President's Corner

Dear Friends, Car amici, queridos colegas, estimados miembros de la FIAT/IFTA

According to the decision made by FIAT/IFTA at the 1996 General Assembly in Paris "...The President and General Secretary may not be elected for more than two consecutive terms, i.e. a total of four years..." and we also agreed on the proposal "...The President will be elected directly by full members at the General Assembly every two years...". So, my dear friends, the journey is over and thank you for the travelling and the good time. I was elected President at FIAT/IFTA 1994 General Assembly in Bogensee, Germany, and re-elected at the 1996 General Assembly in Paris, France. I have served FIAT/IFTA for four years with pleasure. I do not recall any boring moments. I have had a good time. Even if "enough is enough" and I agree with FIAT's decision of making a restriction to four years of service I must admit I will miss you all.

I am happy to read that we will have more than one candidate for the presidency. For the time being I have noticed that two dedicated members of the Executive Council have been nominated: Lasse Nilsson, SVT, and Dr. Peter Dusek, ORF. A message to all Full members of FIAT: Your participation at the General Assembly is very important for the future of FIAT.

So, back to business and the problems of daily life. I hope you have made a final decision about your participation at FIAT's conference in Florence. I can promise you a very good time. RAI - the host of the conference - has worked hard on the preparations. The programme has been forwarded to you all. This time you have to make choices about the lectures. You cannot win them all, so to speak. The number of delegates who have been registered is well over 200. We are facing a housing problem - too few hotels in the city, but RAI is working hard at solving the problem. Don't worry, be happy - we will see that you get a place to sleep. See you in Florence dear friends, cari amici, ci vediamo a Firenze.

Tedd Johansen