In memoriam: John Richardson, founding Chief Executive of the EFC

It is with sadness that Philea marks the passing of John Richardson, founding Chief Executive of the European Foundation Centre (EFC).
Along with the inaugural EFC Chair, Raymond Georis (above left), John (above right) laid the first stones along a path which led from seven founding members on 9 November 1989 to more than two hundred by the time the EFC converged with DAFNE to create Philea in December 2021.
According to the book “Laying the foundations: 20 years of the EFC” Raymond described the attitude at the time as “l’Europe sans rivages” (Europe without borders). More than 30 years later, that early underlying philosophy has always remained, a constant thread weaved through changes in leadership and name.
A path is not a path until someone has taken the first steps to make it one, so those first steps are always the most important.
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