People, connections and milestones that shaped RiEN.
● The beginnings
RiEN’s story is one of people coming together: sharing ideas, travelling across borders and building a stronger voice for reflexology in Europe. The milestones below bring together our published history and personal recollections shared by Anneke van ’t Wout, one of RiEN’s founders.
Anneke recalls that her meeting with Mo Usher in Amsterdam helped lay the foundations for what would become RiEN. Their shared interest in bringing reflexologists together grew into international journeys and conversations about how European colleagues could work more closely together.
In Anneke’s account, she and Mo travelled to the United States and served on the board of the International Council of Reflexologists alongside Bill Flocco and Christine Issel. She remembers a later conference in Australia, where discussions with Cecily Mills helped develop plans for European cooperation and prepare the way for a gathering in Brussels.
These personal recollections add an earlier chapter to RiEN’s story: the friendships, initiative and international exchanges that preceded its European conferences.
● Brussels
It was important that European governments were becoming increasingly aware of the role of complementary therapies and therefore some colleagues decided to join forces. This development was discussed during a New Age fair in Brussels, where reflexologists from different countries had the opportunity to meet each other and exchange ideas.
Present at this gathering were notable reflexologists, including Mo Usher (GB), Cecily Mills (Scotland), Anneke van ‘t Wout (NL), Henk Homberg (NL), Jos Hackenfort (DE) and Philippe Simon (BE) among others.
● 1994
In 1994, the first European Conference on Reflexology was held in Newcastle, UK. The conference was an important milestone for RiEN. Various subjects were discussed and a unanimous decision was made to continue with a bi-annual conference to advance the profession.
The Newcastle conference gave this developing network an important opportunity to continue its cooperation and support the advancement of the profession.
● 1995
In the early years of RiEN, the European Commission requested that Paul Lannoye, a member of the European Parliament, prepare a report on the state of complementary medicine in Europe. Reflexology was initially overlooked in this report. However, after a meeting in Brussels in 1995, involving RiEN and various reflexology organizations and schools, a submission was presented to Paul Lannoye with several key points. The submission described reflexology as follows:
This submission resulted in the inclusion of reflexology in the updated versions of Lannoye’s report.
Mo Usher’s contribution
Anneke recalls that Mo Usher played a key role in ensuring reflexology was included in Paul Lannoye’s work. This personal recollection recognises the initiative behind RiEN’s early European representation.
RiEN’s historical account records contacts with Members of the European Parliament to promote recognition of reflexology as both a therapy and a profession. It also records participation in Brussels meetings of the Working Group on Complementary & Natural Medicine, affiliated with the Health Inter Group of the European Parliament.
RiEN maintained its own direct contacts: it invited Members of the European Parliament from the country hosting each conference. According to Anneke, these conference-based invitations were disrupted by the pandemic.
● 2004
RiEN continued to represent reflexology in wider European discussions. For a period, this included membership of the European Forum for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (EFCAM), founded in December 2004 as part of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and attendance at its quarterly meetings.
At a subsequent AGM in Leuven, RiEN unanimously decided not to continue working with EFCAM. The cooperation described here is therefore part of RiEN’s history, rather than an ongoing affiliation.
RiEN continued to develop its own direct relationships with European representatives.
● 2018
In December 2018, RiEN gained a legal constitution, an important step in giving the network a formal organisational foundation.
● 2026
During the AGM in 2026, RiEN decided to create the RiEN Grove – Our Roots: a symbolic place to recognise the people whose dedication has helped shape our organisation. Anneke’s tribute was the first, and Mo Usher now joins her in the grove.
By preserving personal memories alongside our organisational milestones, we connect RiEN’s beginnings with the people carrying its work forward today.
● Today
Today, we continue striving to make reflexology seen, recognized and valued as a vital complementary therapy across Europe, promoting the benefits it offers to individuals and communities alike.
Reflexology in Europ Nexus
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