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From the president of the EAFE.
This is my first letter following my election at the Murcia meeting
in September. We had a good time in Spain and the EAFE are grateful
to the organisers and the University for hosting our 2010 meeting.
I join the Board of the EAFE at what I think is a crucial time
in the evolution of the association. From small beginnings we
have grown over the last eight years and with it has grown an
expectation of greater things. The original role of the EAFE was
to arrange meetings so that research, ideas and best practice
can be discussed by those in Europe interested in Forensic entomology.
Membership is based on interest in the subject and the original
European envelope has been expanded and enriched by associate
members from other parts of the world.
A number of aspects of how we currently operate are in need of
some reconsideration and change. The meetings are largely self-supporting
but there are other aspects of the association that are run on
the goodwill and generosity of some members. The website is a
good case in point and is probably key to the functioning of the
EAFE as a distribution point for information. This a site hosted
by one of the members institutions and run by the member.
From small origins it has grown markedly in content and number
of visits, and there are aspirations for its use in the future,
such that the host institution is now concerned and would like
it hosted elsewhere in the future. This means we will need to
pay to have a new host for the website, which in turn raises the
question of where the funds might come from to do this. For example
should we add a levy on those attending the meetings or have an
annual membership fee? This is one of several areas that we as
the Board need to grapple with in the coming months.
So I believe these are important times for the association we
need to grow and change in a sustainable way but in doing so not
lose hold those things that attracted people to join the membership
of EAFE in the first place.
I look forward to the next three years serving you and am grateful
that I do so in conjunction with a capable and experienced group
of fellow Board members.
Bryan Turner
October 2010
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