General Council

General Council

The General Council comprises one representative from each of the ECU’s 22 member national associations. It is the supreme policy making body of the Union.

With the exception of financial votes (which are weighted), each member of the GC has one vote on all other voting matters. The General Council meets twice each year, in Spring and in the Autumn. The Spring meeting incorporates the election of members of the Executive Council when appropriate

The ECU welcomes observers to its General Council meetings. These are usually the Chief Executives or Secretariats of ECU Members, but can also include the European representatives of the World Federation of Chiropractic, World Congress of Chiropractic Students, officers of the European Council for Chiropractic Education and Candidate ECU members.

 

Subcommittees:

 

Research

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

When the Danish Chiropractor’s Association (DKF) re-joined the European Chiropractor’s Union (ECU), it was decided to establish a European research institute, the European Centre for Chiropractic Research Excellence (ECCRE), and place it at the Nordic Institute for Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics (NIKKB) in Odense, Denmark. From December 2020, NIKKB was renamed Chiropractic Knowledge Hub (Kiropraktorernes Videnscenter)

The aim of the new research institute is to contribute to further development and strengthening of musculoskeletal research in Europe.

ECCRE was formally established in May 2016 at a General Council meeting in Oslo, Norway. The stakeholders appointed a board for ECCRE, consisting of two representatives from NIKKB and two from ECU. NIKKB appointed Lone Kousgaard Jørgensen and Michael Christensen, while Vasileios Gkolfinopoulos, ECU President and (from May 2021) Lone Kousgaard Jørgensen, ECU Treasurer, represent the ECU.

Awards for outstanding research are presented at the ECU Convention.

To contact the ECCRE please email: eccre@kiroviden.sdu.dk

 

European Academy of Chiropractic

The European Academy of Chiropractic (EAC) is a committee of the ECU concerned with postgraduate education and continuing professional development. Formerly the Academic Council, the EAC was founded in 2007 by a committee led by Dr Jean Robert.

The EAC has a Governing Council led by the Chair and supported by a Director of Educational Development, a Director of Professional Development and a representative of the ECU Executive Council. The Governing Council is supported by the ECU Excecutive Administrator.

A Court of Electors may confer Fellowship status on any ECU chiropractor considered to have outstanding academic qualifications in a particular area of chiropractic.

The EAC has a number of Special Interest Groups (SiGs), which promote academic development and postgraduate learning in distinct areas of chiropractic practice. These are currently:

• Clinical practice
• Neurology
• Paediatrics

The current EAC Executive Council:

• Chair – Igor Dijkers
• Director of Educational Development – Guillaume Pablo
• Director of Professional Development – Michael Vaarst
• Representative of the ECU Executive Council – Chris Mikus
• ECU Secretary General – Jim Pettipher

EAC Executive Administrator – Paul Roberts

 

Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

The EAC jointly sponsors the online open-access journal Chiropractic and Manual Therapies with the Chiropractic Australia (CA) the Royal College of Chiropractors (RCC) and the Chiropractors’ Knowledge Center.

The journal invites manuscripts that have special relevance to chiropractors, manual therapists and related health professionals.

The joint Editors-in-Chief are Associate Professor Iben Axén and Professor Simon French

Chiropractic and Manual Therapies can be accessed at www.chiromt.com

 

Public Health

The committee is charged with:

• Promoting chiropractic as a health profession at the supranational level in Europe
• Pursuing harmonious legal recognition of the profession in all ECU Member States.
• Supporting the professional mobility of chiropractors within Europe and to patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare in the EU
• To participate in, the European Public Health Alliance.
• To promote the adoption of the CEN Chiropractic Standard by Member States as the minimum requirement for the delivery of chiropractic services
• To participate in the European Health Policy Forum in matters relevant to the chiropractic profession.