About Hands On! Europe

The Hands On! Europe Association of Children's Museums (HO!E) is an international professional organisation representing and advocating for its non-profit member institutions. History: Hands On! Europe (HO!E) started life in 1994 as an informal network of a few European children's museums directors interested in promoting the development of the children's museums concept in Europe. The first Hands On! Europe conference took place in 1996 in Holland.

After the conference, a special committee was formed with the aim of establishing an official organisation with a legal structure, statutes and a Board of Directors.

In March 1998, in preparation for the Lisbon conference that took place in October 1998, HO!E was constituted in Portugal as an international non-profit and professional association.

The founding members of Hands On! Europe were: ·Museu das Criancas (Lisbon, Portugal) ·Hotel "Het Reispaleis"- Wereldmuseum Rotterdam (Rotterdam; Holland) ·Musee des Enfants / Het Kindermuseum (Brussels, Belgium) ·Zoom Kindermuseum (Vienna; Austria) ·Het Kindermuseum (Amsterdam; Holland) Our Mission: HO!E supports the important role of children's museums as centres which foster curiosity and imagination, and where play inspires creativity, informal and lifelong learning, whether or not based on material and immaterial collection. Board of Directors: The Board of Directors consists of 5 members from at least three countries, who are elected at the General Assembly. The General Assembly will meet every time a Hands On! Europe conference takes place, and whenever it is convened by the President upon request of the Board of Directors or of one third of the Institutional Members.

The first General Assembly took place in Lisbon on 9th October, 1998 at which the following the Board of Directors was elected.

The current board members are:
Annemies Broekgaarden, Amsterdam, Netherlands - President
Andreja Rihter, Ljubljana, Slovenia - Vicepresident
Orla Kennedy, Dublin, Ireland
Elisabeth Menasse-Wiesbauer, Vienna, Austria    
Fatima Ouali, Paris, France     
Nurit Shilo-Cohen, Jerusalem, Israel
Petra Zwaka, Berlin, Germany    

Executive Director:  Sabina Cantarelli, Milan, Italy
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