At the 2016 OIDFA Congress's gala dinner in Slovenia, I sat at the Belgian table, surrounded by 9 very capable experts with extensive experience when it comes to Belgian laws and organization of large events. Conversation was in English. Please do not panic if you were planning to go to Bruges in 2018. I think it will be very nice and some of you will definitely want to attend.
Every dispute has at least 2 sides, and the Belgians have been politely silent about theirs. As most of you know, I belong to the large lace guilds of our world, and try to know what is happening. I have deliberately avoided entering into any large guild's internal politics, though I have some pretty interesting opinions of how they "operate", select officers, communicate, etc. My dearest friend, Jean Leader, has referred you to the "official" OIDFA document about cancellation of the 2018 OIDFA Congress. However, I also have personally received extensive written information directly from the Belgians about what has been happening for the last 4 years - information that is not for public airing! OIDFA Congresses usually take about 6 years to plan and execute. The Belgians have been working on what was to be the 2018 OIDFA Congress for about 4 years. That has been cancelled, as I understand it from written documents, because current Belgian laws do not agree with the official paperwork of OIDFA (incorporated as a non-profit under French laws). The Belgian lace group will continue their planning for a lace event under their own sponsorship, including their own financing. There will be a large lace event very much like the OIDFA Congresses in Bruges in 2018. More detailed information will be coming from them soon. I am much encouraged by what they have told me. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center --------------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 8/27/2016 5:34:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jean.lea...@gmail.com writes: This week Iâve been asked by a couple of people what will happen now that the 2018 OIDFA Congress in Bruges has been cancelled. If you are also wondering about this you will find a statement from the OIDFA Executive Council on the OIDFA website - go to https://www.oidfa.com/cong.html and click on the link about half way down the page. Youâll also find photos from this yearâs Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia further down the page. I was there and thoroughly enjoyed both the Congress weekend and the tour afterwards. ------------------------------------------------------- Email addresses: j...@jeanleader.net jean.lea...@gmail.com N.B. demon address no longer active - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
