Mélange Accessibility for All Magazine October 2020 | Page 47

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Annagrazia Laura , ENAT President
As President of ENAT , share with us some of your history with this organisation I was elected in June 2013 , during the Annual General Assembly which was held in Avila , within the IV International Congress Tourism for All , jointly organised by ENAT and ONCE Foundation . My election was sponsored by the representative of one of our founding members , the Austrian organization , IBFT , Ms . Angelika Laburda , and I am proud to say that , when she retired from her professional life , she has been asked to remain on the board of directors as an Honorary Member .
My term , as for any other member of the Board , is four years and my second one will come to an end in June 2021 . The Statute doesn ’ t put any limit to being re-elected . The decision is on me , on the strength I will have to guide the Network for another term as well as the need to give space to someone else , to be open to new ideas and new challenges .
When I was elected , I focused on two main objectives : “ Consolidation ” and “ Development ”. After 5 years since the creation of ENAT , we had acquired a wide recognition and our aims and strategies are well appraised at international level . We will have to work hard to maintain our position as a recognised reference point for tourism organisations , national , regional and local authorities and other networks with similar aims and strategies . Our opinion , advice and support has to be present in every situation when issues dealing with accessible tourism are brought up for important decisions on policies , promotion and product design .
We have recently decided to make greater efforts to engage with key organisations and decision centres , making our voice heard and representing our stakeholders at all levels . I am proud to say that our positioning now is following that roadmap and that ENAT is regarded as a primary organisation for Tourism for All by the UN World Tourism Organisation , many Tourist Authorities , public and private bodies , by tourism businesses and end users .
I am convinced , however , that these accomplishments shouldn ’ t be credited to my presidency as such . In ENAT we are all used to seeing ourselves as a team , to cooperate and to count on each other , to make joint efforts to reach the goals we set and to share successful results .
Are all European nations represented at ENAT ? We have full and associated members in the majority of EU member states and in