History and organisation
The activities of the International Building Association (IBO) started in Belgium in 1953 on the initiative of a priest, Father Werenfried van Straaten, to help refugees still living in very bad conditions after WWII. From the Christian values of forgiveness and solidarity, a lot of money was collected to help the Germans with the reconstruction of their country. Soon it became clear that it was necessary to build some emergency houses for the people that had no longer a home. That's how the Building association was born. Separate organisations were founded in several countries. In 1962 these came together in an international association, IBO.
Nowadays IBO still functions as a framework for the cooperation between the members, thus promoting a good coordination of the activities. The international network is run by a board, consisting of representatives from different countries. The board currently consists of Wannes Victoor (Bouworde Vlaanderen), Ilaria Persanti (IBO-Italia) and Nadine Bartman (IBO-Nederland). The members meet twice per year to discuss developments, exchange projects and improve collaboration.
