HISTORY OF THE MEETINGS OF EUROPEAN ASSOCIATIONS 
Geschichte der Europäischen Verbändetreffen | Histoire

Till 1996      1997 Kasterlee, Belgium      1998 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 


  THE MEETINGS TILL 1996

The meetings started in the early 80s as meetings of the Boards of German speaking associations, became more international and changed into meetings of the Associations as such (with delegates, not necessarily being Board Members), regularly attended by Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Holland. After Cologne (Germany, 1993), Gmunden (Austria, 1994) and Aachen (Germany, 1995) in 1996 it took place in Zurich (Uetliberg), Switzerland, with people from Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Zurich it was decided to once more try to invite associations from other countries.


  THE 1997 MEETING IN KASTERLEE, BELGIUM 

In this regard the 1997 meeting was a great success, for the first time being this broad and representative. Unfortunately nobody from England, Scotland, Ireland, Hungary, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy etc. was present, although the organizers tried to invite as broad as possible.

The 1997 meeting took place in Kasterlee, Belgium, from October 24-26, 1997, hosted by Stan van Asbroeck and the VCCgP in Belgium.

Participants were:
Stan van Asbroeck (organizer), Greet Timmermans, Jean Marc Priels (Belgium),
Hiltrud Gruber, Elisabeth Zinschitz (ÖGwG), Peter F. Schmid (APG/IPS) (Austria)            
Hubert de Castelbajac (France)
Paulus Wacker (Germany)
Ioulios Iossifides (Greece) 
Paul Prussen, Alfred Groff (Luxembourg)
João Hipólito (Portugal)
Vladimir Hlavenka (Slovak Republic)
Anne Wunderle (Switzerland)
Paul de Jager (The Netherlands)
(14 persons, 10 countries, 12 associations)

THE RESULTS OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT A EUROPEAN NETWORK
at the meeting of the European associations in Belgium, 1997

As was already proposed at a "lunch meeting" in Portugal on the occasion of the IVth ICCCEP, some countries, especially Germany, brought forward the idea of a European Association. Among the reasons were:

During the discussion it became clear:


THE 1998 MEETING IN LUXEMBOURG
AND THE FOUNDING ACT OF THE NETWORK

At the Meeting in Luxembourg, which took place September 25-27, 1998, in the City of Luxembourg, hosted by the LGwG the founding act of the European Network took place.

Click here for more details on the founding General Assembley and its sequels.