Feature; Supporting Ukrainian Refugees

Had our venues enforced their contractual right to charge for the event, EuRA would have been wiped out. Completely. We learned that building that personal relationship with the venues who deliver our events is absolutely critical and is the reason we start the planning with our venues four years in advance. By the time we get to the actual conference, we’re all truly friends.

The disappointed team in the office composed and sent the email confirming the cancellation of the event on Monday morning and as it got sent from my email account, I received the replies direct to my Blackberry. Within 20 minutes we had 300 messages, not asking what would happen with refunds or would the conference be re-scheduled, but giving support to the teams involved and expressing how concerned members were about how disappointed we must feel. It is this level of support and enlightenment that truly defines EuRA as a family. When we asked members if they would accept an 80% credit, and that EuRA would charge 20% again to help offset the costs Following this seismic (!) event, the next great challenge to hit not just EuRA, but all its members and the entire world was the pandemic.

On that March day in 2020 as the world started to shut down, all of us were frantically looking at our financial plans and trying to figure out how we were going to get through the next month (as we all thought) with no work and no income. Tad and I worked the numbers for EuRA and as the crisis continued into the summer, took the decision to cut as many costs as possible to shore up the finances in what we felt would be a tsunami of members canceling their subscriptions. Salaries halved, offices closed, working from home just like companies across the world. But once again the extraordinary loyalty and generosity of spirit meant we didn’t lose a single member. Those who were having really tough times stayed part of EuRA at no charge and again the true nature of the EuRA family showed itself. At our 2022 conference in Seville, there was a genuine feeling of joy at being reunited at last.

There have been many lessons learned over the last 25 years. The extraordinary nature of the EuRA membership and their commitment and loyalty to the organisation. The commitment and passion of all the members who served on the Executive Group over the years giving their time and expertise. But most of all, the power of teamwork and the knowledge that we really are all in this together and that together, united, we can achieve so much.

Today the EuRA family together has thrived. Looking back at that journey makes all of us who work for you feel humble and proud that we get the chance to represent the interests of an amazing, committed, professional group of the nicest, funniest and most inspiring people in any industry. Thank you… from our hearts.

Dom & Tad

Feature: BiCortex “Committed to supporting Ukrainian refugees ”

Introduction

Environmental, Social and Governance principles have always been important to our diverse, global team but it wasn’t until quite recently that we made formal commitments in this area, writing policies on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Whistleblowing and Sustainability which are available on our website and to our customers; training staff on these topics and undertaking coordinated commitments to this area.

In terms of corporate governance, we began by contributing with associations and communities in the global mobility industry, such as paradiGM and Relocate the Profit, initiatives that help raise funds for development projects. We’ve been also involved in supporting local sports such as Netball and Spanish Bowling, and providing free document legalisations and translations for Colombian immigrants with low resources, in partnership with iGo Immigration.

However, we wanted to do so much more, particularly when we saw the scale of devastation and

upheaval faced by the millions of refugees generated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The action

According to a UN report, 1.7m people left Ukraine in the first 11 days of the war, with millions more fleeing after. Deeply concerned by the media reports he was seeing, in March 2022 our CEO Inigo Lopez decided to drive over 6,000 km from his home city of Burgos, Spain, to the Ukrainian-Polish border. It took him 48 hours to decide that he should leave. What started as a single man action, ended up as a convoy of three campervans that met by chance during the trip, all equally committed to making a difference.

BiCortex provided humanitarian aid supplied by a mixture of local private donors in Spain led by the Ukrainian community in Burgos, and Global Mobility companies including CSU Mobility in Paris and Proforg in Frankfurt, where Inigo stopped to gather further supplies. The aid was delivered to a refugee camp at the PolishUkrainian border.

The CEO, together with the two other campervans, brought back11 Ukrainian refugees to Spain.

Some of the refugees with Inigo. The woman in green carries EVERYTHING she had time to get before leaving her home.

Refugee camp at the UkrainianPolish border