It goes without saying that at the Annual Conference all the AEHT’s official bodies have the opportunity to hold meetings in order to review the past year’s activities, and to consider the ways forward for the future.

And so it was that on Tuesday November 14th the Presidium held a private meeting in the Boardroom, in a very cosy atmosphere as befits the importance of the discussions.

On the following day, Wednesday November 15th, came the meeting of the National Representatives who make up the Executive Board, held in the Permeke Room; the delegates were given an overview of every aspect of the AEHT’s activities, and the meeting was also called upon to elect the members of the Presidium for the period 2017 to 2021.

Emerging from the meeting room, the former President together with her successor. Family photo of the new Executive Board

Agreement reigns at the general assembly!

Then finally on Thursday November 16th came the Annual General Assembly, held in the Mercator Room; this meeting is open to all delegates who have signed the attendance register – they are issued with red, green and yellow voting cards. We should mention from the start that the red and yellow cards remained unused, since the meeting was unanimously in favour of all matters put to the vote.

Ana Paula Pais, still president at this stage and chairing the meeting, asked whether anyone wished to follow the meeting in French. The meeting unanimously opted for English, and French was shown the door.

Remco Koerts, who had already been elected President but who was still in charge of the competitions, spoke of certain changes in the competitions and of the admission of three new judges, expressing the hope that the new Presidium team would agree to these changes. As he now heads up the AEHT, it is difficult to see how it could be otherwise!

The official table green cards for every vote

Klaus Enengl took the floor to say that he had ‘fallen in love with the AEHT in Linz in 2001’, that he had twice been Vice-President and had served one term as President, and that even though he was giving up his role as Vice-President, he would still stay for one or two more years to serve as AEHT Treasurer. Having said this, he fulfilled his Treasurer’s duties by presenting to the meeting the tables showing the schools which had been excluded and those which had not yet paid their annual subscription, as well as a list of new members. As to the financial accounts, these had been submitted to the yearly scrutiny by Danielle Snauwaert and Jürgen Clausen, who had given them full marks. And to conclude this more than succinct financial chapter, Klaus Enengl added the observation that ‘the AEHT’s reserves are no great shakes’.

For her part, ex-Vice-President Bogusƚawa Pienkowska presented a table showing events that had already taken place and in which the AEHT and its members had participated. 

Finally the Vice-President responsible for matters relating to the internet and the AEHT website, Neeme Rand, explained to the meeting the new arrangements concerning the Office 365 programme which had been set up to simplify exchanges between its users in the AEHT. There followed a short technical discussion, before a number of contributions relating to future events:

• A video from Riga relating to Christmas in Europe 2018
• An explanation of the Key Action 2 of the Erasmus Plus programme
• Information about the Cognac Embassy given by Renata Mytnikova, its representative in Kosice
• A video and presentation from the Director of the Leeuwarden School, Tom Valk, for the 2018 Annual Conference to be held in that city from 12th to 18th November
• The Bartolomeo Scappi International Competition covering several subject areas, to be held in April 2018 in Castel San Pietro Terme in Emilia Romagna
• A talk about Erasmus Plus from Bart Claes
• An international competition on the subject of the Mediterranean diet to be held in Palermo, Sicily, from 21st to 23rd November 2018
• The Bar-tender Competition in Bled from 10th to 12th April 2018
• The Competition entitled ‘A dish with white gold (sweet salt from Cervia)’ to be held in Cervia from 2nd to 5th May 2018

A welcome break allowed the delegates to partake of refreshment before the meeting resumed and the new Presidium was introduced. The newly-elected members, presented to loud applause, are as follows:

Remco Koerts (The Netherlands) President

Five Vice-Presidents: Ana Paula Pais (Portugal), Neeme Rand (Estonia), Michel Lanners (Luxembourg), Nuria Montmany Alvarez (Spain/Catalonia), Ray Cullen (Ireland). And Klaus Enengl as Treasurer as well as Nadine Schintgen as General Secretary
Remco Koerts briefly thanked the meeting for electing him, and recalled that he had joined the AEHT in 2006 in Killarney, that he was the organiser of the 2011 Annual Conference in The Hague and that he had joined the Presidium four years ago.

The Presidium elected for a mandate of four years