On 21 December, I will leave EBU. This has been my first job, although I feel like I have held many positions here :-)
I have met many true Europeans over the past 14 years and I am very proud of it. Many of them are visually impaired persons who demonstrate every day that, yes, mountains can be moved. A true source of inspiration!
Yes, I bothered many of you with all these deadlines, reports, proofreading, timesheets, timeframes, road maps, dissemination plans, boarding passes, etc. I am truly convinced that all this was and still is a necessary evil which helps structure our work and has demonstrated our professionalism to funding authorities. It has been worthwhile: EBU has taken a new dimension over the years and is better equipped to voice the concerns of millions of blind or partially sighted citizens within and outside the European Union. Of course, many challenges shall be overcome in the years to come to make sure EBU’s agenda and activities align with national members’ ones.
I will keep all the good memories from the many trips I made: a parliamentary session in the British house of Lords, a prayer in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, walking under the snow in the Plitivice park in Croatia, listening to old-French songs in a Bratislavan cave, meeting MEPs in the European parliament in Strasbourg, visiting the Belém Tower in Lisbon, drinking weissbeer in a typical beer garden in Hanover, visiting the Turkish part of Cyprus, walking under the Slovenian snow in Okroglo…
Thank you to all my colleagues across Europe. I learnt from you and I would be happy to get news from you through LinkedIn.
Thank you to my colleagues in the Paris Secretariat of EBU. I enjoyed working with you.
Thank you to the EBU board members, Mokrane Boussaïd and Rodolfo Cattani (RIP) who, back in 2008, trusted in a 24 years-old man who had all to prove.
In a few weeks, I will start a business, in a totally different working area. A cycle ends, another begins. Thank you EBU!
Romain FERRETTI