feiea_annual_report_2008_web.pdf

CONNECTING EUROPE’S COMMUNICATORS 

The Report 2007-08 

FRUITFUL CONVERSATIONS: The image above, captured by 

FEIEA Executive member and 

unofficial photographer Poul 

Erik Larsen (Denmark), creates 

a rich and compelling sense of 

animated communication. FEIEA 

is delighted to have chosen 

it as the thematic image and 

metaphor for this report.

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Goodbye past, hello future! 

Introduction 

Created in 1955, FEIEA serves the sector of internal 

communication professionals, whose responsibilities 

include communication strategy and planning, 

employee engagement and change management, as 

well as the management and operation of print-based, 

audio-visual or electronic communication channels. 

This report reflects FEIEA’s progress and performance 

during 2007-08 and outlines plans for the current year 

and beyond. 

Contents 

Goodbye past, hello future! 2 

President’s message 3 

Highlights 4 

Strategic themes 5 

Income and expenditure 6 

Legal, communications and research 7 

FEIEA Academy 8 

FEIEA Grand Prix 10 

Governance 13 

Membership 14 

Diplomas and Press Cards 15 

The FEIEA family 

- spotlight on the national associations 16 

FEIEA The Report 2007-08 

FEIEA – bridge, gateway and forum 

FEIEA is a non-profit-making federation of European internal 

communication associations, embodying co-operation among 

national member associations, currently in 11 European 

countries, run entirely by volunteers from within those member 

associations. FEIEA aims to speak with a European voice on 

communication issues at a pan-European level in dealings with 

the European Union (EU) and business, economic, academic 

and social organisations across Europe, while remaining 

independent from all of these bodies. FEIEA provides a 

network of professional and collegiate support for business 

communicators. It aims to broaden members’ knowledge of 

corporate communications matters in Europe. Above all, FEIEA 

serves its federated national member associations, providing 

them with a common European meeting point. 

FEIEA is the bridge that links individual national member 

associations and the common European space they share. 

Secondly, it is a gateway to Europe for communication 

practitioners in other countries who aspire to share this space, 

too. Thirdly, FEIEA is a forum for sharing best practice, for the 

study of cultural and other features that shape and influence 

communication and also for interaction with the EU and other 

European-scale entities.

President’s message 

FEIEA President Daniel Ambühl 

The credit crunch and the resulting loss of 

trust are not only questions of political or 

business behaviour, they also affect internal 

communication and the self-confidence of the 

employees. In the present crisis, mistrust and 

criticism infect entire companies whilst the 

management struggles to retrieve the situation. 

Why is this? 

Diminishing entries in order books always have an 

immediate influence on relations in the workplace 

at – and between – all levels. As a minimum the 

loss of power and in the worse case job-losses are 

among the main causes. Quite often organisations 

are unable to cope with the impact of the crisis, 

although management teams so often talk with apparent confidence about 

change and crisis management. We know this too well: Again, though, why? 

Is it due to the lack of the habits of a genuine learning organisation? 

Excellence in internal communication starts with the management insight 

that transparency is the only basis of mutual trust and that the acceptance of 

bottom up feedback is the starting point of adaptation to new situations and 

the introduction of innovation. How near is your company to this point – or 

how far away? 

Time and again: it is not power marketing, lobbying, public and political 

relations that will bring back prosperity and an improvement in economic 

terms and trade, but it is the turning into reality of the so often conjured up 

information and communication age, especially inside companies. So, let us 

change our attitudes! Let us create new trust! 

Yours 

Daniel L Ambühl 


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highlights 

GOOdbyE PAST, hELLO FUTURE: The last year has seen 

FEIEA reflecting on its purpose and understanding how the 

member associations view FEIEA. FEIEA’s past successes and 

its traditions provide some warm memories but FEIEA’s focus 

is now on the present and future needs of Europe’s internal 

communication professionals. 

VELENjE, APRIL 2007: The spring Executive meeting took 

place in the mining town of Velenje in northern Slovenia, thanks 

to some excellent organisation by FEIEA Secretary General 

Diana Janežič and Vesna Petkovšek, who was elected to the 

FEIEA Executive later in the year. Thanks also to FEIEA’s member 

association in Slovenia, PRSS, and to Gorenje for hospitality and 

hosting meetings. 

FEIEA GRANd PRIx: Europe’s internal communication awards 

competition continues to be FEIEA’s flagship activity. Five new 

categories were introduced and the 2007 Grand Prix attracted 

209 entries from nine countries. 

bRUSSELS, SEPTEMbER 2007: The Pan-European Jury met 

in the Belgian capital over three days to judge the semi-final and 

final rounds of judging in the FEIEA Grand Prix Awards. 

LONdON, NOVEMbER 2007: Over three intensive days, 

the UK member association CiB hosted the FEIEA Academy, 

the Grand Prix Awards ceremony and annual Council meeting 

and the autumn Executive meeting. FEIEA was grateful to 

Westminster City Council for free use of meeting rooms at City 

Hall and also the Council Chamber – a fitting venue for what 

proved to be an exceptional Academy, the annual one-day 

conference. The Grand Prix Awards were presented as part of a 

combined ceremony, bringing winners from the European and 

UK national awards competitions together on the same stage at 

the splendid Park Lane Hotel. 

WIdENING PARTICIPATION: After much consideration, 

FEIEA introduced a new category of participation to enable 

individuals to ‘join’ FEIEA. Individual participation is available to 

communication practitioners in non-FEIEA countries; individuals 

in former FEIEA countries are also eligible. 

A ‘hOME’ FOR FEIEA: The FEIEA Executive also decided to 

give FEIEA two ‘homes’. One will be the legal domicile, expected 

to be Brussels (as a legal entity, FEIEA is established under 

Belgian law). The other will be the office of the current President. 

This will be the effective address for FEIEA during the term of 


office of each President and will move with each new incoming 

President. 

ExECUTIVE ChANGES: During this period, FEIEA welcomed 

two new Executive members – Mario Branco, who is President 

of the APCE, the Portuguese association, and Vesna Petkovšek, 

Vice President of the Slovenian association. We wish them both 

a stimulating and productive term at the heart of FEIEA. 

LISbON, APRIL 2008: FEIEA was very well-hosted by APCE, 

the Portuguese association. Following a successful Executive 

meeting, FEIEA President Daniel Ambuhl made a presentation 

about the future of internal communication to an audience of 

APCE members and guests in the characterful surroundings of 

the Carris bus and tram museum. Thanks to APCE and Carris for 

their valuable support. 

bRUSSELS, SEPTEMbER 2008: It was back to Brussels once 

again for the Pan-European Grand Prix Awards Jury to complete 

the judging for the 2008 competition. 

REGENSdORF, OCTObER 2008: SVIK, the Swiss association, 

staged the FEIEA Academy at the high tech premises of 

multi-media company Habegger AG in the neat Swiss town 

of Regensdorf, near Zurich. The FEIEA and SVIK Grand Prix 

award presentations were made in a joint ceremony also 

care of Habegger, which generously also hosted FEIEA’s 

customary autumn Executive and Council meetings. Thanks 

also to Bluepark and The Blueballroom for their own valuable 

sponsorship. 

Colours of Lisbon, Europe and FEIEA

Strategic themes 

Tactics may change but the strategy remains the same. The 

current strategy will take FEIEA to 2012. The key themes are: 

• Connecting national associations – strengthening 

relationships, promoting co-operation and mutual 

understanding between existing member associations and 

bringing new members into the FEIEA family 

• Connecting individuals - creating opportunities for 

communicators from across Europe to work together and 

widening participation to enable individuals to participate in 

FEIEA 

• Sharing theory, improving practice - offering pan- 

European professional development and bench-marking 

activities for member associations and their members. 

• Portal to Europe - providing an increasingly valuable 

source of information about European institutions 

Room for debate: FEIEA Academy, Westminster Council Chamber 

Varied diet: at least five conversations are taking place here! 


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Income and expenditure 

Overview 

FEIEA receives income from three main sources. These are the: 

annual subscription paid by the national member 

• associations, which very broadly provides two-thirds of 

FEIEA’s income. This is a per capita fee of just €3 based on 

the size of national membership. However, collection is 

sometimes problematic and this can have an impact on 

cash-flow 

Grand Prix awards entrance fees, the second-largest income 

• generator 

• the sale of press cards, which brings in further income, 

although on a small scale, normally measured in hundreds of 

euros. 

Occasionally, FEIEA also receives sponsorship income in support 

of special events. FEIEA’s expenditure covers costs in three 

main areas: 

travel, accommodation and set-up costs for the 

• Executive 

and Council meetings 

the cost of the 

• Grand Prix judging weekend – a fairly new 

and very worthwhile area of spend, given the opportunity 

it provides to strengthen the pan-European and interactive 

quality of the judging process 

the website: 

• FEIEA pays webmaster, webspace and hosting 

fees. 

As a non-profit-making entity, FEIEA aims to balance annual 

expenditure and income and to produce a small surplus each 

year. However, the late payment of annual subscriptions by 

several associations has become a recurrent feature in recent 

years. This, together with a tolerant attitude towards Grand Prix 

and Academy entrance fees, has frequently led to a shortfall 

in income against expenditure. This became acute at the 

start of 2008, as shown in the table above. The Executive has 

determined that this needs to change. 

Please note that the use of the decimal point and comma used in this table reflects standard practice in continental Europe but not UK usage 


2008 €) Actual 2007 (€) 

(Actual) 

2006 (€) 

(Actual) 

Making sure it all adds up: FEIEA accounts 

FEIEA’s areas of expenditure are well-known from the 

start of each year and the Executive will continue 

to keep costs under review. However, the financial 

management priority is now about income. Firstly, it will 

ensure money due to FEIEA is collected in good time; 

secondly, it will explore new sources of income. 

2005 (€) 

(Actual) 

2004 (€) 

(Actual) 

2003 (€) 

(Actual) 

Income 23.389,19 16.193,08 15.000,00 14.416,85 18.429,33 14.839,26 

Expenditure 15.591,44 23.190,37 13.000,00 15.400,52 9.957,57 14.999,14 

Starting capital 6.520,99 21.851,76 28.849,05 47.354,25 38.882.49 40.042,37

Legal, communications and research 

FEIEA: Many flags, one federation 

Legal 

FEIEA’s legal entity comes under the jurisdiction of Belgian law. 

It came to light in the latter part of 2006 that, for reasons that 

remain unclear, FEIEA’s legal registration had become confused 

with that of the Belgian association. This has now been resolved. 

However, the Executive has also addressed the best place 

of domicile for FEIEA. The reasoning took into account the 

following points: FEIEA has no central office and no staff; it 

owns no property; its activity is devolved to individual members 

of the Executive; FEIEA-related activity can take place in any 

of the FEIEA member countries or even elsewhere, so there 

is no inherent technical, statutory or practical advantage for 

FEIEA to be registered in any one country rather than another. 

Given these facts, Executive members set out to investigate the 

process required to register FEIEA as an entity in each of the 

member countries. In 2008, the Executive decided to adopt the 

‘two homes’ solution. One ‘home’ is the legal domicile, expected 

to be Brussels, reflecting FEIEA’s establishment under Belgian 

law. The other is the office of the current President, which is 

the effective address for FEIEA during the term of office of each 

President. When each incumbent’s mandate ends, the incoming 

President’s address will become FEIEA’s operational address. 

Communications 

Apart from the annual report, the website has become FEIEA’s 

main communication channel. Dortmund-based Michael 

Kalthoff-Mahnke was commissioned to provide a webmaster 

service at the start of 2007, the site was re-designed and relaunched 

in summer 2007. The website address remains the 

same - www.feiea.com 

Research 

In line with the strategic aim of sharing theory, improving 

practice, FEIEA conducts pan-European internal communication 

surveys. Known as Delphi Studies, these take place roughly 

every three years. In 2007, FEIEA invited proposals for the latest 

Delphi Study, to be conducted in 2008, and commissioned 

Austria-based research consultancy Attigence. As with the two 

previous Delphi Studies, Carola Golser-Wamser was the research 

professional at the heart of the exercise. The results would be 

presented in 2009. 


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FEIEA Academy 

In its Academy series, FEIEA explores themes of interest to 

business communicators from across Europe, who come to 

the Academy to share perspectives, ideas and experiences. 

2007 LONdON 

The 2007 FEIEA Academy conference took place in the Council 

Chamber of Westminster City Council in London. Speakers 

considered the theme ‘culture, codes and filters’, exploring 

the cultural and cognitive layers that shape how people and 

organisations communicate. Local, national and corporate 

cultures can each play a role in communication and convey 

meaning to the audience. Whether or not the perceived 

meaning is the one we intended will depend on how much 

understanding we have of these hidden layers of influence and 

how effectively we can work through them. 

After an opening address by Bill Quirke, foremost authority in 

the UK on internal communication, delegates heard from Ian 

Dalton, director responsible for communications at European 

financial settlement house Euroclear. Ian gave an honest 

assessment of Euroclear’s experience of communicating across 

national cultural boundaries. Doris Ladewig of Austrian Erste 

Bank outlined the complexities involved in keeping a multinational 

IT workforce engaged across the central-eastern 

European and Balkan region. Mark Watkins and Josef Goetz 

described the cultural factors at play in a merger between 

Danish pharmaceutical company Nycomed and Germany’s 

ALTANA Pharma. People in Business consultant Jenny Davenport 

considered the cognitive factors involved in receiving and 

Culture: Bill Quirke, FEIEA Academy, London 


interpreting messages. Woven between the main sessions were 

short ‘Meet the Winners’ presentations from FEIEA Grand Prix 

award-winners. Feedback from delegates and speakers alike was 

excellent. 

2008 - REGENSdORF 

The following year, early publicity suggested Munich would be 

the intended location for the 2008 Academy. However, by the 

summer, it became clear that the German national association 

would be unable to host the event, so an alternative had to be 

found. Thanks to FEIEA President Daniel Ambühl and also to the 

co-operation of the Swiss association, Svik, the Academy was 

diverted to Regensdorf, just outside Zurich, where it took place 

within cool, ultra-modern surroundings at multimedia company 

Habegger AG at the end of October.

Westminster Council House – FEIEA Academy 2007 venue 

Frames of reference: Jenny Davenport, FEIEA Academy, London 

Under the theme ‘Moving images that move employees’ 

minds’, the Academy looked at the advantages, the limitations 

and the potential of film and other visual media in internal 

communication. After Habegger chief Jürg Schwarz opened 

the event, Linz, Austria-based consultant Rosemarie Schuller 

described her client work producing film content for in-house 

TV channels. Samuel Röthlisberger gave an entertaining 

account of his company Bluepark AG’s approach to building 

understanding through the moving image. Christian Rothmüller 

explained IBM Austria’s use of film on the internet, while Zurichbased 

film director Peter Beck provided insights and examples 

about scenography in film-making for workplace training. 

The Academy closed with a glimpse of the fast-emerging 

use of virtual worlds in internal corporate environments, with 

a live demonstration of Second Life from David Burden of 

Birmingham, UK-based Daden Ltd. 

The next FEIEA Academy will take place in Terme Olimia, 

Slovenia in October 2009. Programme details will be available at 

www.feiea.com. 

A study in concentration: FEIEA Academy 


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FEIEA Grand Prix 

Recognising the best 

in Europe 

FEIEA’s annual Grand Prix awards 

competition is open to anyone involved in 

business communications with employees or 

organisation members as their main target 

audience. Reflecting a sharpening focus 

on internal communication, the number 

of categories for external communications 

has been progressively reduced. The 2009 

competition will focus exclusively on internal 

communication. This section reports on the 

2007 and 2008 competitions. 

2007 

The FEIEA Grand Prix 2007 attracted 209 entries 

from 10 countries. Each award-winning entry 

went through a rigorous three-stage judging 

process, including an assessment by a pan- 

European panel of experienced communications 

professionals who met in Brussels in September. 

The judging panel was joined for the first time 

by representatives from the European Parliament 

and the Council of the European Union. 

FEIEA President Daniel Ambühl presented 

the awards at a glittering gala dinner in the 

ballroom of London’s Park Lane Hotel on Friday 

9 November. Hosted by the British Association 

of Communicators in Business (CiB), the awards 

evening combined the FEIEA Grand Prix awards 

with CiB’s communication strategy awards 

and communicator of the year presentations. 

The event was attended by more than 300 

communicators from across Europe. 

Earlier in the day, during the FEIEA Academy, 

delegates had the opportunity to hear winners 

from the Grand Prix 2006 talk about their 

successful entries. 

The combined FEIEA and CiB awards dinner 

was held in the magnificent art deco ballroom 

of London’s Park Lane Hotel, where winners 

celebrated late into the night 


Award winners in 2007 

Best internal multi-language publication 

1st Agenda (Volvo) Sweden 

2nd Voyage (for Eurostar by Beetroot Publishing) UK 

3rd IT Matters (s IT Solutions) Austria 

Best internal magazine/news-magazine 

1st You and Me (for Deutsche Telekom AG by G+J Corporate 

Media GmbH), 

Germany 

2nd Enterprising (for The Prince’s Trust by Beetroot Publishing), UK 

3rd Mijn Zorg (for Achmea Zorg by Maters & Hermsen 

Journalistiek) 

Netherlands 

Best internal newspaper/newsletter 

1st Fortis Tribune (Fortis) Belgium 

2nd DSB i dag (DSB) Denmark 

3rd Hexagon (for F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd by BurdaYukom 

Publishing GmbH) 

Germany 

Best annual report 

1st Creating Better Futures: Annual Report 06/07 (Advance 

Housing & Support) 

UK 

2nd Annual Report 2006: Economic Region Austria-CEE 

(Siemens AG Österreich) 

Austria 

3rd Rapport d’activités 2006 (Vivaqua) Belgium 

Best front cover 

1st Hexagon (for F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd by BurdaYukom 

Publishing GmbH) 

Germany 

2nd Novice (Merkur) Slovenia 

3rd Aposta (CTT Correios de Portugal) Portugal 

Grand Prix presentations: Ballroom, Park Lane Hotel, London

FEIEA President 

Daniel Ambühl 

Grand Prix winners: the Volvo ‘Agenda’ team with Daniel 

Ambühl 

Best photograph 

1st Vestas Inside (Vestas Wind Systems A/S) Denmark 

2nd Aposta (CTT Correios de Portugal) Portugal 

2nd Mijn Zorg (for Achmea Zorg by Maters & Hermsen 

Journalistiek) 

Netherlands 

3rd News4U (Fortis Insurance Belgium) Belgium 

Best internal electronic newsletter 

1st D-zine (Dexia Banque) Belgium 

2nd Together Online (Siemens AG Österreich) Austria 

3rd Inside (for The Cabinet Office by Redhouse Lane 

Communications) 

UK 

Best intranet site 

1st Together: The Siemens Community (Siemens AG 

Österreich) 

Austria 

Best audio-visual communication 

1st Our Time (Nycomed) Denmark 

2nd WAW! The Movie (AXA Belgium) Belgium 

Best internal communication strategy – single issue 

1st Der Kick Off 07 zur Internen Strategie-Kommunikation 

(Mobilkom AG) 

Austria 

2nd Preparing for Inspection (Westminster City Council) UK 

Best internal communication strategy – ongoing project 

1st Building for Tomorrow (Wolseley) UK 

Best internal communication strategy – multinational project 

No awards were made in this class in 2007 

Lavatory 

humour – 

extract from 

the Grand 

Prix jury blog, 

September 

2008 

A sense of ceremony: 

Toastmaster Tony Rance, 

Grand Prix awards, London 

The Grand Prix judging weekend moves into its 

second day. Magazines, newspapers, e-newsletters, 

intranets, communication strategies and more have 

all passed under the judges’ magnifying glass. On 

one magazine cover, a seat with the lid open in a 

toilet cubicle provoked much discussion. Danish 

judge Poul Erik Larsen explained that the scene was 

an employee’s work-place. Inside, the cleaner says 

that if people are bothered about the nature of her 

work, that’s their problem. “Perhaps the lid being 

open symbolises that people need to be openminded!” 

suggested Poul Erik. Laughter among the 

judges, then on to the next entry. Outside, it’s sunny. 

Inside, we plough on. A deadline looms - we must 

finish by tomorrow lunch-time and there’s plenty 

more to do. 


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Sometimes the best 

communication cannot be 

categorized: special prize for 

LF6A (Norway) 

Best magazine: 

One (Switzerland) 

Best newspaper: Die Post 

(Switzerland) 


FEIEA Grand 

Prix 2008 

Multi-language joint class 

winner: Agenda (Sweden) 

Best front cover: 

SF Live (Switzerland) 

Best photo: Aspekt (Denmark) 

To download a booklet showing the winning 

entries and a selection of the comments from 

judges, please visit the Grand Prix section of 

the FEIEA website (www.feiea.com). 

In 2008 the Grand Prix attracted 148 entries from 10 countries. This marks 

a reduction in the number of entries, and FEIEA will seek to rebuild entry 

numbers in 2009. The pan-European judging weekend was held in Brussels, 

where a representative of the European Commission joined the judging panel. 

The awards were presented in Regensdorf, Switzerland on 30 October 2008. 

Award winners in 2008 

Best internal multi-language publication 

1st Globe (Georg Fischer AG) Germany 

1st Agenda (Volvo Car Corporation) Sweden 

3rd Danske (Danske Bank Group) Denmark 

The judges awarded a certificate of merit to ‘LF6A: Valhall at 25’, 

produced in Norway by Tacticus AS for BP Norway. 

Best internal magazine/news-magazine 

1st One (Crédit Suisse) Switzerland 

2nd Aspekt (TDC) Denmark 

3rd www.ifs.at (Institut für Sozialdienste) Austria 

Best internal newspaper/newsletter 

1st Die Post (Die Post) Switzerland 

2nd Globe (Georg Fischer AG) Germany 

3rd DSB i dag (DSB) Denmark 

Best annual report 

No awards were made in this class in 2008 

Best front cover 

1st Live (SF Swiss Television) Switzerland 

2nd News4U (Fortis Insurance Belgium) Belgium 

3rd GO’ JYSK (JYSK) Denmark 

Best photograph 

1st Aspekt (TDC) Denmark 

2nd 13 (Vlaamse Gemeenschap) Belgium 

3rd Aposta (CTT Correios de Portugal) Portugal 

Best internal electronic newsletter (interactive) 

1st Diálogoonline (Siemens) Portugal 

2nd Red Net (Die Mobiliar) Switzerland 

Best internal electronic newsletter (static) 

1st Alumni (Axa) UK 

2nd Sem Filtro (Ipsis) Portugal 

Best intranet site 

1st Post Wide Web (Die Post) Switzerland 

2nd One Intra (Austrian Airlines) Austria 

3rd International Events Website (Siemens) Portugal 

Best audio-visual communication 

1st Presentation of new portal and ID (Manchete) Portugal 

2nd Together.Screen (Siemens AG Österreich) Austria 

3rd Innovation Through Food (Anchor Trust) UK 

Best internal communication strategy – single issue 

1st Euro 2008 (Mobilkom AG) Austria 

Best internal communication strategy – ongoing project 


Best internal communication strategy – multinational project 


Year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 

No. of entries: 180 (target) 148 209 198 158 230 156

Governance 

The governance of FEIEA’s affairs is assured through the 

interaction of two groups, the FEIEA Executive Committee 

and the FEIEA Council, both chaired by the FEIEA 

President. 

The FEIEA Executive Committee meets formally twice a year 

in spring and autumn and informally by ‘audio meeting’ 

(teleconference). This group is the FEIEA management team 

which carries out FEIEA’s activities, controls its finances ad 

conceives its future. The Executive line-up in 2008 was: 

FEIEA President Daniel Ambühl (Switzerland), Immediate 

Past President Birgit Snizek (Austria), Vice-President and 

Communications Director Steve Doswell (UK), Secretary-General 

Diana Janežič (Slovenia), Treasurer-General Marie-Eve Deltenre 

(Belgium), Grand Prix Director Lyndsay Markham (UK), Press Card 

& Diploma of Honour Co-ordinator Poul Erik Larsen (Denmark), 

General Members Attilio de Pascalis (Italy), Gerhard Vilsmeier 

(Germany). Mario Branco (Portugal) and Vesna Petkovšek 

(Slovenia) were elected to the Executive, bringing the combined 

team strength to 11. This remained the Executive line-up at the 

end of 2008. 

The Executive has decided to increase the time available 

to consider FEIEA business together. From 2009, the audio 

meetings will be held monthly. 

The FEIEA Council is the ‘parliament’ of the national member 

associations. Through its yearly autumn meeting, the Council 

governs FEIEA in line with its statutes. The Council meeting is 

normally attended by up to two delegates from each member 

association, typically the current national President and a 

designated European representative, plus all members of the 

FEIEA Executive. 

In statutory terms, the Executive and the Council are distinct 

governance bodies. However, some national associations have 

found it increasingly difficult to send national representatives to 

the annual Council meeting and the size of the Council meeting 

has been declining. FEIEA is keen to reverse this trend. 

Council hosts Council: FEIEA Council meeting at City Hall, Westminster 


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Membership 

FEIEA Executive meeting, Westminster City Council, November 2007 

FEIEA’s membership comprises national member 

associations of business communicators who mainly work 

in the field of internal communication. Currently, the 

FEIEA federation comprises national associations in Austria, 

belgium, denmark, Germany, hungary, Italy, Portugal, 

Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ireland. 

Over the 50 years since it was founded in 1955, FEIEA has 

seen many member associations join, leave and often re-join 

at a later date. Following the most recent departure of the 

Swedish association, Rim, in 2006, the FEIEA Executive resolved 

to embark on its present ‘reinforce, reconnect and recruit’ 

membership strategy. 

This involves: reinforcing relationships with existing member 

associations so that these continue to recognise the value of 

active participation in FEIEA; re-establishing connections with 

former members so that these might return to membership; 

and cultivating contacts in national associations which have 

no former connection with FEIEA, in order to recruit them into 

FEIEA in future. 

All three strands are important and individual members of 

the Executive each have an outreach responsibility to build 

relationships in countries contiguous to FEIEA’s present borders. 

FEIEA has also developed a model for another form of 

participation, in which individual communicators in non-FEIEA 

or former FEIEA countries may participate in FEIEA. The FEIEA 

Executive plans to implement this during 2009. 


First the joke, then the pose: Suzanne Peck receives the FEIEA Diploma 

of Honour

diplomas and Press Cards 

diplomas of honour 

Every year, FEIEA awards its Diploma of Honour to individuals, 

nominated by the national associations, »in recognition of 

outstanding services in the promotion of better human 

relationships in industry«. 

Press Cards 

FEIEA continues to provide a press card, following debate 

the about card’s purpose and its position among FEIEA 

services to individual members. 

In 2007-08, FEIEA issued 51 press cards, with most demand in 

Germany and Austria and, to a lesser extent, the UK. The card 

is presently available to members of all national associations 

– with one exception - within FEIEA, subject to a successful 

application handled by the national associations themselves. 

The exception is ABCI in Belgium, which offers its own press 

card. 

There are three key considerations: the press card’s relevance 

to the practice of internal communication, security and 

appropriate use. 

On the questions of relevance and appropriate use, FEIEA 

recognises that many practitioners do not practise journalism 

and do not see themselves as journalists, although many still do. 

However, there remains a certain level of demand for the card. 

On the question of security, FEIEA has limited information about 

applicants and it relies on the national associations to verify that 

applications are legitimate. 

During 2008, FEIEA’s Press Card Co-ordinator Poul Erik Larsen 

reviewed FEIEA’s press card policy and the Executive endorsed 

his findings and recommendations. From 2009, the card will 

be produced with a two-year validity limit. The date limit will 

be printed onto the card and by this, FEIEA will abolish the 

antiquated practice of issuing annual stickers. Holders will 

be asked to re-confirm – via their national association - their 

eligibility to hold the card by the time of each renewal period. 

FEIEA will make a charge for issuing renewed cards. The price 

to members varies slightly from country to country, with each 

national association making a handling charge. The application 

process and rules of use can be seen at www.feiea.com . 

Recognition: Rudi Schärer with FEIEA Diploma of Honour 


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The FEIEA family 

- spotlight on the national associations 

A key part of FEIEA’s purpose for each national member 

association is to be a gateway to its fellow member 

associations around Europe. here is a spotlight on key facts 

about each member of the FEIEA family, with information 

provided by the associations themselves: 

AUSTRIA 

Name of Association: vIKOM 

President: Dr. Rosemarie Schuller 

Membership: About 200 

Key developments in 2008: 

Main activities: be a platform for all communicators in 

business, keep in touch and get together, education and 

training, regular member surveys amongst our members 

Seminar/conference themes: Learning from unconventional 

communicators, Examples: The Scary Guy www.thescaryguy. 

com/ (complete with tattoos, shaven head, body piercings and 

outlandish clothes), who works mainly with young people who 

accept him because of his image, to tackle anger, hate, violence, 

drugs and alcohol. Also Michaela Dorfmeister, Austrian Ski 

racing ace, on how to be successful, and a communication 

agency for dogs. Since time is limited and people have fewer 

chances to travel, we have developed the format of the “lounge”, 

a monthly evening event where well-known journalists, 

politicians, general managers or outstanding agency heads 

speak for about one hour about really interesting themes. 

Priorities for 2009: to keep our members interested and able to 

attend our meetings, seminars and lounges. 2009 conference 

theme: “Every crisis is also an opportunity” 

bELGIUM 

Name of Association: Association Belge de la Communication 

Interne (ABCI) 

President: Christine Massin 

Membership: 156 

Members active in FEIEA: Marie-Eve Deltenre (Treasurer- 

General); Bénédicte Papeloer (Council). 

Key developments in 2008: A new name, reflecting the 

evolution of internal communication, and a new website, which 

is now the major communication tool for ABCI. 

Main activities: promotion, development of internal 

communication and press (code of ethics, workshops, magazine 

(Rédactuel), newsletters, ‘Plumes d’or’ awards competition 

Seminar/conference themes: intranet, web, social media and 

the impact on business communications and public relations 


Innovations: A grant to 

support research into internal 

communication 

Priorities in 2009: Launch of 

Rédactuweb, the online version 

of ABCI’s magazine, in order to 

reduce costs, development of the 

intranet, collaboration with the 

Flemish branch, workshops 

Next three years: Get more 

members, Build a real network 

of communicators, Become 

recognized as a point of reference 

in the field of communication 

dENMARK 

Name of Association: 

Foreningen for Interne 

Kommunication (FIK) 

President: Kenneth Wilson 

Membership: Approx. 75 

Members active in FEIEA: Poul 

Erik Larsen (Executive). Vacant: 

Council member 

Key developments in 2008: 

Reorganising the association after 

a couple of years with no activity 

in which we lost quite a few 

members. 

Main activities: Member 

meetings 

Seminar/conference themes:

Executive meeting, Lisbon 

Making the right connections: APCE President and FEIEA Executive 

member Mario Branco 

How to deal with e-mails; Problems with monitoring 

people’s activities; How to make better magazines; Why art 

in companies? ‘Whole brain’ thinking; What is Second Life? 

Inspiration to better writing 

Innovations: New services, use of new technology 

Priorities for 2009: Organise new meetings; Improve the 

homepage; Get our old members back. 

Next three years: Survival. 

GERMANy 

Name of Association: Deutsche Public Relations Gesellschaft 

President: Uli Nies 

Membership: Approx. 300 

Members active in FEIEA: Gerhard Vilsmeier (Executive); 

Michael Kalthoff-Mahnke (Webmaster – commercial) 

Key developments in 2008: The DPRG-working team »Internal 

Communications« met three times 

Main activities: Strengthening the internal communications 

group within DPRG 

Seminar/conference themes: Media use in 2020 and 

consequences for internal communications; Self-perception of 

internal communicators; Case studies: internal communications 

at ING DiBa, Frankfurt; Siegwerk Druckfarben (ink production): 

Branding and leadership from inwards to outwards 

Priorities for 2009: Set up the Internal Communications 

networking group 

Next three years: Measurement; How to improve the position 

of internal communications within organizations. 

hUNGARy 

Name of Association: Hungarian Association of Scientific, 

Company & Industrial Editors 

The Hungarian association has not been active within FEIEA 

for several years. The FEIEA expects to clarify the status of 

Hungarian membership during 2009. 

IRELANd 

Name of Association: Internal communicators in Ireland are 

represented by the British Association of Communicators in 

Business (CiB) - see United Kingdom 

ITALy 

Name of Association: Associazione per lo Sviluppo delle 

Comunicazioni Aziendali in Italia (Ascai). 

President: Andrea Zorzi 

The Italian association has not been active within FEIEA over the 

last year. FEIEA hopes to renew contact during 2009. 

PORTUGAL 

Name of Association: Associação Portuguesa de Comunicação 

de Empresa (APCE) 

President: Mário Branco 


Members active in FEIEA: Mário Branco (Executive); Paula 

Portugal Mendes, António Rapoula and João Pedro Sousa 

(Council) 

Key developments in 2008: APCE met its priority strategic 

objectives set for 2008: a sustainable growth (27 new member); 


17

18 

increased reputation (companies’ trust and support to the 

APCE initiatives, several invitations from universities); and new 

challenges, both locally and at the European level 

Main activities: Networking events such as a one-day 

Corporate Social Responsibility conference (more than 100 

participants), workshops and debate with FEIEA President Daniel 

Ambühl 

Working visits to company members with debate 

National Grand Prix (184 entries from 64 organizations), Gala 

Awards (250 people gathered to celebrate Excellence in 

Communication) and election of the Communicator of the Year 

Internal Communication Study at national level 

Publication of two issues of the magazine “Comunicação 

Empresarial” 

APCE Karting Cup social event (60 participants) 

Active participation in FEIEA activities: spring Executive meeting 

held in Lisbon, participation in the Grand Prix Jury, strong 

Portuguese presence at the Grand Prix award presentations in 

Zurich (Regensdorf ) 

Development by an independent commission and public 

presentation of the Code of Conduct (public discussion 

proposed to 11 superior schools) 

Seminar/conference themes: CSR and Ethics were the main 

themes 

Innovations: building a completely new and modern website 

platform; proposal of a first Code of Conduct; Karting Cup social 

event 

Priorities for 2009: launching the APCE Technical Academy 

for young practitioners complementary training; preparing 

elections and organizing a new reinforced management team 

Grand Prix judges Carola Minder (Switzerland)and Doris Ladewig (Austria) 


Abstract discussion: Benedicte Papeloer, Grand Prix jury, Brussels 

Next three years: to grow in national representativeness and 

resources; to consolidate APCE’s reputation and to lobby for the 

profession; to meet new objectives, mainly in technical training 

and in international activity 

SLOVENIA 

Name of Association: SIK, part of the PR Society of Slovenia, 

www.piar.si 

President: Jana Lutovac Lah 


Members active in FEIEA: Vesna Petkovšek, Diana Janežič 

Key developments in 2008: several very well-attended 

regional training events, which gave us new knowledge and 

opportunities to co-operate with colleagues; articles on IC and 

SIK’s activities in every issue of the Slovenian PR association’s 

magazine PR2. We also got in touch with the Slovenian HRM 

association to see if we can co-operate on some projects, 

exchange knowledge and share experiences. 

Seminar/conference themes: Creative and effective 

strategies for sponsors; Relations with local communities; 

Event management; Techniques of persuasion; Developing the 

potential of internal communication - ecology as a competitive 

position; energy as technology in the new era; public 

information; elections and media power; state protocol, and 

lobbying. Visits were also made to the Slovenia TV headquarters, 

a regional newspaper and a regional radio station 

Priorities for 2009: Organize Papirus award for the best internal 

publications; organize work study days at companies in different 

regions in Slovenia; organize regional training events; complete 

research about internal communication in Slovenia; organize

est practice working events outside of Slovenia in May and 

September; establish the basic “link” for networking, and set up 

a library. 

Next three years: Connecting practitioners, especially for 

internal communication; exchange best practice among them 

and look to the future 

SWITZERLANd 

Name of Association: Svik 

President: Daniel L. Ambühl, 


Members active in FEIEA: Daniel L. Ambühl (President), Carola 

Minder (Grand Prix judge). Vacant: Council member 

Key developments in 2008: The annual SVIK-Conference; 

organising and delivering the SVIK/FEIEA Academy in 

Regensdorf; education strategy 

Main activities: Professional events; research in our domain; 

documentation; coaching of members and businesses; legal 

aspects and trade union issues 

Seminar/conference themes: Techniques of IC (tools, 

psychology and rhythm); skills, including workplace journalism, 

business communication, management, etc. 

Priorities for 2009: Annual general meeting, Svik Conference (14 

May, Zurich); SVIK Academy and SVIK awards ceremony(both 29 

October, Zurich) 

Next three years: Moving from voluntary to professional 

management of SVIK; fill in the gaps in the SVIK committee 

UNITEd KINGdOM 

Name of Association: British Association of Communicators in 

Business (CiB) 

President: Paul Brasington 


Key developments in 2008: Adoption of a new goal: 

to change our status to become the Institute of Internal 

Communication. Launch of a foundation diploma, the first stage 

in a new national professional accreditation programme for 

internal communication practitioners. 

Main activities: annual conference, Communicator of the Year, 

awards competition, regional events, short-course training 

programme 

Seminar/conference themes: Change and engagement, storytelling, 

corporate case-studies 

Key speakers: American internal communications guru TJ 

Larkin 

Innovations: Change to CiB’s governance structure, notably 

with a Board and a Chief Executive 

Priorities for 2009: Celebrate our 60th anniversary, make 

preparations for the proposed change of status 

Next three years: Establish the Institute of Internal 

Communications, recruit a new chief executive, separate our 

national conference from our awards ceremony and make them 

both successful, increase our membership and maintain our 

financial strength as we emerge from the recession 


19

Connecting Europe’s communicators: 

Poul Erik Larsen (Denmark) and Rosalina Tanganho (Portugal) 

Contributors/contacts 

This annual report was written and edited by Steve Doswell. 

The Grand Prix report was prepared by Lyndsay Markham. 

Additional material was provided by Daniel Ambühl and Marie- 

Eve Deltenre. Thanks to various colleagues around Europe who 

provided information about the national member associations 

(section 16 – the FEIEA family). Special thanks to Sebastjan 

Kurmanšek of Gorenje, Slovenia for donating design services, 

and to Poul Erik Larsen for all photography. 

For more information about FEIEA and contacts, please visit our 

website at www.feiea.com

feiea_annual_report_2008_web.pdf

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