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Summary of the FIAT-IFTA Annual Meeting 2022 in Budapest

The 51st FIAT-IFTA I.C.D. Annual Meeting 2022, which took place from 15 to 17 June in Budapest, was unique in many respects. For the first time in two years, it was possible to meet face-to-face among international funeral industry entrepreneurs. Participants came from Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece, USA, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Germany, Estonia, Iceland, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Mauritania, Japan, New Zealand, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Portugal, UK, Israel, Cameroon, Mexico, Slovakia, Philippines, among others.

  
 The FIAT-IFTA I.C.D. Annual Meeting 2022 discussed all the major issues of the organisation - including the budget, welcoming new members including national members from Mexico and Cameroon, discussing marketing activities including the development of Thanos magazine, the organisation's website and social media. The work of the FIAT-IFTA Funeral Heritage Committee and the FIAT-IFTA Funeral Education Exchange Program was also addressed, as well as the prospects for development in these areas. New industry celebrations such as the Celebration of Covid-19 Victims and the Funeral Director Profession Celebration were also proposed and discussed. During the FIAT-IFTA I.C.D. Annual Meeting 2022, the third FIAT-IFTA Vice President was elected - the position was taken by Mylena Cooper from Brazil.

The Budapest meeting was a particularly important event for Poland. During the gala dinner, Mr Marek Cichewicz, president of BONGO International Funeral Services, the first Pole on the FIAT-IFTA board, officially received the presidential insignia from the hands of the outgoing President, Mr Hiroshi Kitajima from Japan. Marek Cichewicz officially took over the position of FIAT-IFTA President
in 2022 - 2024.

During the FIAT-IFTA Conference 2022 the impact of Covid-19 on the industry was discussed in detail (the panel discussion included FIAT-IFTA members from the USA, Japan, Hungary, Latin America and Portugal). The activities of the National Heritage Institute of Hungary on modern ways of cherishing national memory were presented, Furhermore, participants were introduced to the Compassionate Transportation manual prepared by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It was the first time we had a presentation from IATA at our FIAT-IFTA meeting. Representatives of funeral companies from all over the world also participated in study visits to the Fiumei Road Cemetery, the modern Nagytetena Crematorium and the Dohány Street Synagogue.

The 51st FIAT-IFTA I.C.D. Annual Meeting 2022 was hosted by the Hungarian Funeral Association OTEI (Országos Temetkezési Egyesület és Ipartestület), which also hosted a conference of the Visegrad countries (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary) as well as an international funeral trade fair TEMEXPO which was fantastic opportunity for the world funeral industry to get together and share their knowledge, experiences and products.

The next FIAT-IFTA I.C.D. Annual Meeting 2023 will take place in Varna, Bulgaria, and in 2024 representatives of FIAT-IFTA will come to Kraków for the 17th FIAT-IFTA Convention
and 53rd I.C.D. Annual Meeting of FIAT-IFTA.

• Watch wideo 1 from FIAT-IFTA Annual Meeting 2022 in Budapest
• Watch wideo 2 from FIAT-IFTA Annual Meeting 2022 in Budapest

We cordially invite all funeral companies
to join the FIAT-IFTA - The World Organization of Funeral Operatives
www.thanos.org / www.fiat-ifta.com

Photos by Sándor Kerekes for OTEI
Photos by Katarzyna Supa