meeting. The interval between congresses was discussed. Three years would
mean clashing with the IVU congress and four would be too long. The two-yearly
vegan festivals were also attracting a lot of people and should be taken
into account. There was some doubt as to whether the Australians would
succeed in organising the 1996 IVU conference and it was important to
be sure that the Italians started preparations for the 1997 EVU congress
in good time. Two years was an acceptable interval if congress organisers
got on with the job and in any case the interval should not be changed
without warning. It was agreed that the president should write to the
Italians urging them to make progress.
11. Annual general meeting 1996
This should be held during the first part of the year. Suggestions for
a venue were invited. Sigrid De Leo said that Switzerland should be considered
as it was geographically convenient and not necessarily too expensive.
The Pestalozzi childrens village in the Appenzell hills near St Gallen
was now a peace village used for conferences. The director was vegetarian
and the cost should be about the same as Bratislava. It might even be
possible to have a congress there one day. Rudolf Meyer said that it was
important not to forget the Nordic countries, such as Sweden. The president
said that the AGM should not just be hours of bureaucratic discussion
but could be combined with a seminar or something similar. Marcel Hebbelinck
suggested campaigning as a topic, to be introduced by the Swiss. Rudolf
Meyer hoped that there would also be some hiking.
12. Activities of EVU
These items had already been dealt with under previous headings.
13. Subscriptions
It was agreed to keep the current subscription as agreed with the IVU.
14. Motions
There were no motions.
15. Relations with other organisations
Maxwell Lee said that the current recruitment leaflet referred to the
IVU as a member of the EVU when in fact it was the other way round. Also,
the IVU was an international organisation and not a British one.
16. Any other business
Reports from member organisations (deferred item No. 8): Owing to lack
of time and since many reports had already been given at a workshop, it
was agreed that reports should be submitted in writing for the next newsletter.
There was no other business. Thanks were expressed to the president.
17. Closure
The meeting was closed at 6.25 pm.
minutes: Vanessa Clarke
Fischbach, 3rd October 1995
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