by Marie Marešova, Czech Republic
This year’s 36th AOECS conference was organized by FACE (Federación de Asociaciones de Celiacos de España) in Madrid. As this was my first conference, I was experiencing mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement all day beforehand. We started with registration, when we received awesome bags (filled with great food!); and evening reception, when I got to meet almost every single one of the CYE delegates. I soon found out that I had nothing to be nervous about – you could hardly find a group of greater and more motivated people.
On the first day of heavy work, at the CYE meeting, all represented member countries were introduced, and Abigail was the last to speak as a representative of FACE. We voted to approve the minutes from the previous conference and also the report for the whole year. There was a discussion regarding the new CYE constitution, which was ultimately not approved and referred to AOECS for further discussion. We were introduced to the three main roles in the CYE board – General Coordinator, Project Manager, and Financial Manager, as it was necessary to apply for these positions later on.
In the afternoon, we listened to a very motivational presentation by Gill Brennan (Ireland, Board Director AOECS) about strategies and approaches to the successful fulfillment of our goals. Specifically, the problem of gluten-free food at airports and its solution was discussed. Subsequently, we had a short talk with Tunde Koltai (Hungary, Chair AOECS) about the newly published publication Enhancing Transitional Care in Digestive Health, which she recommended us to translate into our languages. A joint program of AOECS and CYE followed: the so-called break-out sessions (group discussions). There were three topics: one on artificial intelligence and its use for coeliacs; another, called Codex&Us, focused on food labeling and various risks; and the third one, which I attended, focused on increasing the number of diagnosed coeliac patients. As, in my opinion, was rightly noted, if we enhance the use of screening and make the diagnosis process more efficient, the so-called snowball effect would take place – there would be more motivation to find various solutions or to ease the situation. It is also important to share our knowledge across Europe and to be inspired by our neighbors, as it was discussed.
Afterward, we spent our night at a typical Spanish restaurant with delicious Spanish food and experienced a very emotional flamenco show!
We started the next day with a game where we confirmed that we all have something in common. This was followed by a presentation on food labeling by María van der Hofstadt Rovira (Spain, Scientific Manager AOECS). For example, she mentioned the history and use of the Crossed Grain Trademark symbol and the use of gluten in cosmetics and medicine, which the AOECS has recently commented on in more detail. The delegates from the Netherlands then gave a report on the summer camp they organized in 2024. They described the obstacles they had to overcome (for example, finding sponsors), the course of the entire camp, and organizational tips for future years.
The program continued by discussing new ideas for working groups, whether it was organizing a summer camp or working on social media, Beat the Wheat magazine, or Travel Net. Delegates gradually applied to various working groups for the next year. The election of the new CYE board also took place, which now includes Abigail from Spain (General Coordinator), Arto from Finland (Project Manager), and Dana from the Netherlands (Financial Manager). Jana from Croatia was declared the delegate of the year. Congratulations to all of you!
The afternoon was dedicated to exploring the city, which I and some other CYE members used for a visit of Palacio Real, which is enormous! We also dropped by a delicious gluten-free bakery – The Chök. Do yourself a favour and if you’re ever around, get a pistachio cheesecake! Celicioso is another bakery nearby also worth visiting. In the evening, the program ended with a joint photo shoot, a gala dinner (which was even more special, because FACE was celebrating 30 years of existence!) and a general thank you to Tunde Koltai for many great years of service in AOECS. I won’t say that this was the complete ending, but who wants to hear about us dancing all night and feeling great about a job well done?
QUICK SURVEY
Do you know how many rooms Palacio Real has?
ANSWER – 3 418! (Who would like to clean that?)