I have always taken a liking to history.
As a Reflexologist from 1992 and once I got my hands on an internet connection I started looking into the history of Reflexology. It came naturally.
I believe that without knowing your history you are bound to make mistakes that you could have avoided by learning from the experience of your "ancestors", or to at least have struggled less. It is also disrespectfull in my opinion.
As the RiEN representative of the Hellenic Association of Reflexologists from 2004 I was also interested in the history of the RiEN.
In 2014 I got to know Anneke Van't Wout better because we were both part of the RiEN board.
At some point I asked her to put down in writing the history of the RiEN exactly because she was a part of it!
And Anneke did so, what follows is her version. I have amended the document because her english was highly influenced by her Dutch heritage.
I have not changed the meaning or the description of events, but rather made it more "readable".
Even we, today's Reflexologists, take things for granted, we do not appreciate the work, the commitment that has been laid down by Reflexologists before us.
What is even worse is that most of us are not willing to commit to Reflexology going the full distance, whatever that might mean.
This is because we have not learned from our history what our ancestors, so to speak, have went through in order for us to be practising today, either in our offices or in hospital settings or elsewhere.
To Anneke: "If I have made any mistakes "mother" in your text please forgive and correct me."
Spiros Dimitrakoulas
Chair of the RiEN - 22/05/15
History of RiEN 
It was in 1991 that Mo Usher was attending a Complementary and Alternative Medicine conference in Amsterdam and made contact with Anneke Van ‘t Wout.
They never had met each other but it must have been the strength of Reflexology that they met each other very easily in a crowded lobby of the Marriot Hotel in Amsterdam
Both were at that moment president and chair of a Reflexology organisation.
Mo spoke to Anneke about creating a European organisation for National Reflexology organisations and schools.
There was already something going on in America on a global idea.
In 1991 Mo and Anneke started to travel around the world and had one slogan: “To book one hotel room to make it cheaper”.
In 1991 they went to an ICR conference in Virginia Beach, and there were with Mo and Anneke only two women Reflexologists from Europe (UK/Greece) at that meeting.
Efrosini Marda Stravelaki was one of them. The other helping hand was Bill Flocco and Mr. Chang from China.
On that beach RIE (Reflexology in Europe) was created.
They initially just took the opportunity to lay down what work had to be done.
In Kos, one year later, Efrosini was one of the hosts to have a ICR meeting in Greece.
In 1993 Mo and Anneke went to Melbourne, Australia to another ICR conference and at that meeting was also Cecily Mills from Scotland. The three of them planned a conference for Europe in Scotland
At the same time Europe had plans for greater integration, and pressure was mounting up from different sides against complementary medicine. It was felt necessary by reflexologists in Europe to have 'one voice' to protect their future.
In Newcastle, UK in 1995 the first European Conference of Reflexology was organised and in one month 340 delegates registered themselves to come to Newcastle.
The call to be together was very strong and Reflexologists wanted to discuss various subjects and the result was a unanimous vote to continue to have a European conference.
Plans were made for a Conference in Holland in 1997.
Because of the ICR, their plan was to have every two years a international conference and in the year between also every two years, a continental European conference.
Work was started to make reflexology available to everyone and also to make reflexology recognised as an official therapy by European governments. This was decided in Brussels during a meeting where Reflexologists from different countries met each other. At this meeting where present Mo Usher (GB), Cecily Mills (Scotl), Anneke Van't Wout (NL), Henk Homberg (NL), Josef Hackenfort (DE), Philippe Simon (BE) Jose Pierre Cesar (Luxembourg) and some other Reflexologists. At this meeting they decided to make from RIE, RIEN (Reflexology in Europe Network)! A network was an important decision because the exchange of information was the most important issue.
At the same time the European Commission asked Paul Lannoye to prepare a report on the state of complementary medicine in Europe. In this report reflexology was not mentioned!
After a RIEN meeting in Brussels in 1994 of organisations and schools of reflexology, a submission was prepared by Mo Usher for Paul Lannoye with the following points:
Reflexology is a complementary therapy
Reflexology is a harmless and non-invasive method
Reflexology is a non-medical approach; it helps to release toxins from the body and improves circulation. It may help many health problems to decrease.
Reflexologists do not diagnose or prescribe any pharmaceutical or other products
Reflexologists do not promise to cure illness
This submission resulted in the inclusion of reflexology as a therapy in the updates of Lannoye's report!
In order to stimulate official recognition of reflexology as a therapy and as a profession, contacts were established with several Members of European Parliament, representing the task force of public health in various European countries. Participation was also sought in meetings in Brussels of the Working Group on Complementary & Natural Medicine, part of the Health Inter Group of the European Parliament.
In 1997 the European Conference was held in Apeldoorn, where almost 300 delegates were present and the biggest event was that at the end of this conference. All delegates were sitting on the floor and treating each other’s feet!
that conference we also changed the name of RIEN to RiEN, based on the request of the French delegates.
Networking started to make RiEN a strong useful organisation for all members.
At the end of that conference it was decided to have a biannual conference, in the years that the ICR ( which are also biannual) don’t have a conference.
The third conference was in 1999 in Tampere Finland. There were almost 300 delegates.
On every conference RiEN make it possible to have a member of the European Parliament on the conference to give wise information on a European level. In Tampere again the EP Member told us to be united, only a group of thousands of member was a “voice” for Europe to discuss with. Not only a group of reflexologists but a group from all disciplines in alternative members is probably big enough.
In 2001 the fourth conference was in Odense Denmark. There were more than 600 delegates.
Here we introduced the idea of bringing something of the culture of the host country to the conference. All fairy tales from the Grimm brothers were passed out to the delegates. 600 delegates came to Odense and a lot of energy for lectures and workshops came forward, also a start was made for research.
The fifth conference was in Riccione Italy 2004. There were more than 200 delegates
This was the fifth conference we held on the same year as the ICR, because the Italian organizers thought it was better for their students. They had just graduated and were full of energy to know more about Reflexology. There was also for the first time interpreters to translate simultaneously all the lectures to Italian.
After Riccione it took another two years for a sixth conference. The Reflexologists from Europe travelled to Limerick Ireland, 2006, and we had again a conference this time in a University.
Universities are for Reflexology conferences the best areas, they have nice rooms, good food, a lot of equipment for lectures and workshops and are not expensive. Also here came 200 delegates.
It took a while before there was a next conference, in 2012 the Benelux Reflexology Working Group of RiEN created a seventh conference in Luxembourg, almost a 100 delegates came to Echternach, there was a wonderful group of presenters from all over the world and the organisation was great in a nice audience with a good possibility for workshops and lectures.
Every time a conference had a different theme, so the conference in Riccione was about the cycles of a woman and in Echternach it was for children.
May 2014 will be Funchal, Madeira for the eight conference and the topic of the conference will be The Brain
Between the conferences there are always RiEN AGM’s, Berlin, Breukelen, Paris, Bled, Stockholm, Barcelona, Riccione, Amersfoort and Athens.
RiEN now has a European board, ( Greece, Italy, Great Britain, Netherlands), it is working on a Education Group and a Research Group, this was in the beginning one of the most important issues, because RiEN is a Network!
Because of the 8th Conference theme, “The Brain”, it is hopeful that Reflexologists in Europe will use their brains to work together for the wonderful therapy that is called Reflexology and make a strong Network.
Anneke van ‘t Wout
May 2014
