Chair: Peter Schreiner - email

is a researcher in education and academic staff member of the Comenius-Institut in Münster/Germany. His main areas of work include activities about the role of education for shaping the New Europe, the religious dimension in intercultural education and ecumenical learning in local and international contexts. After his university studies (education, social science, theology) he worked for the Protestant Youth Federation in Germany as an officer for development politics (1980 - 1991). In 1991 he was appointed as an member of the academic staff of the Comenius-Institute, a centre for research and development in education, sponsored by the Protestant churches in Germany, and supported by the RE teacher associations and the associations of Protestant schools.

Prof. Lajos Szabó - email

since 1993 has been the professor for Practical Theology at the Evangelical-Theological University of Budapest. Lajos has been Dean of the faculty (1998-2006) and from 2006 on he serves as deputy dean. Lajos has also been a parish minister for 20 years. His research includes homiletics, parish development and religious education. He was actively involved in the (re-)founding of church schools. His books and publications have raised awareness and commitment from a theological as well as from an educational perspective on methodologies in teaching religion. Lajos organises and advises in service training courses for RE teachers and for clergy. He is member of many international organisations and also actively involved in ecumenical relations in Hungary.

Heid Leganger-Krogstad - email

is Professor in Philosophy of Religious Education at MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo, Norway. Board member elected from the Nordic countries. She has been teacher educator since 1980 at Finnmark University College and at the University of Oslo. She has her PhD on The religious dimension in Intercultural Education, and was member of the working group in Council of Europe working on this theme. At MF she educates students for both church- and school related positions and is head of the Masters program for Church Education (Cathecists). Her main research interest is within the didactical field: contextual theory, minorities in school, church education and school and church relations. On-going research is LETRA LEarning TRAjectories in congregations 2010- 2014 http://letra.mf.no/ - Publications

Elisabeth Loeh - email

works half time for the national Service of Education and Instruction (SIE) of the Federation of the Protestant Churches in Italy. She prepares the Sunday school material for the protestant churches, and visits local churches to help with their Sunday School. For the other half of her time Elisabeth works as pastor of the Waldensian Church in Italy, and pastors right now two small churches in the Naples area. In July she will move to the Waldensian Valleys, close to Turin, to pastor the Church of Pomaretto. For 6 years (1998-2004) she was chaplain of Casa Materna, an elementary school and a children’s home for children from difficult situations in the Naples area. Casa Materna was the only protestant school in Italy that had a chaplain and a religious program, for which Elisabeth was responsible. Elisabeth is originally from Germany.

Prof. Roland Biewald - email

is a professor for practical Theologie/Religionspaedagogik at the philosophical faculty of the technical University of Dresden/Germany. He studied in Leipzig, in Naumburg, and at the Facoltà Valdese theology faculty in Rome and was until 1989 a minister in the local area. He was a lecturer at a church university and since 1993 he has been at Dresden University where he trains teachers for different school in the Evangelist religious tradition. A special emphasis of the work is in the area of the "professional training schools". Together with colleagues in the institute for Catholic theology he researches on the practical possibilities of a "confessional co-operative religious education". From 1993-1996 he was a member of the ICCS working group "Church School relations into the new Europe" and is co-author of the ICCS publication of the same name. A special focus are the ICCS contacts in Eastern Europe and to Catholic Schools.

Elza Kuyk - email

is advisor at the Besturenraad, expert centre for Christian schools in the Netherlands. She is also the secretary for the supervising committee on the quality of educating teachers for Christian Education in the primary protestant-christian schools, providing licences for the 14 connected teacher training institutions in the Netherlands. Secretary of CoGREE, Co-ordinating group for Religion in Education in Europe. Formerly working as senior program officer for Religious Education and Youth Work at the National Office of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (2003-2007); ecumenical officer (1994-2003) and pastor in youth care (1993-2003).

Treasurer and Secretary
David Lankshear - email

was until July 2003, when he retired National School Improvement Officer for the Church of England and Deputy General Secretary of the National Society. He now works part time for the Welsh National Centre for RE and as a free lance educational consultant. This provides him with the opportunity to pursue his interests in the development of courses related to the needs of those working for christian churches in education and also to undertake research projects in the same field. He has been a member of the Board of ICCS since 1996.

Kaarina Lyhykäinen - email

has worked as an officer for religious education in Helsinki Orthodox diocese since 1994. Her main areas of work are to support Orthodox religious education in public primary and secondary schools and to lead educational work in Helsinki Orthodox diocese. She is writing her Ph.D thesis about Orthodox religious education in European Union member countries and has university degrees in theology (both Orthodox and Protestant) and education and organization psychology and Egyptology.

James Barnett - email

is ICCS representative at the Council of Europe and former associated staff member of the Conference of European Churches. He was representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the European institutions.

Webkeeper: Paul Hopkins - email

has taught, written and lectured on Religious Education in the UK and around Europe for about 12 years. His expertise and major research is in the use of Information and Communication Technology. He has worked with students aged from 7 years to post-graduate. He has also worked in the field of Science and Religion and holds degrees in Physics and Maths, Theology and Philosophy as well as education.