The 42nd AIACE Congress

The 42^nd AIACE Congress will take place in Riga on 15-21 May 2010. The decision has been taken by the International Bureau during its meeting on 27 July on the basis of the proposals by the Working Group "Congress" (which will forthwith be called Congress Organising Committee).

Did you say Riga??

Yes indeed, Riga, capital city of Latvia. We thought that time had come to leave the banks of the Mediterranean and to hold a congress in the Northern part of Europe; furthermore we believe that there should be an opportunity to discover a new Member State. From among these, we chose the Baltic States because for many people it is a blank spot on the maps, a totally unknown, even mysterious place.

But what are we going to do in Riga?

It is a widespread misconception that there is nothing to see in Riga. The city and all it has to offer have enchanted even the most sceptical among us. It is an old Hanseatic city with a practically intact historical centre (even if parts of it had to be reconstructed after WWII), which is extremely compact (everything is within 10 minutes walk). The city has numerous civil and religious buildings from the Hanseatic period, but also boasts one of the largest and finest collections of Art Nouveau buildings (nearly one third of all buildings); true, it is a very different kind of Art Nouveau than the one we know in Brussels. Furthermore Riga counts many old wooden houses and most of them have been restored. The city also has the largest food market in Europe: more than 3,000 stalls over 72,300m2. Outside the city boundaries there are beautiful natural landscapes and seaside resorts in the middle of pinewoods. Interesting (and surprising) excursions will be organised to discover them as well as a night at the opera.

The food is bad in Riga!

Wrong! There are numerous excellent restaurants, ranging from very exclusive (worth Michelin stars, but Michelin is apparently not interested at all in the Baltic States) down to steak houses serving exceptionally good Latvian beef, not to mention the restaurants from the old Soviet republics.

Drinks are outrageously expensive in Riga!

Wrong again! Prices are astonishingly reasonable. Cocktails are right out cheap. And Latvia is just like Belgium a beer country!

There are no good hotels in!

Wrong once more! All the rooms we will be occupying will be renovated and the hotel is in the process of applying Radisson standards (they joined the chain on 1 June). Moreover it offers a casino, a disco, a stunning wellness centre (free use of swimming pool) and a Japanese restaurant.

This hotel (Radisson Blu Latvija) has two major advantages: on the one hand, it offers a meeting infrastructure that corresponds perfectly to our needs (including built-in interpretation facilities to the European Commission standards) and on the other hand its location is ideal: a 5-minute walk to the old town and in the middle of the shopping area. Moreover the hotel can accommodate all participants at attractive rates, which will further and facilitate mutual contacts between members.

There is no night life in Riga!

Wrong! In any case we have prepared a programme with activities comprising a truly ethnic Latvian evening, a gala dinner in prestigious surroundings with an outstanding menu and a farewell party in a surprising environment.

Travelling to Riga is cumbersome!

Wrong, wrong and wrong again! Air Baltic offers direct flights from larger cities in Europe at very interesting rates (two daily flights from Brussels; flight time 2h20); moreover a considerable discount on all tickets has been negotiated.

Riga is expensive!

Well, not at all! This time we have decided to charge a single “all inclusive” rate for each participant. This amount will cover half board, three exceptional evenings and participation in the meetings, without any extra costs.

Registration

The official announcement with the detailed programme and the registration form will be published in the October issue of Vox magazine, but the internet site will be available towards the end of September. Anyway, please make already a mark for these dates in your 2011 diary.