Steering Committee meeting 2024 in Oslo

In the picturesque landscapes of Oslo, Norway, on the 14th and 15th of March 2024, the ASCE Steering Committee convened, igniting a beacon of progress in the realm of sustainability and community engagement.

Meeting agenda and main outcomes:

• Membership: The meeting covered membership concerns, including economic, technical, and administrative issues, and adapting invoice procedures for each member. Strategies for resolving various membership statuses accordingly to the charter were set up.
• ASCE operations: Proposals were made regarding changes to the charter and redefining member status. Furthermore, discussions on the vision and other organizational aspects of ASCE's future operations were conducted. In doing so, both the usefulness of the changes and legal aspects were taken into account. Plans for upgrading the website and further development of an effective CRM system were also presented.
• AGM 2024-2027: The Steering Committee checked and discussed the AGM 2024 program and conference theme. The date of this year's event was confirmed, and the communication plan was established. A call for hosting AGM 2025 to 2027 will be released soon.
• WDEC: Proposals were made for this year's and future WDEC, focusing on utilizing cemeteries as communication areas for sustainability. This involves leveraging United Nations promotional materials, creating exhibitions, sharing stories of important people in sustainability, educating on water-efficient plants, preserving heritage through sustainable initiatives, etc.
• European Cemeteries Route: The future of the European Cemeteries Route is also oriented towards sustainability. The work of the Sustainability group will continue. Training academies were recognized as very beneficial, and decisions were pending on participation for the current year. The Stories project will as well focus on sustainability by addressing themes outlined by the United Nations. Furthermore, it was noted that ARtour would soon provide custom applications for European Cemeteries Route members.
• Future plans and projects: Among other things, the debate took place on possible ways to ensure the accessibility of cemeteries to disabled people. Ideas regarding activities in 2025, when we will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, were presented. Participation in the European Heritage Days project has been discussed.

Conclusions

Overall the refreshed Steering Committee held a successful and very productive meeting.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Cemeteries Administration of the City of Oslo for their warm hospitality and impeccable organization.

More details on the individual topics discussed at the meeting will follow in further communications.

Elections candidates 2023

We present you the list of candidates for president and Steering Committee 2023.

Elections 2023

The elections will take place at the ASCE Annual General Meeting on Thursday, September 21st, 2023, starting at 17.00. 

Location:  TEA headquarters, Via Giuseppe Taliercio 3, 46100 Mantua, Italy

Participation is allowed to ASCE members only.

List of candidates

According to ASCE charter and calls for candidates we have prepared the list of candidates for Steering Committee and president. List is presented by alphabetical order by countries and within country by name. Please note that each member has a presentation in the link attached to their name.

Country	Town	Name	Candidate for
Austria	Vienna	Renate Niklas	SC member
Germany	Dresden	Valérie Madoka Naito	SC member
Greece	Kifissia	Theodora-Virginia (Rania) Dalli	SC member
Greece	Skiathos	Thodoris Tzoumas	SC member
Hungary	Budapest	Gábor Móczár	SC member
Italy	Bologna	Melissa La Maida	SC member
Norway	Oslo	Wenche Eriksson	SC member
Romania	Bucharest	Andreea Pop	SC member
Slovenia	Maribor	Lidija Pliberšek	President
Spain	Barcelona	Miquel Trepat Celis	SC member

Elections call 2023

Call for candidates for Steering Committee and president of ASCE.

4 years have passed since the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ghent in 2019 when the current president and steering committee members were elected to manage our association.

At this year's AGM in Mantua new elections will take place and all members have the right to candidate for steering committee or presidency.

Note: candidacy is possible for ASCE members only!

In order to apply you should follow the next procedure:

Applying for Steering Committee

To apply for the steering committee of ASCE you should fill out the form at this link. Please note that you must keep the format and design. Do not use your own designs or change the font sizes. The form will be presented to all members with voting rights in the same format as it is prepared.

Keep in mind that members of the Steering Committee are expected to fulfill certain obligations that require commitment, self-initiative, and time. Therefore, before applying, please read what your assignments as a Steering Committee member will be:

• regional covering for the SC
• hours and other resources requirements
• reporting about your region
• manage and encourage members of the region to participate
• gather new members / exclude the nonactive ones

Steering Committee limits

According to the ASCE charter, steering committee is limited to 1 representative from each country. In case of more than 1 candidate, delegates of the Assembly can vote only for 1 member.

Applying for president

To apply for president of ASCE you should fill out the form at this link. Please note that there are 3 slides and you may use any format and design. You will have 5 minutes time for presentation to members at the AGM.

Sending your form

You should send your filled out form to secretariat@significantcemeteries.org by June 30, 2023.

Steering Committee meeting 2022

On 4th and 5th May 2022 the second part of the first ASCE Steering Committee meeting of the year took place in Neimënster, Luxembourg.

Meeting agenda and main outcomes

• Financial situation: Steering Committee took note and confirmed the balance sheet for the year 2021.
• Membership work: The Presidency presented the new reports system that shows the current status of the membership and will become a valuable tool for the future management of membership
• New members:Steering Committee confirmed new members to the association:
• La Maquinilla Association - Saint George`s Cemetery (including the French cemetery), Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Córdoba), Spain
• Alma Finalis APS, Finale Emilia - Italy
• Diplomatic Governing Board of the Feriköy Protestant Cemetery of Istanbul, Istanbul - Turkey

• AGM 2022 and 2023: The Steering Committee checked and discussed the AGM 2022 program and conference theme. A call for AGM 2023 will be released in May 2022.
• European Cemeteries Route reevaluation: A very good assessment report of the European Cemeteries Route was presented to the SC members. Report was created by the Institute of the cultural routes as part of a regular 3-years reevaluation.
• Cultural routes cooperation and Training Academy: The 9th Training Academy for Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe will be held from 31st May to 3rd June 2022 in Fontainebleau (France). The SC board decided that 2 ASCE representatives will join the academy: Andreea Pop and Ioanna Paraskevopoulou.

Conclusions

Altogether, the meeting was successful and very productive. In addition to addressing the above points, the SC members set clear plans for the work of the association in the future. Details of the individual topics discussed at the meeting will follow in future communications.