For the first time, FIVA was invited to present an exhibition at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. From the 1st to the 3rd of April, we had the unprecedented opportunity to present and talk about our passion in the heart of European democracy.
Each FIVA ANF in the European Union was requested: “please provide photos and text about a vehicle that has had a major impact on society in your country, or even beyond" Historic vehicles are a very important part of our cultural heritage, and we wanted to communicate that by presenting such individual stories.
The exhibition was a great success because many people can still clearly remember the family car from their childhood and the wonderful experiences of those family trips. An overwhelming number of members of the European Parliament and staff members first spent time reading the stories from their own country and then looked at the others, making the entire event a truly European experience.
It was encouraging that the exhibition also demonstrated social equality, because there was just as much interest from men as from women, and also a remarkable number of young people took the time to read the stories and share their views.
The various stories from the different countries also led to a clear conclusion: ‘It is not the unique, exclusive vehicles, but the many modest ones that have really made an impact on the people everywhere around”. Small everyday vehicles, buses, tractors, and mopeds (like the Solex!) figured prominently in the stories.
The exhibition was held in a large room adjacent to the members of parliament's cafeteria and restaurant resulting in a large number of visitors. It provided us a great opportunity to talk to many of the people who work in the parliament, including some who directly vote on the legislation that affects us.
During these conversations we also had the opportunity to distribute the FIVA Roadmap, in which we explain what we as FIVA think should be considered if we, not only as Europeans but as a global organization, want to protect and preserve this important part of our common cultural heritage.
The highlight of the exhibition was the opening ceremony held on the first of April. The first speaker was MEP Bernd Lange. He pointed out that this year marked the 25th anniversary of his founding of the Historic Vehicles Group in the European Parliament. Over the years, the group has proven to be a valuable platform for coming into contact with those in charge. It has always been a pleasant and relaxed environment in which to discuss the often unintended consequences that legislation can have for the historic vehicle movement.
FIVA had invited Professor Paolo Tumminelli as a guest speaker. He is a professor of design concept at the International Design School in Cologne, and very well-known with automotive design history. In a brilliant lecture, he used many striking examples and anecdotes to reveal the connection between man and the car since its introduction. He also highlighted the European origins of the car (and the motorbike), and he brought the cultural significance of the car to the fore in a very imaginative way. The audience was deeply impressed and many listeners labelled his speech a manifesto that everyone in the historic vehicle world should hear and read.
FIVA President Tiddo Bresters thanked everyone who had contributed to the success of the exhibition: FIVA Legislation Commission Chair Lars Genild, our Brussels public affairs representative Gabriel Lecumberri, as well as Fabrice Reithofer, the representative of FFVE, our French ANF in the Alsace, and - last but not least – MEP’ Lange's assistant, Frank Lesche, who played a central role in making this exhibition possible in such an important space in the Parliament. Bresters also emphasised the importance of the historic vehicle movement as a socio-economic factor, such as for tourism, exemplifying that historic vehicle events and tours often take place in European regions that people with their cars for daily transport just pass by.
The opening event was attended by many influential members of the European Parliament and by representatives of FIVA ANF's from more than ten different countries.
The primary and hopeful conclusion is: it turns out this passion is not just ours – it’s widely shared!
Text by Lars Genild, Gabriel Lecumberri and Tiddo Bresters.
Pictures by Jarko Aikens, Bert Pronk
