Servas International

Servas International ("we serve (peace)" in Esperanto) is a non-profit organization providing a hospitality exchange service.

Servas International

Type of site	Non-governmental organization
Founded	July 1949; 76 years ago (July 1949) in Denmark
Headquarters	Zurich
Area served	Global
Founder(s)	Bob Luitweiler
Products	Homestay
Services	Social networking service
URL	www.servas.org
Users	15,000 in over 100 countries[1]

A Servas local meeting in Collegno, Italy in 2016

Servas is a nonprofit member organization that builds peace and cross-cultural understanding through day visits or overnight home stays among members who share information about themselves, to help ensure accountability. It was founded in 1949,^[2] in the aftermath of World War II, by Bob Luitweiler and other Danish students as an international network for people to meet and where suitable, to be offered a short stay, as part of the peace movement.^[3][4]

The organisation may now be described as a platform, part of a gift economy. Members can be both hosts and travellers, and hosts do not charge for lodging.

Members pay an annual fee to the organization, which is determined locally by country.^[5][6] There is an international executive and each country has an elected board or committee to manage membership (including interviews for new applicants), determine membership fees, organise social events, support various peace-related activities.

Servas is owned by an accredited Non-governmental organization and has been affiliated with the United Nations since 1973.^[6]

Servas and the UN together for peace

Servas has had observer status in the UN since 1973. There is a team of Servas members in New York, Vienna and Geneva who follow the negotiations in various commissions.

The Human Rights Council is meeting in Geneva. Servas and other non-governmental organizations participate in this body with written and oral statements on its current issues.

Two Servas Seeds Planted

• excerpt from Seeds Of Servas, Bob Luitweiler

Outside of Stockholm, on the way back from Helsinki, I visited a work camp for peace where Gertraud Hertling, a German student volunteer sowed the first seed of Servas. A shapely girl with a ready smile, she said in excellent English, "You cannot imagine how isolated the German youth are. First, as a result of the Nazi regime then during the War, our youth have been cut off. Now the occupation forces allow us to take no more than five dollars out of the country. You can't go far with that. How can our German youth, locked into occupied Germany, learn the meaning of democratic ways?" One of the advantages of traveling alone is the frequent loneliness of being far from home in a strange land. Missing friendly human contact impelled me to talk with everyone I chanced to meet - someone sitting nearby waiting for the train or ferry, someone siting alone in a restaurant; someone sitting in the park or walking near me. Every kind of person enlarged my knowledge and gave me new insights. The next Servas seed came from a young American whom I met on the road. He told me at great length and in the strongest reactionary terms how terrible the Swedish Socialist government was. At that time there was almost no country in Europe that cared more for its working people without blocking entrepreneurial initiatives, as the Communist countries did. Sweden's medical services were excellent and mostly free. Their Consumer's Co-operative movement was the envy of thoughtful people around the world. Their educational system was also outstanding. Of equal significance, there were no unemployed or poor people. I was profoundly disturbed up by his attitude. This young man had gotten the most biased picture of Sweden possible from the reactionary rich host family he had been placed with for the summer, by a well known international student exchange program. Ouch! There was certainly a need for a different hospitality system.

History

Servas was founded in 1949,^[2] in the aftermath of World War II, by Bob Luitweiler and other Danish students as an international network for people to meet and where suitable, to be offered a short stay, as part of the peace movement.^[3][4]When it started in 1949, host details were printed by country and posted by each country to other member countries. Each member country began their own country organization. Servas International formed as a federation of all member countries. It was originally called Peace Builder but later renamed Servas International.

In1989, Pat Knowles wrote a useful account of Servas,^[7] from its beginnings up to 1989 that focused on peacebuilding and friendship, and networking. Servas International's Peace Secretary was in touch with some international organisations including War Resisters' International, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Quaker United Nations Office, Pax Christi International. In illustration of its UN status, Knowles reproduced Servas International's submission to the UN Special Session on Disarmament in 1978. Knowles also described the initiative in 1986 for Servas groups to recruit a national peace secretary with duties like those of Servas International Peace Secretary. Contributions from the peace secretaries of Germany, Poland and Israel are included. Knowles explores the connection between travel and understanding asking about the early study groups on non-violence techniques and the question 'can we travel too far, too fast?'

Incorporation of Servas International At the General Assembly in 1972 the importance of establishing an international legal entity was discussed. It was agreed that it was necessary to have a legal framework for financial, administrative international requirements. Dr. Max Habicht, International Lawyer and International Servas Sponsor prepared the attached "Statutes of Servas International" (Corporation Charter). The Charter was adopted and signed by all National Secretaries at the Conference. Servas Branches unrepresented by Secretaries at the Conference were requested to join the new legal and corporate body, Servas International, and were notified how to do so by the International Coordinator.

In 2006 Servas International started a Servas On Line project replacing its paper based system ^[8]

At the General Assembly in 2006 a distant vote procedure was created for Italy and the Statues were updated accordingly.

Servas Song

Servas Song

Servas Traditional Meetings

Sentierinsieme/Pathways Together

Organized in July in Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany "Sentierinsieme" is the Servas traditional yearly alpine event - organized since 1985 -where Servas members from all over the world come together.

Raymond Forget (Servas France) and with Luigi Uslenghi (Servas Italy) founded "Pathways Together" in 1985.

Year	No	Country	Place	Dates
2026	40	France		July
2025	39	Switzerland	in Zinal in the Valais mountains	from 4 to 10 July
2024	38	Germany	Hintersee/ region Berchtesgaden Baviera	from 19 to 25 July
2023	37	Italy	Oropa, Biella, Piedmont – Italy	from 7 to 13 July
2022	36	France	in Briancon	from 1 to 7 July
2021			Canceled due to Pandemi
2020			Canceled due to Pandemi
2019	35	Switzerland	Mürren (Berner Oberland)	July
2018	34	Germany	Germany Allgäu	From 6th to 12th July
2017	33	Italy	Varaita Valley, Monviso mountain	from 30th June to 5th july
2016	32	France	Contamines Montjoie in the Mont Blanc region	from 1st to 7th of July
2015	31	Switzerland	in Bergün	July
2014	30	Germany	Austrian valle	July
2013	29	Italy	Piedmont	July
2012	28	France	-	July
2011	27	Switzerland	in the area of Flumserberg-Tannenboden	from 24 to 30 June
2010	26	Germany	-	July
2009	25	Italy	Piedmont: Val d’Ossola	from 18 to 23 July
2008	24	France	-	July
2007	23	Switzerland	-	July
2006	22	Germany	-	July
2005	21	Italy	Valsesia & Cinque Terre	July
2004	20	France	-	July
2003	19	Switzerland	-	July
2002	18	Italy	Val d'Aosta	July
2001	17	France	-	July
2000	16	Switzerland		July 2000
1999	15	Italy	in the little village of Arpy at 1700 m. in the Aosta Valley	2-4 July
1998	14	France	in Bénarde	1-4 July
1997	13	Switzerland	at Fafleralp	11-13 July
1996	12	Italy	Pra Catinat in the Piedmont region	1-4 July
1995	11	France	in the French Alps at Fort Marie Christine near the Vanoise National Park	July
1994	10	Switzerland	Matherhorn	15-17 July
1993	9	Italy	Alpe Veglia Natural Park	16-18 July
1992	8	France	in Les Chapieux	29-30 August
1991	7	Italy	Mount Chaberton	13-15th July
1990	6	France	in the JURA, Saint Claude	14-15th July
1989	5	Italy	Alpe Veglia	from 14 to 16 July 1989
1988	4	France	at the Albert Faletti Foundation chalet in Chinaillon (Haute-Savoie).	from 15 to 17 June 1988
1987	3	Italy	Val Maira	July
1986	2	France	-	July
1985	1	Italy	Dolomite mountains, in Val di Fassa	23-30 July

Alpe Adria Meetings

September-October in Austria, Italy, Slovenia Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany

#	Date	Place	Country
01	1989/9/29	Camporosso	Italy
02	1990/10/12-14	Grožnjan/Piran	ex Yugoslavia
03	1991/10/11-13	Wien	Austria
04	1992/10/16-18	Bagni di Lusnizza	Italy
05	1994/6/17-19	Bovec	Slovenia
06	1995/6/2-4	St. Gilgen	Austria
07	1996/6/7-9	Gemona	Italy
08	1998/6	Rakov Škocjan	Slovenia
09	1999/5/14-16	Salzburg	Austria
10	1999/9/11-13	Krk	Croatia
11	2000	Cividale del Friuli	Italy
12	2001	near Nürnberg	Germany
13	2002	Istanbul	Turkey
14	2003	( ?please tell the location! )
15	2004/6/25-27	Dolenjska	Slovenia
16	2005/5/27-29	Tarcento	Italy
17	2006	Admont, Steiermark	Austria
18	2007/8/17-19	Poppberg/Birgland	Germany
19	2008/9/19-21	Gorizia	Italy
20	2009/9/18-20	Bratislava	Slovakia
21	2010/9/24-26	Bohinjsko Jezero	Slovenia
22	2011/9/09-11	Hotel Park Oasi, Arta Terme	Italy
23	2012/9/28-30	Youth Hostel Kreuzlingen	Switzerland
24	2013/9/20-22	Hotel Dermuth, Klagenfurt	Austria
25	2015/9/18-24	Penzion Polana, Horný Smokovec	Slovakia
26	2016/9/16-18	Villa San Fermo, Lonigo	Italy
27	2017/9/22-24	Hotel Luitpold am See, Chiemsee	Germany
28	2018/9/14-16	Kamp Koren, Kobarid	Slovenia
29	2019/9/20-22	Sport Hotel Zátoň near Český Krumlov	Czech
30	2023/10/6-8	Schloss Weinberg, Kefermarkt	Austria
31	2024/9/27-29	Hotel Urpin City Residence, Banská Bystrica	Slovakia(invitation)
32	2025/9	Burghausen	Germany

Source

Servas Peace Schools

Peace School started in Turkiye, Antakya, Ekinci Village in 2009, every year in July.

2023 Georgia, Uganda started first peace school initiative.

• The first Servas Peace School in South America took place in 2025 in Argentina.

The Second Servas Peace School in South America took place in Colombia in January 2026.

National Groups/Member Countries

^[9]

Member Groups appointed delegates can vote in General Assemblies.

#	Member Group	Status	#Host	SI Member since	Founder/Starter	Started
1	Albania		8			1995
2	Algeria		12			1995
3	Argentina	Member	337	1989	Enrique Reigosa	1960
4	Armenia		2
5	Australia	Member	662	1972	Margaret Smith	1960
6	Austria	Member	229	1949	Kurt Schmid	1949
7	Bahrain		1
8	Bangladesh	Member	45	2015	Syed Muhammed Husain	2015
9	Belarus	Member	49	1995		1995
10	Belgium Luxemburg	Member	316	1972	Jan Verwest	1972
11	Benin		11
12	Bhutan		1
13	Bolivia	Member	18	2018	Dr. Ruth Tichauer	1995
14	Botswana	Member	22	1998		1998
15	Brazil	Member	138	1989		1970
16	United Kingdom Ireland	Member	568	1949	Barbara Acquah (GB)	1949
17	Brunei		-			1995
18	Bulgaria	Member	16	2015		2015
19	Burundi		4
20	Cambodia		5
21	Cameroon	Member	32	2009		2009
22	Canada	Member	425	1960		1960
23	Chile	Member	34	1995		1995
24	China	Member	28	2004		2004
25	Colombia	Member	99	1963	Octavio Morales Alvarado	1963
26	Congo Kinshasa (DRC)		10
27	Costa Rica	Member	59	1989		1989
28	Croatia	Member	17	2004		2004
29	Cuba	Member	14	2025
30	Cyprus		1
31	Czech Republic	Member	113	1989		1989
32	Denmark Iceland	Member	251	1949	Nana Funder(sos), Birgitte Damsgaard	1949
33	Dominican Republic		6
34	Ecuador		27
35	Egypt		6
36	Estonia		3
37	Ethiopia		7
38	Falkland Islands		1
39	Finland	Member	64	1970	Albert Szabo	1970
40	France	Member	2075	1949	Joseph Girard	1949
41	Gambia	Member	16	1998		1998
42	Georgia	Member	10	2012		2012
43	Germany	Member	2258	1949	Antonie Fried, Claus Weiss (sos)	1949
44	Greece		24
45	Guatemala	Member	27	1989		1989
46	Honduras		19			1989
47	Hong Kong	Member	36	1992		1992
48	Hungary	Member	101	1989		1989
49	Iceland		3			1998
50	India	Member	260	1951	Harivallabh Perikh	1951
51	Indonesia	Member	25	1995		1995
52	Iran	Member	35	2012		2012
53	Israel	Member	183	1966	Joseph Abileah	1966
54	Italy	Member	1054	1972	Maria Soresina,	1972
55	Japan	Member	207	1962	Masuo Amano	1962
56	Jordan		2
57	Kazakhstan		24			2009
58	Kenya	Member	24	2012		2012
59	Korea	Member	267	1965		1965
60	Kosovo		1
61	Kyrgyzstan	Member	20	2004		2004
62	Laos		2
63	Latvia		14			1992
64	Lebanon		4
65	Lithuania		14			1992
66	Madagascar		5
67	Malawi	Member	53	2004		2004
68	Malaysia	Member	34	2004		2004
69	Mali		10
70	Malta		3			1983
71	Mauritius		5
72	Mexico	Member	90	1954
73	Moldova		1
74	Mongolia		6
75	Morocco	Member	25	1998		1998
76	Myanmar		1
77	Nepal	Member	70	2012	Nutan Thapalia	1984
78	Netherlands	Member	271	1950	Joop van der Spek (sos), Arthur J. Sietsma Sr.	1950
79	New Zealand	Member	410	1972	Robert Henry and Vivienne Ellis	1969
80	Nicaragua		1
81	Nigeria		11			1995
82	Norway	Member	133	1974	Jo Overgaard	1974
83	Pakistan	Member	42	2022	Abdul Hameed Khan	1974
84	Palestine		9
85	Panama	Member	12	1992		1992
86	Paraguay	Member	5	1995		1995
87	Peru	Member	14	1998		1998
88	Philippines		15			1989
89	Poland	Member	230	1989		1970
90	Portugal	Member	87	1983	António Serzedelo	1983
91	Republic of the Congo Brazzaville (RC)		31			2009
92	Romania		45			1992
93	Russia	Member	102	1989		1989
94	Rwanda	Member	50	2015		2015
95	São Tomé and Príncipe		1
96	Saudi Arabia		14
97	Senegal		2			1989
98	Serbia		8
99	Sierra Leone		25
100	Singapore		14
101	Slovakia	Member	35	1991	Milan Šimečka	1991
102	Slovenia		17
103	South Africa	Member	27	1986		1986
104	Spain	Member	579	1983	Juan A. Sanchez,	1983
105	Sri Lanka		7
106	Suriname		13
107	Sweden	Member	281	1972	Ulf & Barbro Löwhagen	1972
108	Switzerland	Member	245	1949	Denise Vollenweider	1949
109	Taiwan	Member	109	2009		2009
110	Tanzania	Member	32	2021		2021
111	Thailand	Member	36	1992		1992
112	Togo		55			1998
113	Trinidad and Tobago		2
114	Tunisia		5
115	Turkey	Member	135	1992	Aykut Güzer	1978
116	Uganda	Member	41	-	Davis M. Masifa	1980
117	Ukraine	Member	20	2012		2012
118	United Arab Emirates		10
119	United States	Member	1509	1952	Bob Luitweiler	1952
120	Uruguay	Member	33	1983	Jorge Zoppolo	1980
121	Uzbekistan		5			2001
122	Venezuela	Member	43
123	Vietnam	Member	25	2015		2015
124	Zambia	Member	14	1998		1998
125	Zimbabwe		6	-		1995

(sas): Seeds of Servas, by Bob Luitweiler

Servas International Leaderships

2025-2028

Elected General Assembly in 2025 in Dijon, France

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
SI President	Radha Radhakrishna	USA
SI Vice President	Carla Kristensen	Portugal
SI Treasurer	Gülşen Elyak	Germany
SI General Secretary	Kent Machaulay	Canada
Peace Secretary	Francisco Salomon Luna Aburto	Mexico
SI Membership and Technology Secretary	Paul Nielsen	Australia

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
SI Development Committee	Pamela Yang	Taiwan
	Jamie Robertson	UK and Ireland
	Tatjana Negi	Germany
	Neuma Dantas	Brazil
	Moses Kigozi	Uganda
SI Youth and Families Committee	Elena Olvera Reyes	Spain
	Mehmet Ates	Turkey
	Mehmet Akif Yegin	UK and Ireland
	David Leonard Kabambo	Tanzania
	Buhadeb Chakravarti	India
SI Internal Audit Committee	Salvador Da Matta	Brazil
	Richard Wolfe	USA
SI Conflict Resolution Committee	Richard Weaver	USA
	Francisco Dominguez González	Spain
SI Distant Vote Administrator	Pramod Kumar	India

2022-2025

Elected General Assembly in 2022 in Panchgani, India

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Radha B. Radhakrishna	USA
SI Vice-president	Carla Kristensen	Portugal
SI General Secretary	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
SI Membership & Technology Secretary	Paul Nielsen	Australia
SI Peace Secretary	Francisco Luna	Mexico
SI Treasurer	Suresh Jain	India

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
SI Distant Vote Administrator (SI DVA)	Craig Melrose	Australia
SI Internal Audit Committee (SI IAC)	Yukiko Namariyama	Japan
	Gülşen Elyak	Turkey
	Ana Rita Gama	Portugal
SI Development Committee (SI DC)	Pamela Yang	Taiwan
	Evren Özkan	Turkey
	Neuma Dantas	Brazil
	Jamie Robertson	UK
	Bhudeb Chakravarti	India
SI Youth and Families Committee (SI YFC)	Bogdan Ionescu	Romania
	Elena Olivera Begué	Spain
	Mehmet Ateş	Turkey
	Raffaella Rota	Italy
	Hiren Goradia	India

2018-2022

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
SI Vice-president	Carla Kristensen	Portugal
SI General Secretary	Kiat Yun Tan	Malaysia
SI Membership & Technology Secretary	Jim Leask*	Canada
SI Peace Secretary	Paige LaCombe	USA
SI Treasurer	Radha B. Radhakrishna	USA

• Replaced Andreas Becker in February/March 2020). Jim Leask shares the responsibility with Paul Nielsen

Committies and Officers

Position	Name	Group
SI Internal Audit Committee	L V Subramanian	India
	Phyllis Chinn	USA
	Gülsen Elyak	Turkey
SI Development Committee	Lilly Kerekes Beltran	Mexico
	Ewa Dzierzawska	Poland
	Fidele Rutayisire	Rwanda
	Pablo Colangelo	Argentina
	Pamela Yang	Taiwan
SI Youth and Families Committee	Susana Martinez	Spain
	Raffaella Rota	Italy
	Natasha Noreen	Italy
	Aneris Cao	Chile
	Mar Ferre	Spain
SI Distant Vote Administrator	Chris Patterson	New Zealand

2015-2018

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
SI Vice-president	Ann Greenhough	UK
SI General Secretary	Penny Pattison	Canada
SI Host List Coordinator	Pablo Colangelo	Argentina
SI Peace Secretary	Danielle Serres	France
SI Treasurer	LV Subramanian	India

Committies and Officers

Committee	Officer	Group
SI Development Committee	Ewa Dzierzawski	Poland
	Fidele Rutayisire	Rwanda
	Kristina Buynova	Russia
	Kiat Yun Tan	Malaysia
	Maria Fernanda Vomero	Brazil
SI Audit committee	Ashley Burrowes	New Zealand
	Emmanuel Kakinda	Uganda
	Graham Robertson	Australia
SI Archivist	Anna Koster	USA
SI Conflict Resolution Committee	Martin Henner	USA
	Clare Mateke	Zambia
	Alvany Santiago	Brazil
SI Nomination Committee	Dianne Peterson	Singapore
	Susanne Thestrup	Denmark
	Norma Nicholson	Australia
SI Job Descriptions and Statutes Committee	Amir Levy	Israel
	Jack Huang	China
	Chris Jones	Canada
SI Distant Vote Administrator	Chris Patterson	New Zealand
SI Youth Leadership Committee	Susanna Martinez	Spain
	Janek Dzierzawski	Poland
	Karolina Paleckova	Czech Republic
	Asiia Zhakypova	Kyrgyzstan
	Pablo Chufeni	Argentina

2012-2015

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
SI Vice-president	Ann Greenhough	UK
SI General Secretary	Jaime Romero	Colombia
SI Host List Coordinator	Arnoud Philippo	Netherlands
SI Peace Secretary	Danielle Serres	France
SI Treasurer	Miroslaw Wasilewski	. Poland

Committees and Officers

Position	Officer	Group
SI Newsletter Editor	Terry Stone	Greece
SI Distant Vote Administrator	Chris Patterson	New Zealand
SI Archivist	Robert Mitchell	USA
SI Job Descriptions and Statutes Committee	Chris Jones	Canada
	Jack Huang	China
	Alvany Santiago	Brazil
SI Audit Committee	Phyllis Chinn	USA
	LV Subramanian	India
	Emmanuel Kakinda	Uganda
SI Nominations Committee	Norma Nicholson	Australia
	Jean Seymour	UK
	Amir Levy	Israel
SI Conflict Resolution Committee	Julie Dotsch	Canada
	Clare Mateke	Zambia
	Marneo Serenelli	Italy
SI Development Committee	Ewa Dzierżawska	Poland
	Joel Kaloba	Zambia
	Pablo Chufeni	Argentina
	Aneris Cao	Argentina
	Anna Cristina Siragusa	Italy

2009-2012

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Gary Sealey	Canada
SI Vice-president	Pramod Kumar	USA
SI General Secretary	Penny Pattison	Canada
SI Host List Coordinator	Pablo Colangelo	Argentina
SI Peace Secretary	Kim Jong Soo	South Korea
SI Treasurer	Miroslaw Wasilewski	Poland

Committees and Officers

Position	Officer	Group
SI Development Committee	Aneris Cao	Argentina
	Luisa Corbetta	Italy
	Judith Shotten	Israel
	Sally Lee	Malaysia
	Mary Jane Mikuriya	USA
SI Finance Committee	L. V. Subramanian	India
	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
	Phyllis Chinn	USA
SI Conflict Resolution Committee	Julie Dotsch	Canada
	Daryl Chinn	USA
	Luigi Uslenghi	Italy
SI Nominations Committee	Ann Greenough	United Kingdom
	Sylvia Krogh	Canada
	Anna Flammini	Italy
SI Newsletter Editor	Almery Tessarolo and her team	Argentina
SI Archivist	Grant Barnes	USA
SI Youth Development Officer	Magiari Diaz Diaz	Venezuela
SI Youth Coordinator	Pablo Chufeni	Argentina
SI Job Description/Statutes Committee	Noreen Mirza	Pakistan
	Chris Jones	Canada
SI Distant Vote Administrator	Chris Patterson	New Zealand

2006-2009

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Gary Sealey	Canada
SI Vice-president	Mary Jane Mikuriya	USA
SI General Secretary	Pramod Kumar	India
SI Host List Coordinator	Anna Flammini	Italy
SI Peace Secretary	Nanda	Sri Lanka
SI Treasurer	Ömer Özkan	Turkey

Committees and Officers

Position	Officer	Group
SI Audit Committee	Miroslav Wasilevski	Poland,
	Rita Torsvik	Norway,
	Florentio Gomez	Venezuela,
	L.V.Subramanian	India
SI Development Fund Committee	Laura Ragucci	Argentina
	Judy Sheldon	Canada
	Michael Johnson	Canada
	Sercan Duygan	Turkey
Youth Project Coordinator	Ann Greenhough	UK

2004-2006

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Geoff Maltby	Australia
SI Vice-president	Bibendra Pradhananga	Nepal
SI General Secretary	Honora Clemens	USA
SI Host List Coordinator	Claudio Pacchiega	Italy
SI Peace Secretary	Gary Sealey	Canada
SI Treasurer	Ömer Özkan	Turkey

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
Youth project officers appointment	Ann Greenough	UK
	Pablo Chufeni	Argentina
Nomination Committee	Frits Stuurman	Netherlands
	Anita Kabberman	Uruguay
	Dafi Gilad	Canada

Committees Election

Motion the GA directs EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE to appoint the people who are elected by the email or mail vote to the positions they were elected to (committees).

2001-2004

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
SI President	Roger Martin	Norway
SI Vice-president	Bibendra Pradhananga	Nepal
SI General Secretary	Frits Stuurman	Netherlands
SI Host List Coordinator	Laura Ragucci	Argentina
SI Peace Secretary	Marco Kappenberger	Samoa
SI Treasurer	Gyöngyver Kudor	Hungary

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
SI Treasurers (Audit) Committee	Markus Kappenburger	Germany
	Alex Dali	Singapore
	Gustavo Molina	Bolivia
	Colette Marteau	France
	Mineswar Sibsurun	Mauritius
SI Appeals Committee	Don Fawcett	USA
	Marisa Contini	Uruguay
	Davis Asher	UK
SI Development Fund Committee	Vibeke Matorp	Denmark
	Mullai Pathy	Singapore
	Abhay Shaha	India
	Mohammed Nasseem	Pakistan
	David Roll	Colombia
SI Complaints Committee	Marisa Contini	Uruguay
	Don Fawcett	USA
	David Asher	UK
SI Nominations Committee	Gwyn Grace	Ireland
	Thawamani (Jini) Subramanianl	Malaysia
	Dafi Galad	Israel
	Changxian Yi	China
	Giuliana Pellizzari	Italy
SI Job Descriptions Committee	Gustavo Molina	Bolivia
	Michael Karris	Italy
	Adela Montes	Guatemala

1998-2001

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
President	Chris Slader	UK
Vice-president	Bertrand Bailleul	France
General Secretary	Kevin Newham	Australia
Assistant General Secretary and Host List Co-ordinator	Claudia Pinto	Brazil
Peace Secretary	Daniele Passalacqua	Italy
Treasurer	Gilbert Revault	France

Officers

Servas International Newsletter Editor Sharon Beldon, Netherlands

1995-1998

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
President	Chris Slader	UK
Vice-president	Jennie Durand	Australia
General Secretary	Vibeke Matorp	Denmark
Assistant General Secretary	Mariangela Brunello	Italy
Peace Secretary	Daniele Passalacqua	Italy
Treasurer	Hazel Barham	UK

1992-1995

Executive Committee

Position	Officer	Group
President	Ray Scott	New Zealand
Vice-president	Jorge Zoppolo	Uruguay
International Secretary	Vibeke Matorp	Denmark
Assistant Secretary	Maringela Brunello	Italy
Peace Secretary	Harivallabh Parikh	india
Treasurer	Hazel Barham	UK

1989-1992

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Bob Luitweiler	USA
Vice-president	Janos Kurucz	Hungary
Treasurer	Hazel Barham	UK
International Co-ordinator	Antonie Fried	Germany
Host Co-ordinator	Judy Ross
Peace Secretary	Felix Zurita
Asian Member	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Latin American Member	Jorge Zoppolo	Uruguay
African Member	E.K. Narter-Olaga

1986-1989

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Don Fawcett	USA
Vice-president	Duncan Meikle	Canada
General Secretary	Antonie Fried	Germany
Asst. General Secretary	Yvonne Brown	New Zealand
Treasurer	Peter Brock	Germany

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
Editor SI Newsletter	Frede Asgaard	Denmark
Area Coordinator – Europe	Ulla Offer	Germany
Area Coordinator – Africa	E.K. Narter-Olaga	Ghana
Area Coordinator – East Asia	Takashi Aoki	Japan
Area Coordinator – South Asia	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Area Coordinator – South Pacific	Tom & Annie Young	New Zealand
Area Coordinator – Central America & Caribbean	Felix Zurita Achoa	Mexico
Area Coordinator – South America	Jorge Zoppolo	Uruguay
Co-opted Member	Reva King	USA
	Maria Soresina	Italy
	Barbara Whitehead	England

1983-1985

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Don Fawcett	USA
Vice-president	Maria Soresina	Italy
General Secretary	Kay Lazaruz	USA
Treasurer	Peter Brock	Germany
Peace Secretary	Jo Graham	USA
Assistant General Secretary	Lino Bugeja	Malta

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
Editor, SI News	Janine Hall	France
Regional Coordinator – Africa	Zeru Michael
Regional Coordinator – SE Asia	Takashi Aoki	Japan
Regional Coordinator – N America & Caribbean	Rodrigue Aristide	Guadeloupe
Regional Coordinator – Europe & Near East	Antonie Fried	West Germany
Regional Coordinator – Southern Asia	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Regional Coordinator – South Pacific	Nan Smith	Australia
Coordinator – South America	Jorge Zoppolo	Uruguay

1980-1982

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Graham Thomas
Vice-president	Don Fawcett	USA
General Secretary	Barbara Whitehead
Assistant General Secretary	Denise Waech	Switzerland
Peace Secretary	Reva King	USA
Editor SI News	Rosalind Schama
Treasurer	Denise Waech	Switzerland

Regional Coordinators

Position	Name	Group
Africa	Lydia Jones
Southern Asia	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Southeast Asia	Kunio Tanaka	Japan
South Pacific	Nan Smith
RSouth America	Jorge Zoppolo	Uruguay
North America&Caribbean	Kay Lazarus
Europe & Near East	Antonio Fried	Germany

1978-1980

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Graham Thomas	UK
Treasurer	Doris Bucher	Switzerland
Assistant Treasurer	Denise Waech	Switzerland
General Secretary	Barbara Whitehead	UK
Vice-president	Martha Simon	USA
Assistant General Secretary	Reva King	USA
Peace Secretary	Konrad Lübbert	Germany

Committees and Officers

Position	Name	Group
S.I.N. Editor	Donald Fawcett	USA
Regional Coordinator – Africa	Lydia Jones
Regional Coordinator – Europe	Antonie Fried	Germany
Regional Coordinator – South America	Narcelo Lorenzo
Regional Coordinator – South Pacific	John and Judy Ebner
Regional Coordinator – Southeast Asia	Masuo Amano	Japan
Regional Coordinator – Southern Asia	Harivallabh Parikh	India

1974-1976

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President	Reva King	USA
Vice-president	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Treasurer	Denise Vollenweider	Switzerland
Assistant Treasurer	Doris Bilcher	Switzerland
Secretary	Birgitte Damnsgaard	Denmark
Assistant Secretary	Ronald Golding	Australia
Peace Secretary	Hans Werner Emrich	Germany

Officers

Position	Name	Group
Newsletter Editor	Barbara Acquach	United Kingdom
Assistant Editor	Martha Simon	USA

Resource: SI NEWS #03

1972-1974

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
President & Int. Coordinator	Kurt Schmid	Austria
Vice President & Ass't Int. Coordinator	Reva King	USA
Treasurer	Denise Vollenweider	Switzerland
Assistant Treasurer	Swiss Servas member (to be appointed)
Secretary	Birgitte Damsgaard	Denmark
Vice Secretary	Maria Soresina	Italy
Peace Secretary	Jim Ryding

Officers

Position	Name	Group
Newsletter Editor	Maria Soresina	Italy
Regional Coordinator – Europe	Denise Vollenweider	Switzerland
Regional Coordinator – Africa	Titus Mugavana	Kenya
Regional Coordinator – North America	Reva King	USA
Regional Coordinator – Latin America	Laura Langagne
Regional Coordinator – South Pacific	Max Hartin

1970-1972

Executive Committee

Position	Name	Group
International Coordinator	Kurt Schmid	Austria
Assistant Int. Coordinator	Reva King	USA
Assistant Int. Coordinator in Training	Barbara Trischuk	United Kingdom

Officers

Position	Name	Group
Regional Coordinator – South Asia & Global Outreach	Harivallabh Parikh	India
Regional Coordinator – East Africa & Pacific	Barbara Trischuk	United Kingdom
Regional Coordinator – North Africa	Joseph Girard	France
Regional Coordinator – Eastern Europe	(Kurt Schmid)	Austria

1966 -1970

International Coordinator Kurt Schmids Austria

1951

Founders of Servas were those dedicated people like Bob Luitweiler, Connie Thorpe, Esma Burrough and the others in the Birmingham, England Peace Builder's team, and, Esther Harlan in California.

Esma Burrough UK, was the first International Servas secretary. Seeds Of Servas

General Assemblies

SERVAS INTERNATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY (The SIGA) is Servas International's highest decision-making body and is modelled on the United Nations’ General Assembly democratic model: one nation, one vote. The SIGA usually takes place every 3 years, in a different location (screenshots from Wikipedia). At the Servas International General Assembly (SIGA), the Servas International Member Groups vote on proposals called motions that have been submitted by the member groups or by SI Exco. Everybody attending the SICOGA is able to attend the SIGA business sessions as observers, but only the delegates from the Servas International Member Groups have the right to speak and vote, according to the Servas International Statutes.^[10]

1952 Germany Hamburg First Peace Builders International Conference, Out of which came the name "Servas" ^[11]

In 2025 the SIGA will be held in Dijon, France, October 3–9.

#	Year	Country	Place	Delegate	#Member groups
#1	1952	Germany	Hamburg [11]	4 Delegates	Only England, Denmark and Germany were officially represented.
#2	1953	Denmark	Askov	6 votes
#3	1954	Netherlands	Epe	10 votes
#4	1955	Germany	Schuluchsee	9 votes
#5	1958	Austria	Landeck (Tyrol)
#6	1959	Netherlands	Oosterwijk
#7	1960	Belgium	Ghent
#8	1961	no detailed info	-
#9	1964	France	Paris
#10	1965	Austria	Vienna, 8-12 July	4 delegates
#11	1966	Denmark	Copenhagen, 8-11 April	7 delegates
#12	1967	Czechoslovakia	Bratislava
#13	1970	Austria	Vienna, 7-9 August	13 delegates	19 Member groups after GA
#14	1972	Germany	Wetzlar, 7 July	16 delegates	Grant member status to: Belgium, New Zealand, Australia and Kenya (4 Groups) Lost their membership status: - 23 Member groups after GA
#15	1974	Switzerland	Arcegno, Campo Pestalozzi, 23-26 August	17 delegates	Grant member status to: Canada, India, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Yemen, Nigeria (7 groups) Lost their membership status: - 30 Member groups after GA
#16	1976	United States	at the International Student Center of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, 1-7 August	21 delegates	Grant member status to: - Lost their membership status: - 30 Member groups after GA
#17	1978	Denmark	Elsanor, 16-18 August	22 delegates	Grant member status to: Poland, Norway, Egypt, Mauritius (4 Groups) Lost their membership status: - 34 Member groups after GA
#18	1980	India	Gujarat	22 delegates	Grant member status to: Hungary, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Ghana (4 Groups) Lost their membership status: None 38 Member groups after GA
#19	1983	Israel	Nahariya, 5-10 April	16 delegates, 8 Exco(-2 delegates), 22 votes	Grant member status to: Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Malta, Uruguay (6 Groups) Lost their membership status: Egypt, Yemen 42 Member groups after GA
#20	1986	Italy	Roma, 16-20 May	25 delegates, 14 Exco (-4 delegates), 35 votes	Grant member status to: Guadeloupe, Nepal 44 Member groups after GA
#21	1989	Canada	Montreal, Quebec, 25-27 July	48 delegates	Grant member status to: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, and the Soviet Union, South Africa (14 Groups) Lost their membership status: Malta, Nigeria 56 Member groups after GA
#22	1992	France	Paris, 26 June	47 votes	Grant member status to: Thailand; Turkey; Hong Kong; Lithuania; Latvia; Panama, Romania, Mali, Singapore, Egypt (10 Groups) Lost their membership status: Nigeria, Philippines; Zambia and Sri Lanka (4 Groups) 62 Member groups after GA
#23	1995	Australia	Melbourne, 8-13 April	36 delegates, 8 exco, 44 votes	Grant member status to: Albania, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Brunei, Chile, Estonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Paraguay and Zimbabwe (12 Groups) Lost their membership status: Non 74 Member groups after GA
#24	1998	Guatemala	Antigua Guatemala	40 votes	Grant member status to: Botswana, Gambia, Iceland, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Togo, Zambia (11 Groups) Lost their membership status: Albania, Malta 82 Member groups after GA
#25	2001	Thailand	Nakhon Nayok, 16-19 July	48 delegates	Grant member status to: Croatia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Uzbekistan (5 Groups) Lost their membership status: Belarus 86 Member groups after GA
#26	2004	Spain	Barcelona, 18-24 July	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Malawi, China, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia (5 Groups) Lost their membership status: Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Cuba (4 Groups) 87 Member groups after GA
#27	2006	Italy	Latina, 2-8 April	42 delegates	Grant member status to: Egypt, Ghana, Ukraine (3 Groups) Lost their membership status: Bolivia, Greece 88 Member groups after GA
#28	2009	Argentina	Mar Del Plata, 6-12 September	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Bolivia, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Greece, Kazakhstan, Taiwan (6 Groups) Lost their membership status: Bangladesh, Ghana, Gambia, Ukrain, Nepal, Samoa, Zimbabwe, Netherlands Antilles, Mauritius, Latvia (10 Groups) 84 Member groups after GA
#29	2012	Poland	Piaski	51 delegates	Grant member status to: Georgia, Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya, Iran (5 Groups) Lost their membership status: Latvia, Estonia, Egypt, Togo, Senegal, Bulgaria, Iceland, Philippines (8 Groups) 81 Member groups after GA
#30	2015	New Zealand	Matamata [12]	54 delegates	Grant member status to: Rwanda, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bulgaria (4 Groups) Lost their membership status: Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Uzbekistan (4 Groups) 81 Member groups after GA
#31	2018	South Korea	Seoul 13th to 20th October [13]	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Bolivia Lost their membership status: Lithuania, Pakistan, Congo-Brazzaville, Ecuador (4 Groups) 78 Member groups after GA
#32	2022	India	Panchgani [14], 25-26 November	39 delegates (3 online)	Grant member status to: Pakistan Lost their membership status: Honduras, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Greece, Kazakhstan (7 Groups) 72 Member groups after GA
#33	2025	France	Dijon 3-9 October [15]	44 delegates (2 online)	Grant member status to: Cuba Lost their membership status: Singapore, Romania 71 Member groups after GA