We are staying hopeful! That was the message from the EFTRE board meeting on 21st November 2020. Even though the delegates had to gather on Zoom instead of the Mediterranean city of Valencia (Spain), the humour was good and everyone agreed: We want to plan the next conference scheduled for 2022 as a face-to-face meeting. Naturally, the dynamic evolution of the pandemic is being monitored and the programme developed in such a way that it is transformable to a digital setting.
In a lively discussion, participants collected ideas for the different parts of the conference: keynote speakers, workshops, city visits and social gatherings. In relation to the last two points the location of the conference itself has so much to offer because it is Rome! With its rich history, monuments and art collections and not least due to its significance for the Catholic tradition and beyond, Rome offers an inspiring setting for the conference. EFTRE Conferences always take full advantage of their locations with lots of opportunities for first hand learning experiences in the host city. This approach is also reflected in the search for an appropriate conference theme and there were reflections on the current provisional title, “Living Religion” – the EFTRE Executive will develop these ideas in the coming weeks and months.
Apart from the major discussion about the conference, delegates adopted several proposals from the Executive concerning the arrangements of finances, the development of a new website and more efficient systems of membership management.