N° 198 I must apologise, I do apologise !
Nowadays, in the french university, in the European Union, (and probably soon in the ICEO association), all important things must be written in English. What I want to say is very important to me, that’s why, to be perfectly understood, I want to express myself in this foreign language.
1990 – 2014
You can also read the text that was used in 2014, as introduction to the list :
Union européenne – Éclairer la démocratie, pour la sauver [2014.04.28] (pdf)
You can also look at :
N° 117 Récapitulation des activités d’ICEO en France et en Europe Centrale et Orientale [2018] (web)
oo0oo
1990 – 1996 – 2020
In October 1996, at a meeting of the Association’s Board, a discussion took place on the sharing of responsibilities and the work of the main managers. One of the participants asked the General Secretary to make an inventory of all the tasks to be accomplished for the smooth running of the Institute.
The inventory was drawn up, but the great sharing never took place.
oo0oo
2020
Since the end of January, I am no longer Secretary General of ICEO. The person who has shown good willing to take my place has been a member of the Association since 1998.
From the first day after joining us, he became one of the most involved members in ICEO’s activities. He thus knew perfectly well, by accepting the charge, what amount of work it means. In fact, he knew this so well, that before saying yes, he made me promise to keep on sharing the job with him, just as before. –
This is what I tried to do as best as I could.
This means that, although I am no longer General Secretary, I continue my numerous and febrile activities. Far too many, and far too feverish, says my wife.
I know that this makes me nervous, always in a hurry, and, more often than I would like, sometimes unpleasant with my interlocutors, who do not measure, for most of them, or more exactly who don’t want to know, the amount of things I have to do per day, to make ICEO live. But I know too that most of the things that I will not do, won’t ever be done.
The previous and the new Secretary General advancing side by side, their gaze fixed on the same objective
I can be criticized for offensive words, but no one can accuse me of having shown ingratitude.
Because of the responsibilities I have had, I know better than anyone else, what ICEO owes to each of the members of the Institut, and what it owes to all our very ancient and loyal correspondents outside France.
It is therefore without reluctance that I wish to pray to those whom my words may have hurt to accept my apologies.
I hope that this article will help those who have felt offended to finally understand why I, too, may have felt aggressed.
Tiredness and stress do not excuse anything, but they explain everything.
oo0oo
To conclude this letter of apology, let me remind of one of the glorious pages of ICEO. –
Every one of us will recognize his ideas !
oo0oo
[Le 16 avril 2020, 13 H10, J-M. R., Alet-les-Bains] : Thanks for apologizing for some hectic reactions in your behaviour due to your task overloading. Thanks for apologizing. Thanks also for the positive words addressed to that too obliging guy who accepted your succession. (full e-mail).