FEMA: New General Secretary takes up office

The Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) has a new General Secretary, Ms. Aline Delhaye. Ms. Delhaye will be responsible for the coordination of FEMA activities and lobby work, representing and promoting European motorcyclists' interests in Brussels.

Representing and promoting European motorcyclists' interests in Brussels has never been an easy task. Since 1980’s, when motorcyclists were totally ignored in Brussels, the Federation has been able to participate to several major debates thanks to the work of Simon Milward (-), Bob Tomlins (1999-2002), and Antonio Perlot (2002-2006). Today, the Federation is well established in Brussels and being listened to, though this does not mean that motorcyclists are being heard: the 3rd Driving Licence Directive, which will unfairly limits the access to motorcycles, as well as the White Paper on Transport Policy, which totally ignores the benefits of motorcycling, are just two examples of how motorcycling is being considered.

Ms. Delhaye has a clear opinion about motorcycling. “Motorcycling is a means of transport such as cars or bicycles and should be treated equally. I personally make use of the three of them in addition to public transports depending on my needs. Accordingly, I just want to be considered as a citizen with full rights, independently on which means I am. But I feel this is not the case. Motorcyclists throughout Europe are too often unfairly forgotten from transport policies while at the same time being singled out in the road safety debate.”

The Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA) warmly welcomes Ms. Delhaye within the Federation. The new General Secretary took up his duties on September 1st 2006. Ms. Delhaye is FEMA 5th General Secretary.

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The following is a brief biography of Aline Delhaye:

Aline Delhaye is a Belgian. Her international background - she grew up in Africa and travelled in Canada, Spain and Russia during her studies - makes her feeling more of a world citizen than merely Belgian. She holds a degree in translation studies and started a master in human resources 3 years ago. She is currently writing the final words of her thesis on “Communication amongst Federations”. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and understands quite a lot of Dutch, Italian, and Portuguese.

Aline Delhaye voluntarily started working as a ´lobbyist´ 10 years ago, representing the interests of the students from her university. Once active on the labour market, she kept on defending students' interests and positions at the same time, she was working part-time for a major telecommunications operator's representation office in Brussels. She definitely gave an end to the student representation experience when she started working for the motorcycle industry representation office (ACEM) two years ago as Communication Manager.