We are deeply disappointed to announce that the REC Market Meeting, due to be held on 30th Nov and 1st Dec, is postponed to 5th and 6th April 2022.
This decision has been taken by the Board of RECS International in light of new measures put in place by the Dutch Government on Friday 12th Nov 2021 to combat rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections in the country.
We were required to postpone the event following new measures to counter a new wave of COVID-19 announced by the Dutch government on Friday 12th November. The Dutch government requirements can be seen here. The measures will last from the 13th of November until at least the 3rd of December. The RECS International Board and Secretariat, in discussion with the conference venues, has assessed these measures and have jointly concluded that facilitation of a conference under the current restrictions is not possible. The restrictions remove almost all networking opportunities by requiring assigned seating during the conference sessions and all breaks (lunch/coffee). It would also not be possible to hold a conference get together or dinner.
The COVID-19 situation has changed extremely rapidly in the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe, in the past few days. New infections in the Netherlands are at an all-time high, having doubled in the last two weeks and quadrupled in the past month. The infection rates in NL are not being driven by high rates in particular age groups, as has been the case in previous waves, but are spread throughout the population, placing a severe burden on the country’s health care system. Europe, as a whole, is struggling with the pandemic and has seen a more than 50% jump in coronavirus cases in the last month. The director of WHO’s Europe region, Dr Hans Kluge, recently said the rising COVID-19 case counts are of “grave concern” and that “Europe is back at the epicentre of the pandemic, where we were one year ago.”
We hope you agree that it is no longer possible for RECS International to host an event that is both safe and productive for all involved. RECS International has always been committed to providing an in-person event, because of the importance of personal connections between delegates. For this reason, we will not be moving to an online event and will instead move the whole conference, including the current programme, to 2022. Please feel free to contact the RECS International secretariat (secretariat@recs.org) with any questions or comments you may have. We look forward to finally welcoming you to Amsterdam next year.
More information about the event can be found on www.recmarket.eu.
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