Message оf the EOA President Jon Thorkelsson and about the WOD 2021
Hopefuly we can all be busy on ostomate matters !
Dear friends.
Now that we are hopefully seeing the final chapter of the Covid 19 pandemic I think it is time for us to take a look at what has been done recently and what lies ahead of us.
1) Registration of EOA. EOA has from the beginning been an unregistered NGO.
This means that we don‘t have any legal home for the organization and don‘t answer to the laws of any specific country. This made sense when EOA was started but today this is no longer a good situation. EOA has always put a great emphasis on its members being registered in their homeland and it is time that we have this organization do the same. The EOA EC has looked carefully into this and is still working on the matter but most likely our suggestion will be for a registration in Germany. This will not make matters more complicated for us but will only strenghten our basis. And if we want to be recognized in Brussells the registration is an unavoidable necessity. Hopefully we can send out more on this in a few months. We plan to have online meetings on the matter some time later. This way we hope to clear all matters before we come to Garda so that the main discussion will be over when we meet there and make the final decision on this.
2) EDF or the European Disablity Forum.
EOA has for a long time been member of EDF without being very active or visible there. Last year we attended one of their online meetings and another one this year. We are trying to find out whether this platform is suitable for ostomates to become more visible and whether this could bring us some helpful contacts on the EU level. We will tell you more on this when we meet in Garda.
3) World Ostomy Day.
WOD will be celebrated again this year. The motto this time is as has been already announced in the president‘s message of December 2020 “Ostomates‘ rights are human rights – anytime and anywhere”. The WOD logo will for the most part be the same but with the new motto added instead of the one from 2018. The date is the first Saturday of October or the 2nd of October to be precise. I hope you all have great ideas for the realization of activities around the motto in your countries (see information about the WOD: https://ostomyeurope.org/wod-2021/). EOA EC would be happy if you keep us up to date with your plans.
4) EOA conference in Garda.
The conference will take place in Garda as was the original plan. The starting date will be the evening of the 27th of October 2021. More information will be forthcoming in due time from both FAIS and EOA. We hope to see you all there.
5) And finally, a short message from the treasurer: Thank you all who have paid the annual dues for 2020 despite hard times. The bills for the annual dues of 2021 were sent out on the 7th of February and I hope that you all can and will pay them as soon as possible.
Best wishes from Iceland, Jón Thorkelsson. EOA President