The European Foundation Centre (EFC) has long been pressing for a European foundation statute to tackle the red tape that besets foundations trying to work across the continent’s internal borders. The European Union had been slow to redress shortcomings in this area but things may finally be improving. A feasibility study is now under way and its conclusions will be known in the autumn. We hope these will recommend drafting a statute. EFC will continue to express its support for this outcome, stressing the need for an optional, public-benefit legal tool, governed by European law and complementing national laws.

Migration, disability and fostering creativity

Among the dates on EFC’s calendar this year is a meeting of the Diversity, Migration & Integration Interest Group (DMIIG), which will be hosted by the Volkswagen Foundation in Bochum, Germany on 17-18 April. The meeting will focus on mainstreaming diversity in the work of European foundations. The event is jointly organized with the Volkswagen Study Groups in Migration and Integration.

EFC’s Annual General Assembly and Conference will be held on 29-31 May in Istanbul. Its theme of ‘fostering creativity’ will be reflected in a plenary debate on the notion in the form of a courtroom trial, with judge, jury and adversarial lawyers.

Elsewhere this year, EFC is inviting applications from foundations to join a Consortium of Foundations on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which will be formally launched in early 2009. This will seek to put pressure on national governments to ensure better treatment of disabled people among their populations.

In February, Leticia Ruiz-Capillas became EFC’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overseeing the Centre’s day-to-day operations, reporting to the Chief Executive, Gerry Salole. Externally, Leticia will maintain her relationship with the Centre’s members, and continue working closely with its Governing Council and Management Committee.

European Foundation Centre
Chief Executive: Gerry Salole
T +32 2 512 8938
efc@efc.be
http://www.efc.be