8th Annual General Meeting: 3 new council members were elected

The 8th Annual General Meeting took place on the 15th of October at the Residence Palace in Brussels, Belgium.

The meeting began with an overview of the organisation, and a presentation of the yearly achievements, including events, projects and membership. One of the key developments of the year was being a stakeholder in the European Year of Cultural Heritage. This materialised with the ‘Torch of Heritage and Culture initiative’, which successfully travelled across Europe with the aim of raising awareness of the relevance of Europe’s religious heritage. The AGM also discussed several members ‘face-to-face meetings‘ held throughout the year, including in Bergen (Norway), Asti (Italy) and Groningen (The Netherlands), and projects being carried out by FRH, including the Erasmus+ project SKIVRE, FRH Inform and Religiana. This was followed by a financial review and the presentation of upcoming events and objectives.

This year’s AGM included the election of three new council members. After the vote count, we were delighted to welcome the following people onto the FRH Council: Stefan Beier, director of Klosterland, from Germany; Becky Clark, director of Churchcare, from the UK; and Michael Mail, director of the Jewish Heritage Foundation.

During the event, three council members renewed their mandate; Pilar Bahamonde (Director of the Centre of Studies of Liebana), Mara Popescu  (PhD, BA & MA in Architecture) and Wenceslas de Lobkowicz (Vice-president of European Historic Houses).  Also, Thomas Coomans (Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, at the KU Leuven), stepped down from the Members’ Council and was added to the Founders Circle.

The meeting was followed by lunch with all participants, followed by a visit to the Committee of the Regions (CoR), where network members had a chance to learn about this institution, its mandate and activities. Where we learnt that there about 50000 people working in European Institution, counting the European Commission, the European Parliament and European Committee of the Regions, consultants and other stuff.

The main goal of the Committee of the Regions is to give voice to Regions and Cities across the European Union. Europe has to be closer to the citizen, for that  they bring Europe closer to its citizen and encourage a culture of subsidiarity. They also provide a meeting place where regions and cities can share their best practices and take part in a dialogue with European Institutions.

This visit was the perfect ending for a day full of new insights and knowledge sharing.

We would like to thank our members and friends for coming to the 8th FRH AGM!