Abstract
Driving back home recently, the radio started to play Bob Dylan’s The times they are a-changin’. Seldom have the lyrics of a song been more appropriate. It is possible that in a few years the strange year of 2020 will seem unreal, but what is sure is that some changes COVID-19 has brought are here to stay. FELASA has not been immune. Not all changes have been bad, and neither are they all a consequence of COVID, but it is clear that 2020 has been a turning point.
On the bad side of these changing times, we have lost the warmness of human contact. Meetings with friends, family and fellow workers are scarcer and the FELASA family has experienced that. Our Board of Management meetings in 2020 and going into 2021 have become virtual and, even though they have been very effective, they lack this special touch of human interaction, this apparent triviality of talking about not only work, but also sharing feelings, experiences, language lessons and even some cooking recipes.
Somehow, I don’t feel like talking only about the achievements of FELASA, although there have been many, but I rather share with you the human side of the officials of FELASA, the people that take care of keeping the FELASA machinery working. I will start with Ana Santos, FELASA President 2019–2020, and someone whose shoes will be difficult to fill. She has dedicated 9 years of fruitful work to the FELASA Executive Committee, first as Honorary Secretary, later as President Elect and then President. We will still have the good luck of counting on her for another year as Past President. I know I will need her support and, above all, her clear mind and special ability to detect those problems that need special attention, and foresee the perfect answer. FELASA also relies strongly on Jean-Philippe Mocho, J-P, our Secretary, someone with an astonishing ability for organisation. The FELASA Congress in 2019 reflected in full this ability that he had exhibited already in 2016. In 2020, with no Scientific Committee to organize, he has focussed his amazing work capacity in the new face that FELASA has started recently to show: a modern, interactive and helpful website that I hope many of you will visit and comment on. The activity of FELASA would not be possible without economic support. Klas Abelson, our Treasurer, has taken the torch of those who preceded him in that post and has successfully brought FELASA to a stable status that allows us to keep working regardless of the economical income of our Congresses. The COVID situation has shown how important this is.
Talking about continuing FELASA activity gives me the chance to mention another two members of the Executive Committee. I will start with Martina Dorsch, our Vice-president of working groups. In the years she has served as a FELASA Officer, she has shown her ability to make many working groups meet their goals, producing reports that will serve as guidelines for many of us in different topics. This is a result of her commitment, organisation and a large amount of deft touch. The other main activity of FELASA is devoted to education in Laboratory Animal Sciences. The Board of Education and Training (E&T) guarantees the highest quality of the courses accredited by FELASA, and represents the gold standard in LAS education. For several years now, Marcel Gyger, our Vice-president for Education and Training and chair of the E&T Board, has been able to promote its influence, increasing the number of courses and helping them attain excellence. Another aspect very important to note is that the E&T Board is not only self-sustainable now, but is also adapting to the virtual conditions that COVID has brought us.
Finally Samuel Vidal, the latest incorporation to the Executive Committee as Vice-president of International Affairs. His first year of commission has been a strange one. A microscopic enemy has replaced many hours spent at airports to represent FELASA in different instances, with a reduced number of virtual meetings. However, Samuel has been busy. As Chair of the next FELASA Congress in Marseille in 2022, he has the great challenge of organising a Congress that should mix the changes brought by COVID with the essence of all previous FELASA Congresses – something I am sure he will accomplish.
The Executive Committee would not be the same without Penny Alborough, our lighthouse when administrative things arise. She is the continuity that the Executive Committee needs, supporting with her special dedication that goes well beyond the call of duty. What is more important: she always achieves that with the needed kind word, a good suggestion and her British sense of humour.
During 2021, the Committee will face changes that have been programmed for many months. After a year as President Elect, I now have the huge responsibility of representing FELASA as President for 2 years. I know that such an excellent Executive Committee and the support of the Board will help me keep improving FELASA, and I hope to meet their expectations.
Times are changing, and we face uncertainty, and even if we return to pre-COVID normality we will have paid a high toll. Some have been hit personally or in the form of close friends or relatives and this has changed us forever. Let’s hope this change will make us better.