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Welcome to the official website for the 2010 European Alumni Meeting of the Up With People International Alumni Association. We invite you to join us May 14th - 16th in El Albir, the seaside village of l'Alfàs del Pi, to participate in this annual international meeting for all European alumni, regardless the year you travelled in.
Our 2010 theme, “It’s About Time for Reunion… On the Beach!”, contemplates both the reason for us to get together and the stage of the event.
EAM 2010 will open in the early afternoon of Friday, May 14th with a fantastic free excursion to Castell de Guadalest. In the evening we will have the welcome reception, followed immediately by the first Plenary Lecture and dinner. Opening day check-in and registration will be from 10.00 – 18.00 hrs. Closing day sessions will take place from 10.00 - 13:00 hrs. on Sunday, May 16th. For more details, please read the Program Overview.
The idea of an annual European Alumni Meeting was discussed among Europeans at the Up with People Reunion of 1990 in Denver, CO. Bruno Ruchti of cast E 1986, one of the first serving Euro-Reps and founding president of the Swiss Alumni Association, initiated the first meeting together with alumni from the Swiss Chapter, former staff of UwP Europe, UwP and Sing Out alumni from Germany and some alumni from the Netherlands and Belgium. The original goal was to start a network among the chapters within Europe, promote the idea and goals of the UWPIAA and keep in touch with the further development of Up with People. The European Leadership Meeting was at first intended to be primarily for the leaders of the different European Alumni Clubs. However, the name was soon changed to European Alumni Meeting, opening up the event to all alumni.
The EAM annual meeting has today become recognized as a terrific venue for European alumni to connect or reconnect with friends and other people from all over Europe that share that same precious experience of having been part of an Up with People cast (or more than one) in the past. The reunion offers fun times and meetings where we share thoughts on our national clubs, the International Alumni Association and of course about Up with People itself.
The 2010 EAM is a little bit different than the ones we have celebrated before. On this occasion, the Spanish coastal town of l'Alfàs del Pi with its Mayor Vicente Arques is the proud host of the event. This means that we have complete cooperation from the Town Hall for the organisation of our annual meeting.
For the first time we will also have an Alternative Program for Spouses and Kids on the Saturday. The main activity for them will be the excursion elected by the majority of all the registered participants. There will be a variety of activities to choose from.
We have endeavoured to make the EAM 2010 both exciting and affordable. As you can see, there is… no Registration Fee! However, the total number of participants will be limited by space and the total number of rooms available at the hotel, so please register early.
We are committed to reducing the impact of waste generated by the EAM 2010. We will be limiting the amount of paper and other materials we use and encouraging recycling throughout the meeting. Please use the blue containers you find on the streets for paper and cardboard, the yellow ones for plastic bottles, cans or tetra bricks and the green ones for glass. Also keep in mind that you are in a semi desert area Water is a very valuable resource, so please try not to waste it.
We thank the participants of the EAM 2009 in Geneva for having selected l'Alfàs del Pi to celebrate the next edition. We hope that you will enjoy visiting the Costa Blanca and see for yourself why we think it is such a great place to live and to celebrate this meeting. We also thank our generous sponsors for the financial support required to make the EAM 2010 a reality. And above all, we thank Mr. Vicente Arques, his team and the town of l'Alfàs del Pi for all their effort and for hosting this EAM so generously.
Prepare to meet friends and fellow Uppies, make contacts, and learn what's new and important in Up with People... all the while enjoying the local charm and easy-going character that makes l'Alfàs del Pi one of the best coastal towns in Spain. We look forward to seeing you in May!
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
Kris Van den Heuvel
Event Coordinator
Proud Member of the Awesome D-Tour 1984
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