Minutes of the Annual General Meeting at Morimondo (April 20, 2013)

Published on 1 June 2013
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Sites present :

Aulps (F), Aumône Petit Cîteaux (F), Beauvais (F), Bierzwnik (Pl), Bouchet (F), Breuil-Benoît (F), Bronnbach (A), Chiaravalle della Colomba (I), Clairefontaine (B), Clairvaux (F), Collège des Bernardins (F), Escaladieu (F), Esrum (D), Fontevivo (I), Fontfroide (F), Fontmorigny (F), Herkenrode (B),La Clarté Dieu(F),La Crète(F),La Ramée(B), Loc Dieu (F), Maulbronn (A), Melòn (E), Morimond (F), Morimondo (I), Oia (E), Pontigny (F), Preuilly (F), Roosendael (B), São Cristovão de Lafões (Pt), Signy l’Abbaye (F), St-André en Gouffern (F), Tiglieto (F), Valmagne (F), Vauluisant (F), Vaux-de-Cernay (F), Vignogoul (F), Villers (B), Zdar (T)

Sites represented :

Acey (F), Askeby (S), Auberive (F), Beaumont (F), Beaupré (F), Bebenhausen (A), Belleperche (F), Bonnefont-en-Comminges (F), Bonport (F), Cercanceaux (F), Cherlieu (F), Etoile (F), Flines (F), Heisterbach (A), Henrykow (Pl), Koad Maloen (F), Kolbacz (Pl),La Paix-Dieu(B),La Prée(F), Marianowo (Pl), Neukloster (A), Noirlac (F), Nydala (S) Ourscamp (F), Owinska (Pl), Port royal (F), Reigny (F), Rieunette (B) Royaumont (F), Salem (A), Schöntal (A), Stürzelbronn (F), Trois-Fontaines (F), Valloires (F), Villeneuve (F), Villers-Canivet (F), Vreta (S)

1. Welcome to the Participants

– The President, Dominique Mangeot (Fontmorigny) opened the meeting, by thanking all the organisers of this AGM inItaly, together with those participants who had come to attend. He thanked also the Italian team, especially Dom Mauro Lau (Morimondo), Piero Rimoldi (Morimondo), Sandrina Bandera and Silvia Testa (Chiaravalle della Colomba) as well as the translators. He thanked also Jean-Louis de Lagausie (Fontfroide) and Irène Bien (Herkenrode) and all the Executive Committee. He reminded the meeting, that apart from the official sessions, the AGM is always an occasion for informal meetings between members.

– With 78 abbeys present or represented (38 needed) of the 150 abbeys who had paid their subscriptions to 31 December 2012, the meeting was quorate, and could proceed.

– Every AGM is an opportunity to develop supplementary links between ancient Cistercian sites.

  • This year, we are happy to welcome representatives of Fontevivo and Tiglieto, and to discover, or rediscover new sites through the visits after the AGM.
  • The new members who would be present at the Forum following the AGM were: Petit Maizières, Cordemois, Herkenrode (second membership), Piedra, Tiglieto and Parabiago.

2. Charter Situation (presented by D. Mangeot)

–  See attachments.

– Today the Charter includes 174 members in 11 European countries. These numbers are growing.  As a reminder, there were 131 sites in 2007.

– France had the main representation with 104 sites (60%) although the relative percentage was falling as the French abbeys were 75% in 2007. The Executive Committee reflected this expanding European vision, with French, German and Belgian sites represented.

– The Charter included three abbeys which were Unesco world heritage sites: (Fontenay, Maulbronn and Alcobaça) together with major historic Cistercian abbeys such as Cîteaux, Clairvaux and other founding communities.

– One noted that only around 25% were really active in their membership, as reflected in their attendance on courses, at the AGMs, in local reunions as started this year, and by sending news for the bulletins, and other activities.

– As for joiners and leavers, one noted a pivotal trend in 2010, which involved a partial delinking of subscriptions with the obligation (sometimes impossible for certain sites who are linked to local authorities) for members to endorse the membership requirements.

  • 24 sites had resigned, but their departure was compensated for by new sites from other countries joining, encouraged in this direction by our publications.
  • On the other hand, we noted several French members rejoining in subsequent years.

– The multiplicity of languages is a difficult question since voluntary support has limits, including travel and transport costs, and accommodation for members of the Executive Committee, or for working parties in a wide range of situations and constraints.


3. Report on Activities

– The President outlined the achievements and activities of the Charter in 2012-2013 as follows :

  • French IGN maps (Cîteaux for example sell200 ayear)
  • Book of Members. This had been a necessity, but was a great success, as it added weight to the Charter’s identity when it was submitted to local authorities or prospective members, even if commercial success had not yet been achieved.
  • Publication under the aegis of the Charter: of “Les Vierges du Salve, les Routiers”, an article by Georg Kalckert (Heisterbach), etc.

– Mr. Dubuisson (Villers) reported on the website cister.net and on the  newsletter:

  • Following an investigation at the beginning of 2012 into the usage of the Internet by members, the overhaul of the Charter website had been announced at our last AGM at Valmagne Abbey in April 2012.
  • The new cister.eu website had been launched on 25 October 2012. The aim of this was to:
    • Help our members in their online communications, and to increase the volume of visitors to their websites.
    • Integrate information sent for the Newsletter in pdf format, and sent by post three times a year.
    • Maintain updated reference files for abbeys, by including both text and photos submitted for the book “Sites cisterciens d’Europe” (Cistercian Sites inEurope).
    • Integrate a clickable European map.
    • Develop the site into three languages French, German and English.
    • Hopefully to permit an expansion of traffic to the cister.net web site, relative to the last two years. In 2012 for example, there were 28,546 individual visitors (-24 %). This deterioration is explained in part naturally by the development of Wikipedia and by the sites of individual members, which were becoming progressively overloaded, and to
    • Ensure the highest ranking on search engines such as google.fr
  • A version of the website adapted to smartphones was put online with a user interface and services adapted to these devices on www.cister.net/mobile. A public link was established from cister.net.
  • Soon to be launched, is an online application form for abbeys wishing to become members.
  • The next initiative will be an Intranet site accessible from cister.net, which will be dedicated to internal activities of Charter members, and exclusively reserved for member-access.
  • Newsletter
    • Statistics
      • Bulletin 12 (June 2012) : 26 abbeys contributed – 53 news items (a record)
      • Bulletin 13 (October 2012) : 25 abbeys contributed – 42 news items
      • Bulletin 14 (March 2013) : 25 abbeys contributed – 48 news items
      • Mr. Dubuisson thanked all the contributors to the bulletin and Markus Hoitz and William Cooper Bailey for their work as volunteers with the translations.

– JF Leroux (Clairvaux) presented details of the last training course for guides and organisers, which had been a great success.  This:

  • Was held at Aiguebelle in November 2012,
  • Was attended by 60 participants (a record),
  • Was, as is usual, held in an active abbey, which allowed participants to understand a little of the interior ethos of the monastic life,
  • Featured sessions provided by academics and organisers such as Paul Benoît, Anne Baud, and Arnaud Delerce. Fr Abbot gave the first session.  Excursions also featured in the programme,
  • Featured a definite evolution in participants on the courses which, as JF Leroux noted, was attracting new generations and professionals also. At Aiguebelle, 50% were young people, and half of them were professional guides, and
  • Was reminded by D. Mangeot that one objective was that a future course would be conducted in German.

– Séverine Brisé (Escaladieu) indicated that at a reunion planned for that afternoon, the work done on the “Itinéraire culturel du Conseil de l’Europe” (Cultural Itinerary of the Council of Europe) project obtained by the Charter two years ago would be reviewed. This project should help in paving the way for promoting our Cistercian heritage at European level, and also facilitate obtaining subsidies.

– Philippe d’Allaines (Valmagne) reminded the meeting that the Association of Abbey Vineyards, launched in 2008, included about 20 sites, who wanted to coordinate Quality, Background and Culture. In particular:

  • The annual meeting was held very recently at the church of Saint Germain in Paris.
  • Four new vineyards had joined the association.
  • The immediate objectives were the development of commercial initiatives (improving effectiveness of deliveries, and Internet working). Several members were interested in offering these wines in their shops, and they were invited to make themselves known.

4. Charter Project 2015

–  See attachment.

– The President recalled that following the meeting in Valmagne, the new administration and Executive Committee were working towards 2015, with the focus on revitalisation, consolidation and federalisation of the Charter through the production of a “Charter of Charters” which would unite members.

– This work was being progressed under the aegis of François Launay (Petit-Cîteaux / L’Aumône), who presented a working document.

– The idea was, by means of regional meetings (2 had already been held at Royaumont and Clairvaux), to aim for the AGM at Clairefontaine in 2014 to adopt this Charter, in good time to prepare for Clairvaux in 2015 which should become a unifying event in the same way as happened with Cîteaux in 1998.

– This Charter would recall the founding values of the Association.  In particular, the preamble would include:

  • The existence of a network of Cistercian abbeys,
  • The wish to follow in the footsteps of the founding-members,
  • The framework for interchange and sharing promoted by the association,
  • The need to focus on its European character, and
  • The intention to preserve and hand down its history and traditions.

– It is planned to be divided into several sections:

  • Section 1. Preservation of the “Cistercian Heritage” (patrimoine cistercien). This was the keynote. It encompassed both physical objects and concepts – both present and historical.
  • Section 2. Transmission of the “Cistercian Heritage”. This was the key to the future.  It was a moral obligation.
  • Section 3. Promotion of the “Cistercian Heritage”. This was the key to action. Our collective representation was an advantage vis-à-vis third parties such as the EU, and national and regional governments.
  • Section 4. Conservation and Research into Cistercian history.  This was an essential key to our intangible history.  It allowed one to go beyond pure reading to actual Cistercian buildings and milieu.
  • Section 5. Communication and Education. This was the key to safeguarding our heritage.  The appreciation of the Cistercian milieu by third parties, is one of the guarantees of long term sustainability.
  • Section 6. Sharing. This is another key to safeguarding our heritage.  The Charter association was a privileged place for sharing knowledge and experiences.
  • Section 7. Respect for the Intrinsic Nature of the Sites. Another key to safeguarding our heritage.  This section concerns the majority of our sites, which are not home to religious communities. As a secular association, this is a point of principle, notably with regard to the tourist activities offered.

– The process for editing the Charter would be as follows:

  • Regional Meetings
    • To discuss and share with participants the 7 principles proposed, and
    • Spread over twelve to fifteen months.
  • At the AGM in 2014 at Clairefontaine: to receive the report, and adopt the Charter of values.

– Criteria for Success:

  • A project endorsed by members of the Charter, and
  • Networking between members, notably at the Regional Meetings.

 

5. Finance Report 2012 and Budget for 2013

– See attachments

– Mr. Mangeot announced that the Accounts had been prepared by Jean-François Leroux, with input from Friedhelm Meier. They had subsequently been professionally certified.

– The budget for 2013 included subscriptions of 11,000 €, on the basis of

  • 118 sites at 55 €
  • 18 sites at 82.50 €
  • 26 sites at 110 €
  • 12 sites at 165 €

– No increase in subscription was planned for 2013.

6. Resolutions

 

– The Annual Report was accepted unanimously.

– The Financial Report for 2012 and the budget for 2013 (assuming no increase in subscribers) were accepted unanimously.

– Re-election of office-holders.

  • No additional candidate applications had been received.
  • For re-election :
    • Fontenay (Francesco Aynard)
    • Loc Dieu (Camille de Montalivet)
    • Vaucelles (Alain Lagoutte)
    • Petit Cîteaux/L’Aumône (François Launay)
  • These were approved unanimously.

 

7. Next AGM

– For the AGM of 2015, three nominations have been received: Bronnbach (Germany), Piedra (Spain), and Henrikow (Poland). This item would be reviewed by the Executive Committee.

– The next AGM would be held on 26 April 2014 at Clairefontaine (Belgium).