On Friday 13 December, representatives of ELFAC member associations, present in 24 European countries, held their general assembly at the Tarragona city hall. A new board of directors was elected, after the end of the four-year term of the previous one.
During the assembly, the city of Tarragona was presented with its diploma as a member city of the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities. The diploma was delivered to Montse Adan, Deputy Mayoress, who referred to the efforts made to adapt the city’s entire tourism sector to the needs of families. Tarragona had previously received the Family Tourism certificate, awarded by the Spanish Federation of Large Families, following an exhaustive audit.
The representatives of the assembly thanked with great emphasis the dedication and good work done by Regina Maroncelli, who with this meeting exhausts her two mandates as president, the maximum provided for in the statutes, although in her case the general assembly decided in 2022 to extend it for two more years, due to the pause caused by the Covid pandemic. Maroncelli will, however, remain on the Board, as vice-president responsible for the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities.
Radoslaw Waskiewicz, lawyer and President of the Polish Large Families Association, was elected as President. In addition to Regina Maroncelli, he is accompanied by Kinga Joó, from the Hungarian association NOE, as vice-president responsible for European and international affairs. The other elected members are Joao Oliveira from Portugal, Leonids Mucenieks from Latvia and Ivan Malbašić from Croatia. New members are Karoline Iwersen from Germany and Irina Granzulea from Romania. Raúl Sánchez, from Spain, has been appointed to continue as secretary general and treasurer of the confederation.
The assembly reviewed the activities carried out by ELFAC during the last year, highlighting the continued participation in the United Nations, in which ELFAC has consultative status; and the growth of the Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities. Among the objectives for the future, the assembly, in addition to the above, hopes to grow in new countries where it is not yet present; to start up the European large family card project; to initiate a network similar to that of municipalities with companies; to increase its presence in European institutions; and to promote research on large families.
Montse Adan, Deputy Mayoress, and other members of the city council of Tarragona, receiving the diploma as 'family-friendly' cityNew Board members of ELFAC