Second Annual Conference, 6 to 8 December 1990
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
‘Almost everybody around seems to be quite excited about what is going
on in Eastern and Central Europe.’ When Janusz Grzelak, deputy minister
of Education in Poland, said this in his keynote speech, he did not only
give a good description of the mood prevailing in Europe in 1990 but
also at the second EAIE Conference which took place again in
Amsterdam. The theme of this conference, The New Europe, referred to
the educational cooperation between East and West which was becoming
more and more close, especially during that transition period for Eastern
and Central Europe from central planning to a free market economy. The
increasing level of cooperation was also noted elsewhere in the world.
Peggy Blumenthal of the Institute for International Education, one of the
EAIE Courtesy Associates, said that ‘just as we Americans have been
impressed by how quickly EAIE has become organised and effective as a
functioning whole, we are impressed, sometimes awed and sometimes
dismayed, at how Europe as whole is developing coordinated and
integrated approached to educational exchange.’ The 1990 Conference
also saw the founding of the Professional Sections, emphasising the
professional character of the EAIE. This second conference clearly
proved the dedication of the members to the life and growth of the
association.