Abstract
A crisp Saturday morning, blue sky, spring temperatures rising – what a day to mark FELASA’s history! Today, on 17 April 2021, the Board of Management approved new Statutes for association registration in Belgium. For the last 43 years, our federation has been registered in the United Kingdom. With Brexit, and considering that 16 out of the 22 Member Associations represent member states of the European Union, FELASA has to cross the channel to avoid hurdles impairing the smooth development of its activities.
And, since the wind of change was blowing… the current constitution does not allow more than one member association per nation. The new Statutes allow international organisations to become FELASA Affiliated Members and eventually Full Members with voting rights. This is a significant amendment for the organisation, although there are still many administrative tasks to complete before we can implement the new strategies.
On this historic day for FELASA, we also elected our new President Elect, Klas Abelson, to replace Belen Pintado as President from 1 January 2023. And, from the start of 2022, the Executive Committee will warmly welcome Martina Perse, from the Slovenian Laboratory Animal Science Association (SLAS). Martina will replace Klas as Honorary Treasurer. Congratulations to them both!