European Vegetarian Union AGM in Ghent in September 2003

Towards a vegetarian Europe

Tobias Leenaert, President of the Belgian host organisation, who arranged a very interesting and at the same time relaxing weekend for all participants, states:

Now and then, it's not a bad thing to go beyond our Flemish borders and take a look at what's happening in other countries. For an organization like EVA, which wants to make vegetarian food more acceptable and widespread in a structural way, it will eventually be necessary to approach certain topics in a European context. To help national organisations in this endeavour, the European Vegetarian Union was founded. The EVU is an “umbrella” organisation for most vegetarian groups in Europe. EVU's mission is to support vegetarian groups and activists in Europe to accomplish their goals and to provide a European perspective to vegetarianism. One of the main projects of the EVU is the European vegetarian label.

Like any organisation, the EVU organises a general meeting at least once a year, which takes place in a different country each time. This year, Belgium was the host country, and the meeting was held at the EVA office in Ghent. About 25 people from ten different countries, who realize the importance of Europeanwide collaboration, participated. They represented, amongst others, the Vegan Society of the UK and the Swiss, French, Danish, Luxembourg and German vegetarian Societies.

The general meeting was followed by a number of workshops, and we did some brainstorming about organising a European vegetarian day. It goes without saying that the challenge for Europeanwide cooperation is a big one. Not only are all EVU board members volunteers, just like many of the people working at the national organisations, but there are also big distances and language differences to take into account. However, there is dedication, there is commitment, and most of all, there is a lot of hope...

Tobias Leenaert

© European Vegetarian Union - Contact form