Dear CPOs, CPOIs, CSSMs, friends, sponsors, speakers, colleagues and guests at our meetings, but also everyone who feels connected to us, or knows is.

The year 2022 is now coming to an end and then there is always that moment of reflection, ……. Short-term for yourself, a little longer for the people close by and most certainly for those who are now, temporarily or perhaps long-term far away.
The latter for a multitude of reasons, but no less important and certainly not forgotten, perhaps they especially deserve to be just a little extra in our thoughts.

This year has also brought a lot, sometimes things we wanted and can hold on to, …..
but also many things we had to give up, for some even more direct, more personal and often more intense than for others.

We started the year in the so-called “hard Lockdown” due to Covid-19, we got us a fourth Prime-Minister Rutte administration, saw “The Voice, Lil Kleine, Marco B. and Ali B. all disappeared from the screen for a variety of reasons.
Worldwide protests against Corona measures, hostage taking at the Apple store Amsterdam, the Olympic Games and cross-border behavior of just about everything and everyone and, ..... the invasion of Ukraine. Natural disasters affect countries and regions worldwide, resulting in hundreds of victims.

Governments come, governments go…. Organized crime, terrorists whether organized or  as "Lone Wolf" sow death and destruction all over the world and the temperature in the Arctic is rising to 38 Celsius, .......
Covid is still not gone and it sometimes seems as if there is no fun news to report.
But nothing could be further from the truth, …… Max Verstappen is F1 World Champion, unlike the Dutch national team, in Germany a pigeon is flashed due to a speeding ticket and in America a raccoon is “stuck” after a nocturnal burglary in a vending machine,
in England ice cream pancakes float in the rivers and they have a new king, ……..
and in the Netherlands you can air fry in the train, ….. at least when it drives and doesn’t slip through, due to black ice !!
It feels as if we're all a bit done with it and are looking forward to Christmas,
Old Year’s eve and New Years day and even a bit to 2023, ………

That is why I would like to wish EVERYONE, on behalf of the Board of IFPO Europe and everyone involved with us and our events, a great Christmas with family and friends,
a wonderful and above all, safe New Year and I hope to meet many of you again in 2023. On behalf of the Board and on behalf of me in particular, THANK YOU and see you soon!!

Kind regards,
Raimond Pronk - Chairman

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