1990. Today, the number is around 120 competitions worldwide. From time to time some competitions are discontinued, or they simply disappear due to lack of funding, or reorganization of the organizing institution. But on the other hand, there seems to be no lack of newly created competitions either.
Philippe Languin- “Memories of a treasurer”
“It was 1988, 36 years ago, when Aline Vernet, the Secretary General at the time, called me and asked if I would like to be treasurer of the Federation, and part of the committee. I said yes and stayed for 25 years! Mrs. Vernet happened to be an aunt of my wife and lived just down the road from us. The previous treasurer, a notary from Geneva, wanted to step down, and they needed someone to take over. Robert Dunand, who was the president at the time, asked me to come to the next General Assembly to stand for election. The next Assembly was in Tokyo, and unfortunately my banking business took me to the Philippines at exactly the same time, so I could not attend. But Dunand said: “Never mind, we´ll just do it over the phone”. So the General Meeting took place with a conference call between Japan and the Philippines. No Zoom yet in 1988! I could hear the applause through the telephone and I knew I had been elected. After that, I never missed a General Assembly and travelled virtually all over the world. Back in Geneva, the office was still very small. Rue de Carouge came soon after, as part of the support by the City of Geneva. But there was another turning point for the Federation: Dunand died of cancer very suddenly, and we needed new leadership. Thus, the era of Renate Ronnefeld began.
The 1958-1959 “season”of the World Federation
Meeting of the WFIMC in 1962
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