RI Regions
Europe
The national secretaries of RI Europe met twice (by video conference) during the year 2021. During these meetings, the national secretaries had the opportunity to discuss the evolution of RI global. A statement was issued following the meeting of 11 June 2021 in which the national secretaries expressed their concern about the consequences of COVID on the activities of RI global. This concern is still valid today. Depending on health developments in Europe, the national secretaries of RI Europe will meet in a “physical” meeting in the first half of 2022.
The main activity of RI Europe this year was the RI world congress in Aarhus from 7 to 9 September. The National Secretaries of RI Europe would like to underline the fantastic work of RI Denmark once again and the work of Jan Johanssen, whom they would like to thank for the great success of this congress, which greatly advanced the cause of people with disabilities.
The RI Belgium project Practical toolbox for prediction of return to work and labour market inclusion of people with disabilities is in its final phase. The manual will soon be available in book form and the website (accessible to people with disabilities) will be available before the end of the year.
Other projects: MOU RI Global/ISSA
Some of the members of RI Europe are active in the ISSA rehabilitation SWG (which is chaired by François Perl, also Vice President for RI Europe). A series of very interesting seminars have been organized in this framework.
Meeting with the President and Secretary General of ISSA and the VP Europe of Rehabilitation International. The aim of the meeting was to exchange views on the collaboration between the RI World Congress, the International Forum on Disability Management and the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work.
Leadership
Dr. Gregor Kemper
Vice President
RI Europe Region
Mark Soubiran
Deputy Vice President
RI Europe Region
After having studied law at the universities of Bonn (Germany), Lausanne and Geneva (Switzerland) Dr. Gregor Kemper wrote his doctoral thesis in Public International Law. He accepted various legal assignments in post conflict countries followed by practising as a lawyer in Germany. Since 2002 Dr. Gregor Kemper held several managerial positions in the area of global mobility before being seconded by the German Government to the European Union’s External Action Service for state capacity building related projects.
In 2011 Dr. Gregor Kemper joined the DGUV as Head of International Relations. He chairs several international commissions and serves as Secretary of the ISSA Technical Commission on Insurance against Employment Accidents and Occupational Diseases. Dr. Kemper is President of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) and Member io the Executive Committee of Rehabilitation International (RI).
Mark Soubiran is the CEO of ISRP (French acronym for Higher Institute for Psychomotor Therapy), a group of higher education institutions specialized in the field of healthcare and more specifically psychomotor therapy (PMT). A graduate of HEC Paris Business School, Mark has been particularly involved in the development of ISRP and PMT in China since 2015. He is the third generation to lead ISRP, which was founded by his grandmother and father in 1967 and is committed to fulfilling his legacy by contributing to the development of humane and innovative approaches in health to better support people with disabilities and vulnerabilities. His area of action is naturally in France and China, but also in the Middle East since 2022 and Central Asia since 2023.
Mark Soubiran is also the General Secretary of the Foundation for Research in Psychomotricity and Lifestyle Diseases, housed by the “Fondation de France”, largest philanthropic and research foundation in France. This foundation works to fund research in the health field, specifically around psychomotor disorders at all ages of life.
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