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On 14 October 2022 the International Cremation Federation held its General Council Meeting in Panama City. The GCM formed part of the VI International Symposium, which was impressively well organized by ALPAR (Latin American Association of Cemeteries and Funeral Services). The symposium took place from 14 – 17 October. The event offered an interesting combination of learning, informing, networking and socializing.
The ICF warmly thanks ALPAR for providing the opportunity to include the GCM in their symposium and for their great cooperation and support. It was a perfect introduction for the ICF to the Latin American customs and ways of doing business. And what a great experience to come together in Panama City, a vibrant metropolis surrounded by beautiful nature.
Throughout the symposium, outside of the GCM, country reports were presented by ICF-delegates from the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and the USA. The local (new) developments in cremation including statistics and the national cremation culture were addressed. The presentations were enthusiastically received and provided an interesting insight into the differences in tradition, legislation, environmental requirements and culture.
During the General Council Meeting it was announced that the President of the ICF for many years, Mr Gerald Sullivan, recently informed of his retirement from the Executive Committee. He has been of great value to the ICF for which we owe him a great debt of gratitude. Not only was Mr Sullivan a dedicated President, he also is a true friend. The Executive Committee is indebted to him for all of his efforts to the benefit of the ICF and all of the travels he made worldwide in this respect.
There were two vacancies within the Executive Committee concerning the position of Vice-president.
It is our pleasure to announce that the following representatives of ICF members have been appointed as ICF Vice-presidents by the meeting:
Professor Hilary J Grainger OBE, nominated by The Cremation Society, UK
Mr Andrés Aguilar, nominated by ALPAR, Colombia
As communicated we are happy that three of our sub-committees have been re-established. The following members were formally appointed during the GCM.
Ethical Sub-Committee:
- Mr Craig Caldwell, The Mazwell Group (UK)
- Mr Svend-Jörk Sobolewski, CremTec (Germany)
- Mr Xavier Thoumieux, La Société des Crématoriums de France
Legal Sub-Committee:
- Mr Uwe Claußen, REMONDIS (Germany)
- Professor Heather Conway, The Cremation Society (UK)Mr Hidde Verberne, Orthometals (The Netherlands)
Technical Sub-Committee:
- Mr Brendan Day, Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (UK)
- Mr Jeff Pickard, FT (UK)
- Mr Slobodan Stojanović, Cremation Association of Serbia ‘OGANJ’
- Mr Stephen Wright, London Cremation Company plc (UK)
- Mr Tom Wustenberghs, VNOC (Belgium)
- Mr Dieter Zahn, IFZW GmbH (Germany)
The purpose is to modernise the concepts and set general guidelines in order to enable relevant discussions that address for example the challenges concerning the environment, the technical specification of the equipment and the service to the bereaved. We are grateful for the many applications to take part and look forward to further developments and news. In our industry, urgent issues and inequalities are worth exploring and extensive knowledge is available to be shared in order to achieve a professional cooperation at an international level.
The Minutes of the last GCM of 22 November 2019 held in Paris were taken as approved and the Annual Financial Report 2021 was adopted.
The Executive Committee aims to increase the volume of activity within in our federation and intends to reconnect with the membership. If we all work together we trust that we can be capable of continuing the rich history that the ICF has. We are looking to the future.
Dear ICF member,
I hope you are doing well.
Please note that ALPAR (Latin American Association of Cemeteries and Funeral Services) has changed the location of their VI International Symposium to Panama City, Panama. The symposium will take place from Friday 14 - Monday 17 October. As previously communicated, the ICF General Council Meeting (GCM) will be held during the ALPAR Symposium! We will inform you with registration options, hotel information and program as soon as possible.
The organizers of the ALPAR Symposium have asked whether it is possible that some of our ICF members, experts in cremation, could give presentations during the academic agenda? If you are available to meet this request, then please let us know before long stating the subject of your contribution. Your presentation will be part of the program in consultation with the ALPAR Academic Committee.
Don’t miss out! Many important topics will be attended and the exchange of information on worldwide developments between the different organisations and countries is a core element. In our industry, urgent issues and inequalities are worth exploring and extensive knowledge is available to be shared in order to achieve a professional cooperation at an international level.
The ICF GCM will address important aspects; the elections for filling the two vacancies within our Executive Committee concerning the position of Vice-president, the formal appointment of the members of our three re-established sub-committees and many more. Also, there will be the opportunity for ICF-members to present a ‘country report’ during the GCM. The ICF secretariat looks forward to receiving applications from members of representatives of their country that are willing to give a short country presentation on the local developments in cremation.
Furthermore, we are happy to have welcomed the following new member:
ITALY
B-CP srl
Mr Marco Baccini, General Manager
Finally for now, ALPAR has invited all ICF members to join the 2022 edition of ‘The World United For Life’ on Sunday 18th September.
Keep an eye on our website: www.icf-worldwide.org. And please let us know when you have news to share. Take care of yourself and others. We look very much forward to see you in Panama City in October next!
All the best, on behalf of the Executive Committee,
Melanie
Dear ICF member,
Now many of the remaining COVID-19 pandemic related international travel restrictions are (being) lifted, we look forward to organizing the ICF General Council Meeting 2022 in-person! It is our pleasure to announce that the GCM will be held during the ALPAR (Latin American Association of Cemeteries and Funeral Services) VI International Symposium which will take place from Thursday 13 – Sunday 16 October in San Juan, Puerto Rico. More details including the program and registration options are to follow soon. Our member ALPAR is a leading association with great recognition in the Funeral Industry worldwide, which brings together the companies of the Funeral Industry in Latin America, promoting cooperation among its members, offering specialized services and channelling to them those provided by other entities, as well as training the employees of the companies to achieve maximum levels of efficiency in operational and excellence in the provision of services to families.
Don’t miss out! Many important topics will be attended and the exchange of information on worldwide developments between the different organisations and countries is a core element. In our industry, urgent issues and inequalities are worth exploring and extensive knowledge is available to be shared in order to achieve a professional cooperation at an international level.
During the GCM there will be the opportunity for ICF-members to present a ‘country report’. The secretariat welcomes suggestions from members of representatives of their country that are willing to give a short country presentation on the local developments in cremation.
We have two vacancies within our Executive Committee concerning the position of Vice-president. The following candidatures were submitted:
- Mr Andrés Aguilar, nominated by ALPAR, Colombia
- Professor Hilary J Grainger OBE, nominated by The Cremation Society, UK
- Mr Thies Heinrich, nominated by the RAL Gütegemeinschaft Feuerbestattungsanlagen e.V., Germany
The elections will be part of the GCM. The Executive Committee recommends the membership to elect Mr Aguilar in relation to the aim of a global spread of the activities and Mrs Grainger for representation of The Cremation Society, being one of the founding members of the ICF.
As communicated we are happy that three of our sub-committees have been re-established. The purpose is to modernise the concepts and set general guidelines in order to enable relevant discussions that address for example the challenges concerning the environment, the technical specification of the equipment and the service to the bereaved. We are grateful for the many applications to take part and the following appointments will be formally confirmed during the GCM:
ETHICAL SUB-COMMITTEE
- Mr Craig Caldwell, The Mazwell Group (UK)
- Mr Svend-Jörk Sobolewski, CremTec (Germany)
suggested issues to raise: general acceptance of cremation / handling of metals remaining from ashes, focus on cultural differences and local customs
LEGAL SUB-COMMITTEE
- Mr Uwe Claußen, REMONDIS (Germany)
- Professor Heather Conway, The Cremation Society (UK)
- Mr Hidde Verberne, Orthometals (The Netherlands)
suggested issues to raise: charting laws and regulations
TECHNICAL SUB-COMMITTEE
- Mr Brendan Day, Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (UK)
- Mr Andrew Mallalieu, The Cremation Society (UK)
- Mr Jeff Pickard, FT (UK)
- Mr Slobodan Stojanović, Cremation Association of Serbia ‘OGANJ’ (Serbia)
- Mr Stephen Wright, London Cremation Company plc (UK)
- Mr Tom Wustenberghs, VNOC (Belgium)
- Mr Dieter Zahn, IFZW GmbH (Germany)
suggested issues to raise: research on environmental circumstances and developments worldwide / new technologies
It is with sadness that we are remembering the loss of Mr Harvey Thomas, who was appointed recently in the new ICF Ethical sub-committee and was former Chairman of the Cremation Society among other various positions. Mr Harvey Thomas died on 13 March 2022. We wish his family and loved ones every strength.
Take care of yourself and others. We look very much forward to see you in Puerto Rico in October next!
Executive Committee