Members' Corner
from IVU News 2002

First of all. I would like to start by wishing everyone a happy and very successful year in 2002. I hope the movement goes from strength to strength in your corner of the globe.

Not a great deal of news to report I am afraid because none of you have sent in any news!

The numbers of our organization have increased slightly since the last magazine but we have had fewer new member oragnizations, so I hope this means you are happier with IVU and less are deciding not to renew!

Of the members, the majority are individual members with fewer business and group members in this period. I would like to add a special welcome to those new groups who have joined us, including the Vegetarian Society of Ireland, Vegetarians of Mongolia and Vegetarians of Washington, the American Vegan Society, Bay Area Jewish Vëgetarians, Jews for Animal Rights and the Society for Healthy Life in Bulgaria. Don't forget if you have any successes or failures that you would like to share with IVU, I would love to hear from you.

Talking of successes, you should see elsewhere in the magazine a report of the activities of the Eurasian Vegetarian Union. This is a new and very dynamic organization covering areas in Russia and in surrounding Asia including Uzbekistan. etc. They have produced a magazine for the first time in 100 years, successfully fought proposals to bring a bullfight to Moscow and got lots of press for the vegetarian movement both in Russia and beyond. I am sure we will hear much more of them in the future.
Don't forget to spread the word for IVU to other groups and individuals you may know of who are not members. The more representative we are of vegetarians around the world, the more we can achieve together. If the group is a new one and can't afford the fee, we can sometimes allow the first years subscription for free to encourage such groups. Enthusiasm and energy can be a very valuable currency.
To tie in with our World Congress in July (see article elsewhere). The Vegetarian Society UK is celebrating our "National Vegetarian Week" the same week and will be producing literature, including a recipe booklet on the theme of "a Taste of the World". If you would like to try and spread this idea in your country and make it an International Vegetarian Week, let me know and we can add you to our list for circulation of press releases and sample materials.

I was sorry that the Istanbul Congress was cancelled and I did not get the opportunity to meet some of you after all. I understand the Asian Union's event in Goa was a great success. Well done to all! I hope I will see some of you in July in Edinburgh. Till then, all the best for your work,

Tina Fox - memsec@ivu.org

National Vegetarian Week 2002
'A Whole World of Taste' takes place from 8-14 July to coincide with the 35th Vegetarian World Congress - Food For All Our Futures in Edinburgh. For more information visit our website at www.vegsoc.org or call us on 0161 925 2000

Bursaries for the World Vegetarian Congress
If you represent a vegetarian/vegan society which is a member of IVU, you could be eligible for financial support to send a delegate to Edinburgh! This support has been made available by Sir Paul McCartney, Patron of The Vegetarian Society UK, and is available to society delegates only, not to individuals. For full details see: www.ivu.org/congress/2002/bursary.html