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Updated Including 
(“Honnef Declaration”)
“Doing good does you good” and
“Helping helps”
7th ESCU Congress: Dr. Bernhard Worms re-elected
as President
“Honnef Declaration” points the way for all member organisations /
Elisabeth Dispaux-Cornil and Nicolas Estgen become Honorary Presidents of the ESCU
Bad Honnef, 4th November 2010. The 7th Congress of the European Senior Citizens’ Union has re-elected Dr. Bernhard Worms (Germany) as President with over 97 per cent of the vote. The former Secretary of State who was born in the Rhineland in 1930 has now led the umbrella organisation representing 36 senior citizens’ organisations in 24 countries continuously since 2001. Three times – in 2004, 2007 and 2010 – he has been returned to office. “1,269,000 older citizens are affiliated with us,” he declared at the end of the three-day consultations in Bad Honnef. The result of a recent survey had encouraged him to continue resolutely in his voluntary work for further European integration and the rights of older people.
Here, Worms was identifying personally with the congress theme of “Senior citizens: Mainstays of our society” which described voluntary work as an “indispensable contribution made by older people at a time of increasing longevity”. Under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Andreas Khol (Austria), leading academics, politicians and representatives of senior citizens’ organisations from all over Europe spoke about the demands, opportunities, areas of work, results – and obstacles – of voluntary work. The results of the thorough discussions will be made available to the European Commission in preparation for the “European Year of Volunteering 2011”.
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| Congress Presidency panel. Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers delivering a speech. |
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In his Political Report, Dr. Bernhard Worms sketched the ESCU’s successful history since its establishment in Madrid on 7th November 1995. The “Magna Charta” of 2002 had been the benchmark for the ESCU’s action, which is defined by:
- Christians working together across confessional boundaries
- supporting a balance between capital and labour which is as just as possible through the global acceptance of the social market economy, and
- acting responsibly towards our creator.
Greetings were reported by the President from:
- the President of the European People’s Party, Wilfried Martens (B), and from other members of the EPP leadership
- CDU Secretary General, Hermann Gröhe, and
- the Deputy President of the CDU Senior Citizens’ Union, Leonhard Kuckart.
Position papers presented by professors Dr. Ursula Lehr and Dr. Andreas Kruse (both Germany), furnished evidence that society cannot function without voluntary work. Lehr’s thesis that “Doing good does you good” and “Helping helps” was confirmed many times over in the subsequent discussion, which included the Country Reports. However, a clear warning also rang out against the exploitation of volunteers and the excessive demands placed on them. This danger existed where – as a result of “the need to economise” – local authorities retreat from their responsibilities for the well-being of their citizens.
N.B. For Dr. Lehr’s PowerPoint presentation: See below Documents
Two workshops were dedicated to this and other aspects of voluntary work, for which Vice President Leif Hallberg (S) and Prof. An Hermans (B) provided a stimulus with their persuasive introductory talks. Delegates took part in the discussion by providing reports on their countries.
Elections
Delegates unanimously elected as Honorary Presidents of the ESCU: Dr. Nicolas Estgen from Luxembourg and Mrs. Elisabeth Dispaux-Cornil from Belgium, whom Worms described as “pioneers” of the European Senior Citizens’ Union now in its 15th year and presented them with a ceramic Rhineland vase from the Roman period (4th century).
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The new Board. Next to President Dr. Bernhard Worms Honorary Presidents Elisabeth Dispaux-Cornil and Prof. Nicolas Estgen
(not on the Photo: Ingeborg Uhlenbrock and Hella Ranner)
(Front row L to R) Ann Räämet (EST), Maria Mantziafou-Kanellopoulou (GR), Prof. Dr. An Hermans (B), Prof. Dr. Nicolas Estgen (L), Dr. Bernhard Worms (D), Elisabeth Dispaux-Cornil (B), Carmen Quintanilla Barba (E), Iris Casselden Farndale (GB) and Dr. Hermann Berié (D).
(Back row L to R) Dr. Marilies Flemming (A), Elke Garczyk (D), Prof. Dr. Nikolay Andreev (BG), Carlo Fatuzzo (I), Jouni Mykkänen (FIN), Leif Hallberg (S) and Dr. Edeltraud Paul (A) |
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Elected as Vice Presidents (in alphabetical order):
Prof. Dr. Nikolay Andreev (Bulgaria) (new)
Iris Casselden Farndale (United Kingdom) (new)
Carlo Fatuzzo (Italy)
Dr. Marilies Flemming (Austria)
Elke Garczyk (Germany) (new)
Leif Hallberg (Sweden)
Dr. An Hermans (Belgium) (new)
Maria Mantziafou-Kanellopoulou (Greece)
Jouni Mykkänen (Finland) (new)
Carmen Quintanilla Barba (Spain)
Ann Räämet (Estonia) (new)
Dr. Hella Ranner MEP (Austria) (new)
Ingeborg Uhlenbrock (Germany) was re-elected as Secretary General.
Other Executive Board Members are: Treasurer, Dr. Edeltraud Paul (Austria), who has held the post for over two years, and Rapporteur, Dr. Hermann Berié (Germany), who has performed this role for some time now.
A vote of confidence went to Auditors: Otto Glaser (D), Dr. Jan Gurega (SK), Gerhard Isacsson (S) and – newly elected – Etienne Vanderoot (B).
Dr. Worms bade a heartfelt farewell to Dr. Vaclav Roubal (Prague) who as Vice President had rendered outstanding service mainly through the continuous efforts of the Christian Senior Citizens in the Czech Republic.
Documents
Delegates approved the position paper designated as the “Honnef Declaration”.
Note: See under Documents
This analyses Europe’s situation twenty years after the peaceful revolution in Central Eastern Europe. In the Declaration, the ESCU upholds:
- contributing to shaping society at a time of change
- accepting personal responsibility (subsidiarity), and
- expressing solidarity
as duties which fall to the old and young to tackle in common political action.
Delegates approved the Statutes as presented, which had been revised at a number of points for greater precision. They approved three resolutions and delegated further action to the Board.
These were:
- Suggestions from Catalonia/Spain for greater support for the family
- Proposals from Sweden relating to a longer working life (on a voluntary basis), and
- A contribution from the Cypriot senior citizens’ association: the demand for a political solution, based on the UN resolutions, to the worrying situation in Cyprus.
Greetings
were extended to the Congress by:
- the German Chancellor and CDU Chairwoman, Dr. Angela Merkel (whose video message “Voluntary work is important for all but also for the helpers themselves” shaped Congress proceedings)
- former Minister President for North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers (citation: “A combination of economic reason and social market economics brings freedom and justice”)
- Secretary of State (German Minister for Senior Citizens), Josef Hecken, (“Today, age is a new chapter of life after reaching retirement age”)
- former President of the Austrian National Council (Parliamentary President) and Chairman of the Austrian Senior Citizens’ Union, Prof. Dr. A. Khol (“We look forward to further growth in the ESCU”)
- European parliamentarian, Axel Voss (D) (“Stay fans of Europe - fulfilling the EUROPE 2020 Guidelines applies to us all!”)
- Dr. Marion Gierden-Gülich (D) (“The Volunteers’ Card introduced in North Rhine-Westphalia has proved its worth in 81 local authorities by providing price discounts locally”)
- District CEO Frithjof Kühn (“What a shame that older people have to give up their careers so early!”)
- Deputy Mayor Annette Stegger (“Bad Honnef - a coveted residence of the elderly for 100 years, even attracting Konrad Adenauer - visit his house and grave!” (Many of the guests took up this invitation at the end of the Congress.)
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| A view to the Congress hall with delegates. |
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Successful project
The Dean, Dr. Wolfgang Picken, said devotions at the start of the working meeting when he linked the story of Abraham with the present call to “rediscover ageing”.
In his role as a political scientist, he described his experiences with the Rhine District Citizens’ Foundation in Bonn/Bad Godesberg. The “Rheinischer Merkur” newspaper had covered their activities under the heading of “An example of Christian responsibility”. “For five years, the organisation founded by Fr. Picken has taken care of children, young people and senior citizens. Schools have since modelled themselves on it and it has spawned imitators.”
Sympathy
and solidarity flowed in generous measure as Tatyana Zelko (Belarus) gave an account of the precarious situation of her senior citizens’ organisation, Nashe Pokolenie [Our Generation]. Only recently, she had once again experienced how neither the state nor the church is attending to senior citizens. In spite of the restrictions in her country, which is governed by authoritarian rule, Nashe Pokolenie will not be diverted from their opposition cause, the Chairwoman assured the Congress amidst applause.
Initial decisions
The inaugural meeting of the new Board authorised the President to conduct discussions with the EPP leadership concerning the personnel and material requirements of the ESCU General Secretariat in Frechen (D). Initial project planning was undertaken. The Board will convene at Königswinter (D) on 18/19 January 2010 for a closed meeting.
Ulrich Winz
Documents
Photo Gallery
