As a convinced European, Bruno strongly believed in the unifying power of popular culture. For him, it was essential that our European cultural heritage, embedded in a common Christian-humanist tradition, should be cherished. Respect for each other's cultural uniqueness was, in his view, the best guarantee for peace and understanding among the peoples of the old continent.

For many years, he put his shoulders to the extensive organisation of the Europeades, initially as secretary-general and right-hand man to the founder Mon De Clopper, later as international president.

Thanks to his organisational talent, his extensive network, his rhetorical talent and language skills, but above all thanks to his inspiring personality, he brought Europeades to great heights, culminating in the 2002 edition in Antwerp, with more than 6,000 participants ... a logistical nightmare, but Bruno and his staff managed it.

His unbridled commitment to the ‘Europe of hearts’, as he put it, left Bruno with countless friends in the four corners of Europe.

Even after stepping down as president, he continued to follow the Europeades closely. He was still able to take part in some of them, and the heartwarming reactions of many individual participants and groups he was able to greet on those occasions gave him immense pleasure. 

In the colourful history of the Europeades, Bruno wrote very important pages and we remain grateful to him for that. We will honour the memory of the man who was our president for many years.

Rüdiger Hess
President IEC