From 8th-14th of November, the leaders from all local BEST groups in Europe gathered at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) for Presidents’ Meeting 2011, organised by BEST Copenhagen. Being one of the two most important working meeting in BEST, over 150 youth-leaders, together with representatives from other NGOs and companies, met to discuss issues related to European voluntary youth-work and make decisions regarding the future of the organization.
The official opening was held on 9th November in the main building from DTU campus. Along with delegates and organizers, it was attended Lars Pallensen – rector of DTU, Soren Rasmussen – the mayor of Lyngby-Taarbæk kommune, Lars Bytoft – president of FEANI, as well as representatives of prestigious companies which cooperate with BEST such as Continental, DB Mobility Network Logistics, Scandic,Vestas and Maersk. Apart from the official opening ceremony, the opening day consisted of workshops and case studies, and an international job fair for delegates.
The next days were dedicated to the plenary sessions, which provided the space for fruitful discussions, exchange experiences and launching of new ideas. The plenary days ended with a voting session on the evening of 12th November, where decisions regarding the future of the organization and proposals on common projects were taken. The last working day, 13th November, was dedicated to training sessions and discussion groups, aimed to enhance the participants’ soft skills.
In parallel with Presidents’ Meeting, there was also Alumni Meeting, where BEST alumni met in Copenhagen to share memories from their times in BEST, catch up and have a good time together.
But the meeting was not only work, but also a lot of fun. The organizers prepared six great parties. It all started with a chill out party in S-huset on the arrival day and continued with a traditional Swedish party (Gasque) after opening day and a late-Halloween party after the first plenary day. International Evening, where each delegate brought traditional food and drinks from his country, happened after the second plenary day. The day after that, the Danes prepared a traditional Christmas Dinner a party. And, after the last working day, everyone moved to Copenhagen and had fun in “Den Glade Gris”.
All in all, we are happy to say that Presidents’ Meeting Copenhagen 2011 was a successful event and we want to thank to all of those who made it possible – delegates, organizers, co-organizers, alumni, partner NGOs and companies.