Changes at IIRE

The IIRE is not only changing its location but also its organisational composition - Board and staff - to be able to respond more effectively to the new challenges that face us. The members of the Board are now the following: Joost Kircz, the Chairperson, who is primarily working on the new building at Timorplein 21, Jakob Wedemeijer, who is the legal counsel of IIRE and also our treasurer, Penny Duggan who is responsible for the programme operations of the institute, and François Vercammen. The Board members are spending considerable time on the major changes that we are facing at present.

There have been a number of recent changes in the staff of the Institute. Following the departure of his Co-Director Dr Susan Caldwell, who returned to Quebec in 2004, Dr. Peter Drucker was the only full-time staff member in the Institute, assisted by a number of part-time staff. In February Peter Drucker left the Institute after 13 years.

We will soon be leaving the building at Willemsparkweg, where we have been since the Institute was established in 1982, to move to our new premises in Timorplein. We hope to make the move early in 2007, as soon as building progress permits. The impending move and all the work that it entails, the perspective of expanding our activities in the new premises and the departure of Dr Drucker has made it urgent for us to seek new staff. For the moment we are functioning with an expanded team of part-timers and volunteers, some new, some who have already been here for some time.

Wim Seegers has also recently joined us, with a particular brief to oversee all the technical aspects of the coming move and the furnishing and equipping of the new premises. He is also working on a business plan to concretise our perspective of renting out our facilities to other groups.
With the probable arrival of a new staff member in the autumn, this is the team that will see the Institute through the move and plan out the re-launching of our activities in our new location.