IVU Annual Report 2006

European Vegetarian Union

Annual General Meeting, 28 April - 1 May 2006

EVU Talks

The 2006 Annual General Meeting was held in Weidenthal, Germany and was followed by the first ever EVU Talks. The aim of the talks is to facilitate cooperation between member organizations, and the theme for 2006 was "EVU - The Way Forward". Discussions were held on how to replicate the success of the V-label project in other European countries, the best ways to encourage communication both within the EVU and with external parties, how to develop cooperation with animal rights groups and a general brainstorming on the way forward for the EVU. The programme finished with a preview of the IVU World Vegetarian Congress to be held in Dresden in 2008.

There were participants present from various countries, and it was a good opportunity to meet people from different organizations, exchange information on how other societies do things, and get new ideas for future projects. We also took the opportunity to draft a policy paper on the activities and aims of the EVU and a resume containing the EVU's contribution to ongoing EU debate on a European Communication Policy (available on the EVU website at www.european-vegetarian.org/lang/en/events/evutalks.php )

A full report of the EVU Talks will be included in the next edition of "European Vegetarian". A copy of the AGM minutes is available from the EVU Secretariat either by post or email.

The new EVU Board is shown at www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/about/board.php

The EVU Talks 2007 are planned for end April / beginning May 2007 in Vienna, so please mark it in your diary.

"How Many Veggies" list

Our "How Many Veggies" list on the EVU website is very important, as it is one of the few sources of statistics on how many vegetarians there are in various countries across the world. Thank you to everyone who has contributed figures in the past - we appreciate your help.

Please support us again now, and forward any new statistics that you have to us: www.european-vegetarian.org/lang/en/howmany.php

Contact People

An important topic at the EVU Talks was communication and collaboration with our member organizations. One suggestion to improve this was for each organization to nominate a contact person to deal with links to the EVU. The contact person should keep the EVU informed of all activities, events and campaigns in their are, and will receive newsletters, magazines and updates from the EVU. Please forward the name and contact details of your contact person by 31 May 2006.

Events

A collection of events-info can be found under www.european-vegetarian.org/lang/en/events/events.php . In order to keep this data collection updated I ask for your plans and projects.

Recipes

Recipes galore can be found here: www.european-vegetarian.org/lang/en/info/kitchen.php

New Address

EVU's Head Office is now situated in Switzerland and can be reached under this address:

EVU Secretariat, Bahnhofstr. 52, CH 9315 Neukirch-Egnach, Switzerland
Tel. +42 71 477 3377 ; Fax +41 71 477 3378; Website: www.european-vegetarian.org

Board Changes

The Hon. Secretary General of the EVU is Georgia Blackwell. Other changes can be seen on our website www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/about/board.php

Projects

One of our most important projects in recent times has been the publication of the book 'UTOPIA TODAY - REALITY TOMORROW / A vegetarian world'. The book, which is available since the beginning of the year, was very well received and raised a lot of international interest. Copies were sent to Israel, USA, India, Australia, South Africa etc. Some members magazines referred to the book and it is mentioned on many websites of vegetarian and animal protection groups. See: www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/info/veggieworld.php

New Scheme - Annual EVU Talks

In order to support promising vegetarian initiatives and to facilitate coordination also at a European level, the European Vegetarian Union organized the first 'EVU Talks' in Germany from 28 April to 1 May 2006.

'EVU Talks' in 2007 are going to take place in Vienna (27 April - 1 May). The theme for 2007: The veggie answer to world hunger. More infomation will be published on the website soon.

Media Contacts

As in the past, we have again addressed some of the most important topics during recent months, such as:

• "The price of meat: Bird flu - many questions and one answer" (Press Release - October 2005)
• The imploded Omega-3 hype" (Press Release - March 2006)

The above and previous press releases can be found online (in several languages) here: www.european-vegetarian.org/lang/en/news/press.php

Campaigns, Activities and Events

EVU has sent a letter to the EU Commission/SANCO suggesting official definition 'vegetarian / vegan'

EVU Board members and representatives took part in a number of different events, such as conferences and congresses hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament, different NGOs, court hearings, demonstrations and talks about specific issues.

Our 2005 campaign 'Christmas Compassion' was dedicated to the charity organization 'The Sunrise Day Care Centre', a project for old people in Moldova.

Fortunately at this moment in time, the vegetarian wind is getting stronger and blows in the right direction. To use this positive development, the EVU will again work for the greatest possible cooperation with other organizations and further develop an already successful system.