I served on the ENIEC board from 2012 to 2016. I was elected at the meeting in Amsterdam. Ahead was preparing for the next meeting in Brussels. At the time, I had only been a member of the ENIEC network for three years. Although I understood how the network functioned and why I wanted to be part of it, I had never really considered that I could serve on the board myself. The threshold to joining the board felt high.
The chairperson at the time, Jenny Malmsten from Malmö, approached me and asked if I would like to join the board. I was surprised, in a positive way. I remember thinking, why not. My lack of English skills was my biggest obstacle. In board was already someone I knew, Ute Bychowski from Frankfurt. That gave me confidence, I could speak German with Ute, if my English wasn’t sufficient,
During those years, my role on the board was to be responsible for the members and membership fees. I took on tracking when each person joined or left the network. I compiled statistics on who had been in the network the longest and how many new members joined each year. The development of the number of members provided valuable insight into the direction our network was heading. At the annual meetings, it was fun to really get to know the members. As the membership coordinator, I only knew the names, but at the annual meeting, I also got to know their faces.
Board work was meaningful. In addition to administrative tasks, our biggest responsibility was to support the organising teams of the annual meetings. During those years, the network met in Brussels, Oslo, Istanbul, and Frankfurt. Each meeting was very different: new places and new people. In Oslo, things were easier. The organising team had long-standing members, and preparations were in capable hands. In Istanbul, everything was dependent on one person, so building the program became more our responsibility, the board members. There were no worries in preparing AM in Frankfurt; Frédéric’s team took care of the arrangements.
The years on the ENIEC board were wonderful. As board members, we became close. After-work conversations with Kristel, Elsi, Mohamed, and Lola often didn’t want to end. The most important lesson was that you can get through anything, and you don’t have to know everything alone. The ENIEC network has a lot of expertise and active members. It was a joy to develop our network together.
It is very valuable that board responsibilities rotate and that new members can have the opportunity to influence how we make everyday life easier for older people with foreign backgrounds. All of us are needed to bring our expertise to the ENIEC network in turn. As a board member, you have the best chance to make an impact. So, join the board boldly!
Good intentions are enough; everything else can be learned!
Eva Rönkkö 2012 – 2016
