Page 9 - WBG August 2024

Dear colleagues and friends,

Our 99th annual meeting is just around the
corner, and I’m eagerly looking forward to
Kuala Lumpur. Siti has been consistently
providing highly professional information
and presentations on the meeting schedule,
training sessions, and more. A heartfelt
thank you to Siti in advance for all the time
and effort spent on organizing the annual
general meeting in Kuala Lumpur. VICE PRESIDENT
Looking ahead, we have Portugal and
then our anniversary event in Chicago on
the horizon. There’s not much to say about
Portugal—it’s simply a wonderful country
with great people and always worth a visit.
Regarding Chicago, we recently conducted
an on-site visit. We can all already look
forward to the upcoming meetings. Chicago
is an amazing city, and the hotel has
been perfectly chosen for our upcoming
anniversary celebration. You can almost
feel the history of 1925 in Chicago—the
architecture of the buildings, the bars with
some still hidden rooms from the Prohibition origin. This should remain the strength of our association—connections and support
era (1920-1933). Yet, the city also boasts among members from various countries and cultures, free from political influence.
modern buildings and shopping centers. In this way, we strengthen our association’s culture and long-standing friendships.
Being so close to a huge lake, with bike and
scooter stations every few kilometers, makes With this in mind, I am very much looking forward to the upcoming events and,
exploring the city easy and spontaneous. most importantly, to seeing all the colleagues who will be meeting again at this
However, there is still a lot ahead of us. Who opportunity.
knows what might happen in the politically
tense global and economic situation. We See you soon,
are not politicians, and at some point, I Respectfully submitted,
personally decided to focus on making sure
that the people around me are as well as
possible. Extending this to the WAD family, it
means that we consciously continue to avoid Philip Ryffel
politics and maintain a neutral stance toward
all members, regardless of their country of 2nd Vice President

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who

cannot change their minds cannot change anything”

George Bernard Shaw
Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist

www.wad.net | August 2024 7