Present: 16 delegates and 5 observers Chair's introduction Gina Smith (DK) welcomed the delegates to the triennial General Assembly of EFTRE and outlined the role of the Assembly in the Guidelines. The procedure of the meeting was agreed and that Gina Smith (DK) should take the chair and Jeremy Taylor (GB) should take the minutes. Minutes of the 1995 General Assembly These were approved with the addition of the Dutch Teacher's RE association (VGL) to the list of those attending and inaugurating the formally representative stage of EFTRE's existence. Chair's report Gina Smith presented her written report. She highlighted the following issues.
There were no comments or questions; the acceptance of the report was proposed by Martin Rogers (UK) and seconded by Joe Walker (Scot) and approved unanimously. Treasurer's report Hans Fijn van Draat (NL) presented his written report and accounts. He stressed that this was a formality as the amounts involved were so small. The report was approved unanimously. Finances Hans Fijn van Draat (NL) and Jeremy Taylor (UK) introduced a discussion of the future financing of EFTRE. They explained that for three years its work had been financed by just 5 of the 50 organisations in membership; these costs were approximately 5000UKP / 15000NGL / 50,000 Krone. The Executive moved that there should be consultation with the member bodies on a move towards some kind of member ship fee. It was proposed by the Board members would consult with the bodies in their own countries and report back to the General Assembly meeting in 2001. The principle of setting a fee was accepted as reasonable, and the relative merits of a fixed rate or a sliding scale were discussed. Concern was expressed that no body should be prevented in remaining in membership because they could not afford the fee; there might need to be special arrangements for countries in Eastern Europe. It was suggested that the issue of charity status should be investigated. The Executives proposal for consultation with members bodies was agreed; in the meantime voluntary contributions were invited. Confirmation of Board members All those listed (and alternatives) were confirmed. Common Activities and Projects European Cooperation Jeremy Taylor (UK) reported on the progress that had been made in cooperating with 5 other European organisations. Regular meetings had been held in Utrecth and Koblenz and a consensus had emerged that a "twin-track' approach should be adopted: broadly based discussions between the organisations on the nature and purpose of RE in the different school systems of Europe, combined with a narrowly focused political initiative at the European Union level on an issue where there was an agreement between the organisation. Plans were being made for an invited consultation in 2001, for the publication of a collection of papers and for the presentation of a political initiative. He suggested that such a collaboration was in EFTRE's interests as it provided a voice of sufficient size to be heard at the European level, but that care would be needed as any such collaboration would inevitably involve some compromises. The Executive was encouraged to continue working on this policy. Gina Smith reported on the possibility of EU funding and of NGO status at the Council of Europe. It was agreed to pursue this further, possibly in collaboration with some of the other organisations. Next EFTRE conference It was agreed that the next triennial conference should be held in the United Kingdom, possibly in Scotland. Concern was expressed that a conference should be held towards the Eastern End of Europe as soon as this was practical. Internet Jeremy Taylor (UK) introduced Carolyn Reade (UK) from the RE-XS internet service based in Lancaster, England. A small start had been made on an EFTRE home page within the RE-XS site. It was hoped that this home page would grow with the addition of annual reports, notices of conferences and possibly a report of the recent conference. Carolyn Reade expressed the enthusiasm of RE-XS to provide this possibility for EFTRE. Peter Schreiner suggested that in future the "Who's who" should be published and updated on the 'net, Teacher Exchanges Nils Åke Tidman (SW) and Gina Smith (DK) offered to initiate work on this project and to coordinate offers for potential exchanges. He asked for any examples of good practice in this area to be send to him. Martin Rogers (UK) of the Farmington Institute suggested that the concept of "teacher fellows" spending a term studying in a University, which had proved very successful in the UK might be broadened to a Europe-wide system. He offered to explore this possibility. The assembly gave its approval to these policy decisions for the next three years. Any other business Gina Smith was warmly thanked for the contribution she had made to the successful establishment of EFTRE on a more formal basis, and in particular for her leadership of the team that had organised the recent conference which had been appreciated by those attending. Jeremy Taylor (Chair EFTRE) - 15.09.99 |
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