Dolf Willigers
The Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) has announced the appointment of a new General Secretary. In February 2015 Mr. Dolf Willigers will take over this position from Ms. Aline Delhaye, who has been General Secretary since September 2006. Aline Delhaye will remain as Project Coordinator of the RIDERSCAN project until its finalisation in April 2015 and will be available to FEMA until September to ensure that Mr. Willigers is fully briefed on all FEMA business.
Dolf Willigers (58), a Dutch national, has had a legal and economics education and worked for a long period as a business controller in the Netherlands. He has been a rider for many years and became involved in the Motorrijders Actie Groep (MAG) in the Netherlands in 2001. Within MAG Netherlands he held several positions before becoming a member of the Board of Directors in 2005. In 2012 he organised the campaign in the Netherlands against the imposition of a periodical technical inspection for motorcycles by Europe. After resigning from the Board in 2013 he became a FEMA delegate, a specialist on European affairs and editor of Mag-a-zine, the periodical of MAG NL.
Commenting on his appointment Mr. Willigers said:
“I am very glad to be able to represent the riders at EU level and to defend their rights as General Secretary of FEMA. Whilst on a global level the use of motorcycles is becoming more important for every day travel, especially urban areas, in Europe motorcycling is under pressure. The use of motorcycles in daily traffic should instead be promoted as a smart and fast alternative for other kinds of travelling and I am looking forward to doing this.”
On behalf of the Directors Anna Zee said:
“We are pleased to be able to appoint Dolf, someone who has an excellent track record in supporting riders in his home country and already has considerable knowledge of European affairs. We also thank Aline for all the hard work she has put in over the last 8 years, helping to establish FEMA as the ‘go-to’ organisation representing motorcyclists.”
MAG Ireland is a founder member of FEMA
The new FEMA General Secretary will make his first public appearance at the European Parliament session organised in the context of the European Motorcyclists Forum. The Debate-Session entitled Safer Motorcycling in Europe now! How can we tackle motorcycle safety challenges for the next decade? aims at discussing RIDERSCAN outcomes in the context of the European Commission’s Mid-term evaluation of road safety policy orientations for 2011-2020. The long awaited OECD/ITF report on motorcycle safety will also be presented and discussed at this occasion.
As a founder member of FEMA, the board & volunteers of MAG Ireland warmly welcome the appointment of Dolf Willigers and we look forward to continuing to be an active FEMA member and contributor. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the organisation’s outgoing General Secretary Ms. Aline Delhaye for her vision and enthusiasm since 2006 during which some of the most serious threats to the future of motorcycling in the EU have been tackled successfully.