History was made at Kolping Youth Europe’s Membership Meeting 2022: For the first time ever, the event was organized jointly with Kolping Europe’s Continental Assembly. Both conferences – the highest decision-making bodies of each organization – took place from 16.-18. September 2022 in Esztergom (Hungary) which is known as the “Hungarian Rome”. The city is famous for its monumental basilica – the largest church of the country – and is located at the bank of the Danube.
Young Kolping members from 12 European countries attended the Membership Meeting which started with an informal get-together on Friday evening. On Saturday, during the official part of the meeting, the board of Kolping Youth Europe presented its annual report for 2021/2022 as well as a financial report. In addition, all delegates shared information on current Kolping Youth activities within their countries and discussed ideas for the future development of the organization.
The Membership Meeting resulted also in a change of the board of Kolping Youth Europe. The previous board has been in office since 2019; key achievements were an increase of public relations activities (including a new website and a new appearance on social media), the development of digital offers during the pandemic and reviving the tradition of European Youth Weeks after a five-year break. The delegates thanked the board members who did not run again for their voluntary work in previous years: Dominik Presul (Slovakia, 2013-2022), Grlica Golusin (Serbia, 2019-2022), and Jerzy Wolf (Poland, 2019-2022). Afterwards, the new board of Kolping Youth Europe was elected: Sven Messing (Germany, President), Heinz Strässle (Switzerland, Vice-President), Dorina Kiffer (Hungary, Managing Director), Luis Saavedra (Portugal), Daniela Pali (Albania), Nikola Hrubenja (Serbia) and Agoston Szrenka (Hungary).
To strengthen the collaboration with Kolping Europe and to facilitate an intergenerational networking, parts of the programme were organized together with the delegates of the Continental Assembly: After a joint sightseeing tour through Esztergom and Sturovo (Slovakia) – which is located on the opposite bank of the Danube – and a Holy Mass, the delegates spent the evening together at a networking dinner hosted by Kolping Hungary. Furthermore, the board of Kolping Youth Europe presented recent developments in European youth work to the Continental Assembly. On Sunday, the delegates of both conferences took part in a joint workshop, discussed their experience in encountering crises, and the role Kolping could take in this context.
The next Continental Assembly & Membership Meeting will take place from 21.-23. April 2023 in Novi Sad (Serbia).
Sven Messing (Germany)