The fourth General Assembly of our association “Ad Pacem servandam” (“For Peace and Against War”, hereinafter “Ad Pacem”) was held on Saturday, March 6, 2021, online.
1. Opening of the meeting by the President
At 10:30 a.m., the President opens the meeting and greets 18 members online, 22 members sent their apologies for not being able to attend. It should be noted that the meeting is attended by all members of the Executive Committee, namely: President Claude Pantaleoni, Vice President Natalia Pantaleoni, Secretary and Treasurer Christian Welter, and Anselmo Malvetti, webmaster in charge of organizing the March for Peace.
The President then proceeds to form the Bureau: Claude Pantaleoni is appointed President of the Assembly, Christian Welter is appointed Secretary and Natalia Pantaleoni is appointed as the vote taker.
Claude Pantaleoni then focuses on the various agenda items and moves on to an overview of 2020 activities.
2. Overview of activities for 2020
At the beginning of the year, the Committee took part in the 20th Exhibition of Books and Cultures in Luxembourg, in which Mr. Gabriel Becker participated as a guest. He is the president of the association dedicated to the preservation and recognition as a memorial site of the former Nazi Ban San Jean concentration camp in the Moselle near Boul. Since 1941, about 300,000 Soviet prisoners, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, have passed through this camp. About 23,000 people died there. These “Ostarbeiters”, captured during the operation at Barbarossa, were primarily intended to work in the mines on the Moselle. Mr. Becker’s speech was filmed and broadcast live; the recording can be viewed on the Ad Pacem website.
In the spring of 2020, the Ad Pacem Association appealed to its members to raise funds to pay for an urgent operation for a citizen of Ukraine living in the occupied territories of Eastern Ukraine. We called this action “Operation Irina”. The man had to urgently undergo an operation to remove 2 cm of a kidney stone, which could cost him his life. Ad Pacem received a donation of 2,720 euros to pay for the operation. The amount exceeded the need (700 euros), but at the same time made it possible to pay a scholarship for several years to help the young Ukrainian Serhiy leave the occupied territory and study in free Ukraine.
The Vice President then provides additional information on these two individuals who received our assistance in 2020.
The pandemic did not allow us to carry out other activities, including trips with the youth and organizing a conference with a former DPR prisoner who was tortured.
In September 2020, four of our members marched on the March for Peace in northern Italy. Anselmo Malvetti, who organized the trip, introduces it to the General Assembly along with Christian Welter, who also participated in the event. This March for Peace was made along the 100 km Peace Trail that runs along the WWI front line between Italy and Austria-Hungary in the Vicentine Alps.
Thanks to beautiful photographs taken along this 550 km route, we were able to create our 2021 Ad Pacem calendar. Many thanks to Lisa Battestini and Christian Welter who developed the layout.
Then Christian Welter gives a brief account of the sales process.
3. Our help in 2020
Natalia Pantaleoni presents aid to the Ukrainian victims of the war that Russia is waging in the East of Ukraine. She explains on a case-by-case basis the current situation, the amount of aid in 2020, and what it will be directed to.
4. Financial report for 2020
Christian Welter then presents a detailed financial report for 2020 as Treasurer.
5. Auditor’s report
Patrice Picart, the cash auditor, approved the Treasurer’s financial report, highlighting its precise and correct management.
6. Candidate member of the Association Committee
The next item on the agenda concerns the candidacy of Mr. Laurent Tran Van Mang for the Association Committee. The candidate introduces himself and explains why he wants to help with the projects of the Association. The President suggests that he be included in the Committee. This proposal is accepted unanimously.
7. Prospects for activities in 2021
The next item on the agenda concerns activities for 2021 if the sanitary situation allows them to be implemented. Excursions with the youth to the military museums in Diekirch and Bastogne are planned. Another excursion will be to Ban Saint-Jean on the Moselle and to the Nazi transit camp at Hinzert, where about 400 Luxembourgers were interned. A March for Peace is planned, organized by Anselmo Malvetti in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the wake of the Balkan wars of the 1980s and 1990s. A bike ride with young Ad Pacem members on the bike paths of Luxembourg and an invitation to a literary evening with a former prisoner of the DPR is also planned. The committee is in the process of selecting two or three new young Ukrainians who left the occupied territories to receive scholarships for this year’s study.
8. General discussion and concluding remarks
After the presentations, the members of the Committee have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments.
The President then thanks everyone for attending the 4th Annual Assembly fully online and reminds the members that the payment of the 2021 membership fee will enable the Committee to organize outreach and peaceful education activities. He also encourages the current members to disseminate information about Ad Pacem among their environment to attract new members.
As the agenda is exhausted, the President closes the meeting at 11:15 a.m. and wishes everyone the best in our struggles for peace in Europe and beyond its borders.